Techdirt has some commentary on the WSJ getting rid of their librarians.
Excerpt: This is not — at all — to suggest that research librarian aren’t quite good at what they do and provide a truly valuable service. But, it is true that the tools for research have become much cheaper and accessible for anyone.
Excerpt: If the WSJ were willing to replace the lost librarians with a crowd-sourced or “open” research process, that might be quite interesting.
cheap and accessible
I must catch up on my reading–this news item flew past me somehow.
Yes, the tools can be viewed as cheap and accessible, but most people, including reporters, are not researchers. They may be able to locate the information they need, but when you are working on a deadline like many reporters do, generally, I think a librarian can find it more efficiently. Of course, if reporters are making research a priority, they may become quite efficient themselves.