If a person writes programs -- code, then one is a coder.  It's as simple as that, whether one has a computer science degree or not.

I have always been puzzled by the self-consciousness betraying a lack of confidence that librarians suffer about what they do.  "Is Librarianship a profession?" seems to be a perpetually unanswered question that I have never seen anywhere else.  Chemists, doctors and lawyers don't seem to have this sort of second guessing themselves about what they do.  Why should those in the library profession?

Andromeda's short presentation was a good one.

Peter


-----Original Message-----
>From: Jason Griffey <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Feb 13, 2013 8:44 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: [CODE4LIB] You *are* a coder. So what am I?
>
>Shirley,
>
>I would hesitantly call myself a coder. I would _never_ call myself a
>software engineer. I am also a librarian. I think what Andromeda was
>probably arguing (not that I would deign to put words in her mouth) was
>that we should get over our imposter syndrome and stand up for our skills.
>
>Jason
>
>
>On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 7:33 PM, Shirley Lincicum <
>[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> I'm not in Chicago, and I didn't see this talk, so maybe I'm way off base,
>> but isn't a coder a programmer, or even a software engineer? Last time I
>> checked, programmer/software engineer is a clear, well-established and
>> well-respected occupation (and generally far better paid than most
>> Librarians, at least outside of the library world). Why can't library
>> "coders" claim the title of programmer/software engineer?
>>
>> Truly curious,
>>
>> Shirley
>>
>> On Wed, Feb 13, 2013 at 4:22 PM, Maccabee Levine <[log in to unmask]>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Andromeda's talk this afternoon really struck a chord, as I shared with
>> her
>> > afterwards, because I have the same issue from the other side of the
>> fence.
>> >  I'm among the 1/3 of the crowd today with a CS degree and and IT
>> > background (and no MLS).  I've worked in libraries for years, but when I
>> > have a point to make about how technology can benefit instruction or
>> > reference or collection development, I generally preface it with "I'm
>> not a
>> > librarian, but...".  I shouldn't have to be defensive about that.
>> >
>> > Problem is, 'coder' doesn't imply a particular degree -- just the
>> > experience from doing the task, and as Andromeda said, she and most
>> C4Lers
>> > definitely are coders.  But 'librarian' *does* imply MLS/MSLS/etc., and I
>> > respect that.
>> >
>> > What's a library word I can use in the same way as coder?
>> >
>> > Maccabee
>> >
>> > --
>> > Maccabee Levine
>> > Head of Library Technology Services
>> > University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
>> > [log in to unmask]
>> > 920-424-7332
>> >
>>