Astronomy Librarians - Quo Vadis?

“You don’t look like a librarian” is a phrase we often hear in the astronomy department or observatory library. Astronomy librarians are a breed apart, and are taking on new and non-traditional roles as information technology evolves. This talk will explore the future of librarians and librarianship through the lens of the recent talks given at the sixth “Libraries and Information Services in Astronomy” conference held in Pune, India in February 2010. We will explore the librarian’s universe, illustrating how librarians use new technologies to perform such tasks as bibliometrics, how we are re-fashioning our library spaces in an increasingly digital world and how we are confronting the brave new world of open access, to name but a few topics.

💡 Research Summary

The paper “Astronomy Librarians – Quo Vadis?” surveys the evolving role of astronomy librarians by drawing on presentations from the sixth Libraries and Information Services in Astronomy (LISA VI) conference held in Pune, India, in February 2010. The authors begin by noting the persistent stereotype that librarians are out‑of‑touch with modern technology, yet in practice astronomy librarians worldwide are engaged in highly technical, user‑focused activities. The conference attracted more than 90 participants from 18 countries and was organized around six major themes: the future of librarianship, metrics, open access, data curation and preservation, virtual communities, and use & access.

Future of Librarianship – Speakers described how librarians now manage both print and electronic collections, often within newly built, architecturally striking facilities (e.g., Princeton’s Frank Gehry‑designed building). Case studies from the University of Oslo, Helsinki, and the Space Telescope Science Institute illustrate how libraries are re‑imagining physical space, consolidating services, and adopting “embedded” models that place librarians directly in research workflows.

Metrics – The paper highlights the growing importance of bibliometrics for assessing the scientific output of institutions, instruments, and individual researchers. Tools developed at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Library, such as FUSE (a sophisticated full‑text search engine) and telbib (a content‑management system that generates next‑generation citation statistics), are presented as exemplars of how librarians can automate bibliography construction and impact analysis. Additional studies from Helsinki (effects of departmental mergers on citation rates) and India (longitudinal analysis of open‑access usage) demonstrate the breadth of metric applications.

Open Access – Librarians are portrayed as vocal advocates for free scholarly communication, confronting rising journal subscription costs (8–10 % annual increase) and author‑pay models. The astronomy community’s early adoption of pre‑print servers (arXiv) and delayed‑open‑access policies is contrasted with the complexities introduced by funder mandates (e.g., US Office of Science and Technology Policy). Perspectives from Terry Mahoney (economic realities of OA), Jo Jensen (OA for conference proceedings), and M.N. Nagara (institutional digital theses repositories) illustrate both opportunities and challenges, including metadata standards, scanning quality, and copyright clearance.

Data Curation and Preservation – The authors discuss the unanswered questions surrounding digital data longevity, cost of free data provision, and collaborative preservation strategies. Case examples include the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (balancing open dissemination with author rights) and the Konkoly Observatory’s data‑archive guidelines. Copyright is identified as the most intricate barrier, especially for unpublished or “gray” literature.

Virtual Communities – The paper documents how librarians leverage social media (Facebook, Twitter) and discipline‑specific platforms (LibraryThing, Shelfari) to foster public outreach, multilingual engagement, and citizen‑science participation. Projects such as Leila Fernandez’s live telescope‑image streaming combined with chat, and Alberto Accomazzi’s view of the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) as a virtual knowledge community, underscore the shift from static repositories to interactive networks.

Use and Access – User‑behavior studies are presented, including Molly White’s survey of e‑book attitudes at the University of Texas at Austin, Heman Kumar Sahu’s questionnaire on Indian astronomers’ information‑seeking habits, and Uta Grothkopf’s push for open‑source library catalogues to replace proprietary systems. These investigations reveal mixed preferences for print versus electronic formats and highlight the need for flexible, user‑centric acquisition policies.

In the Conclusions, six “sub‑currents” are distilled: (1) active public communication, (2) demonstrable intellectual impact via metrics, (3) proactive open dissemination of local knowledge products, (4) a shift toward user‑centered services, (5) re‑defining the library as a place, and (6) exploring e‑science and data‑archive frontiers. The authors also discuss the contentious proposal to rename the Special Libraries Association to the “Association of Strategic Knowledge Professionals,” reflecting broader anxieties about the “librarian” label. Emerging roles such as “informationist” and “embedded librarian” are examined as possible evolutions of the profession.

Overall, the paper argues that astronomy librarians must continue to “go where the information goes and where their users go,” adopting proactive visibility, embracing new technologies, and preserving core values of access and preservation. By doing so, they remain indispensable partners in the scientific enterprise despite rapid changes in publishing, data management, and digital communication.