The Librarian as Mediator

This paper examines various aspects of librarianship in order to illustrate that the profession is one that requires the techniques of mediation. Both librarianship and mediation are crafts guided by and furthering the interests of democratic society. The concern of librarians with intellectual freedom and literacy is examined as it encompasses the challenges of homelessness and multiculturalism. These issues call upon librarians to mediate, and to do so dynamically because of changes in library theory, methods, and technology. Librarians mediate between clients and with themselves. Mediation is required in bibliographic selection and for every library policy. It is hoped that readers of this paper will imagine many other aspects of librarianship that are furthered by effective mediation.