Showing papers in "Journal of education for librarianship in 1979"

Socialization of Library School Students: A Framework for Analysis of a Current Problem

Abstract: THE RESPONSIBILITIES attendant to faculty rank and status, particularly the responsibility to engage in research1 and publish results, is one of the most serious problems confronting academic librarians today. "The low productivity found by the present study for professionals with five or fewer years of experience, particularly for those without subject expertise or administrative responsibility, suggests that tenure situations are likely to present severe problems . . ."2 For many, the debate over the propriety and desirability of faculty rank and status is moot. Research and publication are currently used in many institutions as criteria for decisions on salary increases, promotion, and tenure. Many more librarians committed to the practice of librarianship in academia will confront this situation in years to come.

Factors Effecting Research Productivity.

Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of insufficient research in library schools. It assumes that part of the reason for the problem lies in the lack of full socialization of library educators to the norms of academe, and in a lack of understanding of their role in the library profession as well as their role as academics. Pertinent literature is reviewed and an informal proposal for investigation of library education is set forth. The investigation is seen as an aid to improved socialization and as a means of improving library education by making it accountable. Among the factors proposed for investigation are research capability, quality and quantity of publication, colleague environment, amount of time spent on professional association activities, and the reward system of library education. It is proposed finally that deans and directors be judged by the performance record of their schools.

The Impact of Research on Librarianship.

Abstract: This paper is a somewhat modified version of an address delivered by the author at the AALS Conference in Washington, D.C., on January 12, 1979. The paper explores in some detail how two research publications impacted on librarianship. A fundamental distinction is made between impact on the knowledge base of librarianship as ascertained by citation counts, and impact on real libraries and practitioners. More evidence is found of impact on the former than the latter. Another fundamental distinction is made between knowing what exists and improving upon what is known to exist. The latter is taken to be the unique role of library service and library education; the former is the nature of library and information science.

A Fading Relationship: Library Schools and Preappointment Archival Education Since 1973

Abstract: This article discusses recent developments in archival education at the preappointment level. Through the use of numerical data, it concludes that increasingly such programs tend to be associated with history departments rather than library schools. The causes for this trend are identified and discussed, especially the primary difficulty of recruiting qualified persons to teach archival courses in library schools. The study emphasizes as well that library educators should assume a more active role in developing and implementing an archival education program whenever possible.

Curriculum Development and the Nominal Group Technique: Gaining the Practitioners' View

Abstract: This study describes the use of Nominal Group Technique by a library school faculty to identify curriculum areas of prime concern to library practitioners. A sample of 26 librarians from senior and middle-rank positions in academic, public, state, school, and special libraries participated in the study. Results show that their major concerns were in the curriculum areas of philosophy and social context of libraries, library skills, administration, personal and interpersonal relations, and specialization. BY COMPARISON with the United States or Great Britain the professionalization of education for librarianship in Australia is a relatively recent process. Apart from the foundation of a school at the University of New South Wales in Sydney in 1960, library schools were not established in tertiary institutions until the adoption of the Martin Report1 by the Commonwealth Government in 1965. The Martin Report dramatically restructured tertiary education in Australia with its concept of colleges of advanced education, equal but different from the universities. The report also required the library profession to revise its hopes that library education would be university based, for it specifically re

A Statistical Survey of 67 Library Schools, 1978-79.

Abstract: THIS IS the sixth survey of faculty salaries and related data for library educators to appear in the Journal of Education for Librarianship. As in past years, the writer is indebted to the deans and directors of the A.L.A. accredited programs for sharing with him the sensitive data on which these statistics are based. The list of schools for 1978-79 is longer than for any previous year because of the favorable decisions of the Committee on Accreditation during the A.L.A. 1979 Midwinter meeting regarding four programs that had not appeared on the accredited list for 1977-78: Alberta, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and San Jose. The closing of the program at the University of Oregon, however, has reduced the net gain to three, for a total of 67 accredited programs in 1979. The head of each of these 67 library schools responded to the writer's request for faculty data, although two (Brigham Young and Chicago), because of institutional rules on the revelation of individual salaries, omitted that item in their response. Data were requested on all full-time faculty, including deans and directors, as of January 1, 1979, whose total salaries were part of the library school's budget. The names of faculty were not requested, of course. In addition to individuals' salaries (whether for the academic year or the fiscal year), their faculty rank, sex, tenure status, and whether they pos-

A Study of Library Science Dissertations Accepted by the University of Michigan.

Abstract: In order to discover various facets involved with their dissertations which may prove useful to future doctoral students, a questionnaire was sent recently to all who received the doctorate in library science from the University of Michigan between 1954 and 1977. On the basis of this study, the typical respondents chose the dissertation topics on the basis of prior research and reading, and they enjoyed a high degree of freedom in the choice of these topics. Among the respondents, in general, the library educators had found the preparation of the dissertation valuable for the content of the courses which they had taught. Most library administrators, however, had found little or no value in the preparation of the dissertation for their administrative work.

Cataloging: 1966 vs 1976.

Abstract: Based upon a survey of accredited library schools several changes were observed in the teaching of cataloging and classification in the period between 1966-1976. More emphasis was placed upon teaching methodology; fewer schools are requiring students to take cataloging courses and to take fewer credit hours of cataloging; and 74 per cent of the schools introduced computerized cataloging into the curriculum. The authors conclude that library schools need to continue to explore changes in the cataloging curriculums.

The Role of Library Schools in Providing Continuing Education for the Profession.

Abstract: THE RAPID CHANGE which is characteristic of today's society creates a need for concerned librarians to update and extend their initial professional education. As the half-life of professional knowledge steadily declines, continuing education enables one to keep a step ahead of professional obsolescence. The impact of change on the need for continuous learning has been recognized by library associations as well as individual librarians. Continuing education is essential for all library personnel, professional and supportive. . . .*

Satellite Television and Training for On-line Computer Searching.

Abstract: A PROVINCE the size of British Columbia presents geographic problems for continuing education that are not easily overcome. The population is spread quite unevenly over the 950,000 square kilometers of mountainous country, and there are few population centers capable of supporting continuing educational activities suitable for professionals outside of the Vancouver and Victoria areas, where 75 per cent of the province's population resides. Thus the availability of a Canadian Communications Technology Satellite late in 1977 proved an excellent opportunity to test the training of librarians in on-line computer retrieval techniques without having to transport people over large distances. Use of the "Hermes" satellite was made possible through the B.C. Ministry of Education's Satellite Tele Education Project (STEP), which allowed use of the satellite and a number of ground facilities by various educational groups during an eightweek experimental period. The online searching training program was a four-week joint effort involving staff from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Simon Fraser

An Exercise in Research Evaluation: The Work of L. C. Puppybreath.

Abstract: In response to the recommendation from the Resolutions Committee, the board approved a new procedure for proposing resolutions. Members wishing to propose resolutions of commendation or condolence are asked to send them to the board for action (via the Executive Secretary) prior to each quarterly board meeting. Copies of the resolutions will then be included in the packets for the annual conference. Charles Bunge was assigned the responsibility of developing operational procedures for the annual business meeting for approval by the board at its fall 1979 meeting.

Exceptions to Regular Admissions in Accredited Library School Programs

Abstract: One of the most important phases of library education is the recruitment and admission of students who have professional potential. The problem of applicants who have professional potential but fail to meet a program's minimum criteria for admission is explored in this article. In 1977, the heads of the accredited library school programs were asked to respond to questions about their policies with respect to exceptional admissions. Fifty-seven schools (87%) responded. Forty respondents will admit students who fail to meet all of their minimum admissions criteria. No

The Role of the Assistant Dean in Library Schools

Abstract: A report of a questionnaire study on the role of the assistant dean in the administrative structure of the library school. Included are personal and academic backgrounds of those holding this position, their responsibilities, and some of their perceptions and attitudes regarding their roles. Data are based on responses from 33 persons in 30 library school programs accredited by the American Library Association. WHILE the role of the dean or director of a library school may vary widely, it is more clearly definable and certainly better understood in the library education community than that of the assistant/associate dean or director. One who holds the latter position, which, for purposes of simplification, will be termed assistant dean, is frequently asked, "What is your role? What do you do?" Deans and directors of smaller schools or departments sometimes question at what point in a school's development is the position necessary? What type of background, knowledge, and skills should a person holding this position have? What is the appropriate rank for such a position? Since persons holding this type of position are quite often responsible for the day-to-day operation of the program and also take action on important problems in the absence of the dean, it would seem worthwhile to know something of the characteristics, functions,1 and attitudes of those holding the position in the accredited programs. For this reason a study of those holding this type of position during the fall of 1977 was undertaken. Persons to be included were selected from the listing in the latest Directory issue of the Journal of Education for

Research and the Practicing Librarian

Abstract: EARLIER in this program, H.C. Wright argued eloquently that librarians need to become more concerned with ideas than with things and that library researchers need to use more than the scientific method as they approach library problems. While librarians accept these ideas in principle, most practicing librarians would have problems in seeing the practical side of them. To quote Wright, "The most brilliant failure of librarians to date is the inability to distinguish their substance from their instruments." But that may not be bad or even relevant. One is reminded of the question the information scientists used to ask librarians as the latter dealt with people: "Did you give him the information he wanted or did you simply give him the item in which the information was contained?" That was an infuriating question then and still is to librarians. Simply stated, librarians work with ideas as well as with things and deal with several professions which are increasingly unclear whether they are sciences, humanities, behavioral sciences, or some as yet undefined amalgam of these. Medicine and librarianship in particular are unclear, and since these are the professions with which many librarians spend most of their time, they, too, are unclear. The dilemma this creates is pervasive in the author's thinking of how we might reach some accommodation. Wright and this author are probably not as far apart as might appear, however, and the assignment here is to articulate a stance toward research

XMARC: A System for Experimental Indexing and Searching of MARC Records.

Abstract: A set of computer programs, called XMARC, is described. This system provides students with a simplified means of writing programs for the automatic indexing of an experimental collection of MARC records. The indexes so created then become part of an on-line data base. XMARC also provides means for searching such a data base. The system therefore can serve as an aid to inventing and designing new MARC-based indexes and other bibliographic products, and as an instructional aid in the design and use of on-line information services.

Jobs and Applicants: An Analysis of AALS Placement Activity.

Abstract: This paper presents an analysis of the placement books of three annual AALS meetings (1976,1977,1978). Using information from job descriptions and job applicant forms the characteristics of the jobs and job seekers are compared. The degree of overlap between the characteristics of job seekers and requirements of positions available is discussed. Recommendations for improving the process are made.

Library Research - Past, Present, and Future

Abstract: search."1 Based on the objectives of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, professionals will need to have competencies in five major areas: organization of information, information needs and information use, information technologies, research methods, and management. Continuation of current patterns of professional education will lead to overproduction of undertrained individuals. To meet short-term needs, seminars, institutes, and certificate programs should be encouraged. Long term needs will require that professionals be made acquainted with the total information process and that a basic science of information be recognized as a scholarly discipline.

Update in Education for Community College Library Administrators.

Abstract: A nationwide survey of the educational preparation of the chief administrators of learning resource centers in public comprehensive two-year community colleges revealed that they valued their preparation in the basic library science courses, and recommended those for future directors. They did recommend strengthening certain areas, and agreed that they were not well prepared in audio-visual subjects. Suggested additional courses which they perceived as being useful for expanded duties in new administrative roles in omni-media centers could suggest new curriculum content to meet new educational needs.

The Research Thrust of Brigham Young University's Library School.

Abstract: The library school at Brigham Young University has structured a research sequence of three courses to teach its students to be good consumers of research literature and how to carry out simple research projects. Students learn the nature of various types of research and statistical inference in the first course. The second and third courses are research project seminars in which students carry out a research project and write reports. Group interactions in critiquing drafts of each others' reports are considered important learning experiences in the seminars. Subjective appraisals from faculty and students indicate that the sequence is successful in teaching students to carry out simple research projects, to become intelligent consumers of research literature, and to improve their writing skills.

The School Media Center: A Conceptual Model.

Abstract: Objectives and Definitions. For the past three years as a student teacher supervisor I have persistently and systematically insisted that my students learn to utilize and synthesize media resources and methods into their instructional strategies. This orientation comes not only from a background in curriculum development and instructional design but also with experience and commitment to school library media centers. As I spoke with various school library media specialists, it became increasingly apparent that a cogent representation of the scientific relationship between educational technology and school library media education needed to be graphically outlined for the innovative library educators. In addressing library science educators, a primary goal is to provide a buffer for those students in school library media studies who will have to convince administrators of the viable and legitimate functions of the library media center and its staff. Some schools still operate with great literal and figurative distance between their audio-visual department and their school "library." Ideally a library media center in the school brings materials and people