Beliefs and realities

From 1970 through mid-1976 I was a reference librarian—from 1976 through 1983 I was the head of a reference department. During those years I de­ veloped a number of beliefs about how non-library folk viewed—or should view—libraries and librar­ ians. And I acted in concert with those assumptions whenever possible. Having now moved to the other side of the desk, I now know that some of those be­ liefs were wrong. In this article I will describe some of those assumptions and the realities as I now see them.