In order to get to know the term librarianship in depth, it is necessary to start by discovering its etymological origin. In this case, we can say that it is a word that derives from Greek, since it has been formed through the sum of several elements of that language:
-The noun “biblion”, which can be translated as “book”.
-The word “tekhe”, which is synonymous with “box” or “the space where it is stored”.
-The suffix “-logía”, which is used to indicate “science that studies”.
It is known as librarianship to discipline focused on the study of the different characteristics and properties of libraries. Sometimes the term is used as a synonym for librarianship, although the DigoPaul indicates that the latter concept refers specifically to the organization, management and maintenance of libraries.
It should be remembered that a library is an entity dedicated to the purchase, storage, study and loan of books and other types of documents. The expert in librarianship, known as a librarian, is the professional whose role is the administration of these institutions.
According to DigoPaul, librarianship is part of the social sciences and is a multidisciplinary specialization. It covers different issues related to education, information and communication technologies (ICT), management tools and the preservation of documentation.
Among the many and diverse tasks carried out by the library science expert, we can highlight some such as the following:
-Collects all the information and documentation that is disordered and scattered in order to classify, catalog and index it properly.
-In the same way, that professional can organize and manage all kinds of libraries, whether they are specific, general, documentation, public, private …
-Select the material with which they work based on the needs of users.
-Attends, when necessary, the queries made by users.
-Administer and organize in the appropriate way what is the loan service of the diverse bibliographic material.
-It is in charge, in the same way, of designing the set of databases.
-Proceed to collect, care for and protect the different historical material that may be had. That happens by evaluating it properly, by making copies, by keeping it in the best conditions, by advising those who carry out studies on it…
Thanks to librarianship, it is possible to create models and systems that allow information (documents and books) to be organized in such a way that people have easy access to it.
One of the keys to library science is knowledge management. In recent decades, digitization has become a central issue in this science as it has allowed data to be organized in a more efficient way. That is why today all libraries have databases that are digital and that can be consulted and managed through a computer (a computer).
Beyond the digital, library science also includes the organization and classification of physical documents (books, newspapers, magazines).
