We could answer that we recognize it when we see it, but the question can be answered more thoughtfully, I think. As some of the participants in this discussion have aptly pointed out, the list of tasks is too dynamic to hold as immutable evidence of professional work. I prefer to focus on behavior and knowledge and what librarians bring to the discharge of their responsibilities. Librarians know what is important. Knowing what is important, what is worth commitment of valuable and limited resources is a lifetime endeavor.
Librarians bring a humility to their work with collections and clients.
They have a good sense of what they don't know. The ancillary to this is that the librarian continuously learns more about collections, access, clients and resources to better serve clients of today and the future. The librarian may check out but never leaves. For a variety of reasons, I believe strongly that they shouldn't. John Sumsion Senior Fellow in Department of Information and Library Studies Loughborough University Loughborough, Leics.