As libraries evolve and innovate to keep pace with transformations in the field, it is incumbent on library schools to ensure that they are developing curricula that effectively prepare graduates for the workplace. Few studies directly consult practitioners for their perspective on student learning and curriculum. This study attempts to address that gap and add to the body of literature on the current and future shape of LIS education by engaging a range of practitioners in focus group discussions to gather their input on curricular emphases, important competencies, and the actual and potential relationships between LIS schools and employers in the training and education of new professionals. Findings confirm the importance of a range of technology skills as well as soft skills including communication, customer service, flexibility, and a commitment to continuous learning. The results will be of interest to LIS faculty, current practitioners, library students, and recent graduates.

Professional Perspectives on Library and Information Science Education

This article describes in detail the management of a Resource Description and Access (RDA) implementation process by an academic library that was an early adopter of RDA. It identifies the necessary decisions to be made and discusses the rationale behind these decisions during the implementation process. This information can benefit other libraries with managing their local RDA implementations. The authors examine the business case behind implementation from various perspectives such as administrative support, training, documentation, establishment of local procedures and costs. It aims to help cataloging/technical services/metadata managers understand the scope of the process and the impact it will have on their libraries.

Understanding the Why: A Case Study in Managing the RDA Implementation

Recent reports complain about the lack of cataloguers in South Africa to support Library and Information Services. The purpose of this study is to investigate the nature, level, status and challenges of teaching cataloguing and classification in LIS schools in South Africa. Qualitative and quantitative methods, through a survey and content analysis, were employed in this study. All twelve LIS/IS departments in South Africa were targeted. Within these departments, the main sources of research data were the department heads and/or lecturers teaching cataloguing and classification, as well as the course outlines or study guides of cataloguing and classification modules or courses. Survey data was collected through interviews and largely through questionnaires that were emailed to the respondents in the various LIS departments. Content analysis was employed for curriculum and syllabus analysis. Most respondents agreed that CCE should be offered in its current form and some uniformity in the titling of courses should be achieved. While most CCE challenges are not new, intervention is still required, particularly with regards to Resource Description and Access (RDA) which must be addressed by LIS schools as soon as possible. This study informs cataloguing and classification education in South Africa, and perhaps elsewhere, by providing baseline information for the planning, teaching, marketing and recruiting of graduates qualified in the two research domains.

/pdf/cataloguing-and-classification-education-cce-and-training-in-3buds4lo2r.pdf

Cataloguing and Classification Education (CCE) and training in Library and Information Science/Studies departments in South Africa

The cataloging community is at a crossroads. Will catalogers need to continue learning both Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition (AACR2) and Resource Description and Access (RDA), or will learning RDA alone be enough? Through a selective literature review and examining the RDA Toolkit, it seems that there is currently a collective need to have access to both codes. However, when considering both Library of Congress-Program for Cooperative Cataloging (LC-PCC) and OCLC initiatives and an example from this author's institution relating to authority control in RDA and bibliographic record hybridization, it may only be necessary to learn RDA in the future. Additional research into practitioner experience could be done in the future to further examine this.

AACR2 to RDA: Is Knowledge of Both Needed during the Transition Period?

Resource Description and Access (RDA) handbook for facilitating the understanding of RDA rules by librarians and catalogers in English Speaking countries in sub-Saharan Africa

The implementation of Resource Description and Access (RDA) in 2013 or after will have a powerful impact on the skill set required of new library and information science professionals. This article chronicles the development of an RDA “boot camp” at UNC–Chapel Hill's School of Information and Library Science. Curriculum for the three-hour camp included a review of relevant theoretical frameworks and a hands-on exercise creating RDA records. Findings from a post–boot camp survey point to areas for further growth in cataloging and metadata course development and suggest that students are eager for more practical experience with emerging schema.

Wanda K. Gunther

Papers

The UNC–Chapel Hill RDA Boot Camp: Preparing LIS Students for Emerging Topics in Cataloging and Metadata

Resource Description and Access: It’s Really Not So Bad

The Hard Task of Soft Skills: Project Management for the Materials Review Process