Librarians as New Producers, New Markets and New Tastemakers

Chris Anderson reflects on how the culture and economy are responding to changing environment. This is essentially an extension of his long tail argument. He suggests that economy is shifting from a limited number of mainstream products to a large number of “designer” products, sought by a relatively small group of people. He specifically identifies three processes:

• Democratization of products (as opposed to manufacture of products mandated by someone)
• Democratization of distribution (as opposed to a centralized distribution)
• Connection of Demand and Supply

This argument essentially shifts the focus of product design and specification from the manufacturer to the consumer. For example, in the old days, having an article published entailed a multi-stage process, requiring co-operation of many entities (publisher, printer, proof-reader etc.). Now, technological advances have empowered individuals to undertake such a task on their own. An individual can publish his thoughts using desk top publishing, a website or a wiki.

Librarians can further the cause of the democratization of distribution by helping to share resources like encyclopedias, DVDs and other materials.

Librarians are in the best position to judge the demands of their patrons and thus, they can let them dictate the materials that are acquired by the library.