This paper first presents the information literacy competencies in both public universities and institutions of applied learning in Switzerland. Based on the project “Information Literacy at Swiss Universities” launched in 2011, it shows how the Swiss Standards of Information Literacy were designed and applied. These six standards have since been supplemented by related learning objectives. In the second part, the author will answer the question formulated in the title in order to understand if those standards reflect the reality of the job market and the workplace. Two case studies, one at the University of Geneva and the other at Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne in Switzerland (where the author is presently working) are given. In conclusion, he analyses the reasons behind such a gap and proposes several solutions to bridge the gap. Solutions do exist and information professionals hold the key to unlocking information literacy.

Information Literacy (IL) in the Academic Context: Is There a Gap Between Employability Competencies and Student Information Literacy Skills?

Introduction This bibliography is meant to accompany the literature review on cataloging and classification covering 2009 and 2010, " Cresting toward the Sea Change, " that is published in the April 2012 issue of Library Resources and Technical Services (volume 56, number 2). It contains citations to English-sources are listed here than were discussed in the literature review. The citations are arranged in the same manner as the article, with entries listed under nine broad topic headings (see the list, below). All site addresses included in the citations were viewed and the links correct as of December 16, 2011. Acknowledgments The bibliography was funded in part through a Carnegie-Whitney grant awarded to Sue Ann Gardner by the Library Resources and Technical Services (LRTS) Editorial Board. Many thanks to Charles Wilt, ALCTS Executive Director, who facilitated the awarding of the grant, and to the LRTS Board for their support. Thanks are due to Anna Sophia Cotton, research assistant for the project, who gathered citations for this project from August through November 2010.

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List of Sources, Cresting toward the Sea Change: Literature Review of Cataloging and Classification, 2009-2010

In June 2009, the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services Heads of Technical Services in Large Research Libraries Interest Group established the Task Force on Cost/Value Assessment of Bibliographic Control to address recommendation 5.1.1.1 of On the Record: Report of the Library of Congress Working Group on the Future of Bibliographic Control, which focused on developing measures for costs, benefits, and value of bibliographic control. This paper outlines results of that task force's efforts to develop and articulate metrics for evaluating the cost and value of cataloging activities specifically, and offers some next steps that the community could take to further the profession's collective understanding of the costs and values associated with bibliographic control.

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Assessing the Cost and Value of Bibliographic Control

While backlogs have existed in libraries and the literature that describes them, the decline in the acquisition of physical collections relative to digital resources, as well as the availability of cataloging copy has called into question the continued viability and relevance of arrearages. Yet, at a time of economic restraint, a rethinking of library operations is timely, if not urgent. What does nearly sixty years of research tell us about materials that are removed from cataloging workflow pending availability of a bibliographic record? This article analyzes the characteristics of, and reasons for, arrearages, and assesses approaches to reducing or eliminating backlogs.

https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/32126/1/howarth-moor-sze-2010-for-repository.pdf

Mountains to Molehills: The Past, Present, and Future of Cataloging Backlogs

A Web-based survey was conducted to determine the extent to which Canadian public libraries are collecting multilingual materials (foreign languages other than English and French), the methods that they use to select these materials, and whether public librarians are sufficiently prepared to provide their multilingual clientele with an adequate range of materials and services. There is room for improvement with regard to collection development of multilingual materials in Canadian public libraries, as well as in educating staff about keeping multilingual collections current, diverse, and of sufficient interest to potential users to keep such materials circulating. The main constraints preventing public libraries from developing better multilingual collections are addressed, and recommendations for improving the state of multilingual holdings are provided.

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The Challenge of Building Multilingual Collections in Canadian Public Libraries.

Efficiency and effectiveness of technical services units are difficult to measure, analyze, and compare, partly because operations are complex and vary substantially from one library to another Cost studies have been widely conducted as a means of measuring the cost efficiency of specific technical services tasks Since data on costs are not necessarily comparable among institutions, other quantifiable measures of efficiency and effectiveness would enhance managerial decision-making This article reports the analysis of data compiled from a survey of twenty-six academic libraries It seeks to supplement the findings of cost studies by providing measures of efficiency and effectiveness for cataloging departments based on reported productivity, number of staff, task distribution, and quality measures such as backlogs, authority control, and database maintenance Benchmark productivity levels for six libraries with “best practices” are identified

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Cataloging Efficiency and Effectiveness.

This study compared different types and sizes of academic libraries on how they currently engage in name authority work. Findings were that smaller libraries were more likely to do their cataloging in-house and less likely to purchase vendor services. Large libraries and libraries at graduate institutions were more likely to engage in some outsourcing and were more likely to do name authority control for a variety of types of names and materials. The study documents name authority control practices before the implementation of the anticipated new cataloging rules. The results provide comparative data that could be useful for making decisions concerning, for example, allocating staff positions or budgets.

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Name authority work today: a comparison of types of academic libraries

Reclassification was a popular trend during the 1960s and 1970s for many academic libraries wanting to change from Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) to Library of Congress (LC) Classification In 2002, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale’s Morris Library changed from DDC to LC If one academic library recently converted, might other DDC academic libraries consider switching, too? Conversely, for those academic libraries that remain with DDC, what are the reasons they continue with it? A survey of thirty-four DDC academic libraries in the United States and Canada determined what factors influence these libraries to continue using DDC, and if reclassification is something they have considered or are considering The survey also investigated whether patrons of these DDC libraries prefer LC and if their preference influences the library’s decision to reclassify Results from the survey indicate that the issue of reclassification is being considered by some of these libraries even though, overall, they are satisfied with DDC The study was unable to determine if patrons’ preference for a classification scheme influenced a library’s decision to reclassify

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Why Do You Still Use Dewey

Random samples of U.S. public libraries were surveyed in summer 2010 to ascertain their name authority cataloging practices. Comparisons of authority work processes and types of authority work done were made among public libraries of different sizes. Results were compared to previous studies of public and academic libraries.

Jay Shorten

Papers

Cataloging Efficiency and Effectiveness.

Name authority work today: a comparison of types of academic libraries

Why Do You Still Use Dewey

Name Authority Work in Public Libraries