Good points.

One could make the argument that reductive logic is a core skill for
both coders and librarians.

Thanks,

Cary

On Thu, Feb 14, 2013 at 9:40 AM, Jason Griffey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> On Thu, Feb 14, 2013 at 10:30 AM, Joe Hourcle <[log in to unmask]
>> wrote:
>
>>
>> Two, 'coding' is a relatively minor skill.  It's like putting 'typist' as
>> a job title, because you use your keyboard a lot at work.  Figuring out
>> what needs to be written/typed/coded is more important than the actual
>> writing aspect of it.
>>
>
> Any skill is minor if you already have it. :-)
>
> As others have pointed out, learning even a tiny, tiny bit of code is a
> huge benefit for librarians. The vast, vast, vast, vast majority of people
> have absolutely no clue how code translates into instructions for the magic
> glowing screen they look at all day. Even a tiny bit of empowerment in that
> arena can make huge differences in productivity and communication
> abilities. Just understanding the logic behind code means that librarians
> have a better understanding of what falls into the "possible" and
> "impossible" categories for "doing stuff with a computer" and anything that
> grounds decision making in the possible is AWESOME.
>
> The presentation that started this discussion (Andromeda's lightning talk)
> had a lot of other undercurrents in it, but a large part of it comes back
> to impostor syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impostor_syndrome) and
> owning your own abilities. Librarians are, by and large, a quiet and
> understated lot, and that rarely does us favors when it comes to people
> understanding what we do and our actual talents and skills.
>
> Jason



-- 
Cary Gordon
The Cherry Hill Company
http://chillco.com