Evolving educational objectives of library schools

Library school objectives are characterized in terms of research, teaching, and student recruitment. The absence of a theoretical framework for much of what is being taught, the small amount of research in library schools, and the shortage of library school teachers are cited as major problems of library schools. Increased interest in the problems of librarianship by researchers in other areas, higher salaries for library school teachers and beginning librarians, and increased financial support for research and scholarships are given as encouraging signs of progress toward the solution of these problems.     

美国高校儿童图书馆学课程研究

美国儿童图书馆学教育发端于19世纪末20世纪初,儿童图书馆学课程建设已有超过百年的历史。本文首先梳理了53个ALA认证的硕士学位教育项目和34个AASL-CAEP认证的学校图书馆硕士教育项目,系统展示了美国高校儿童图书馆学教育的概貌;然后筛选出84所高校的603门ELSY课程,并对这些课程进行了统计与内容分析。当前,美国ELSY课程按主题可区分为六大类型:文献类、服务类、管理类、职业类、研究类和实习类。ELSY课程有超过1/3(约占39%)为文献类课程,其核心内容为文献知识;有约1/4(约占26%)为服务类课程;实习类课程约占16%,每个学校都至少有一门实习类课程;管理类、职业类课程较少,分别占比8%和6%,并非每个学校都开设了此类课程;研究类课程占比最少,约占5%,是美国ELSY课程的短板。美国在ELSY课程内容建设上的经验与问题,可为我国设立和发展儿童图书馆学课程提供借鉴。表7。参考文献47。     

Orientalist libraries today

The title of this article implies full-time training in educational institutions culminating in the writing of examinations and the award of certificates. This assumption would exclude:

(i) useful in-service training programmes run in virtually all libraries;

(ii) series of short residential courses which are available, for instance, in New Zealand, as part fulfilment of essentially in-service training programmes, which may lead to certification;

(iii) workshops, seminars, etc. which may or may not lead to some form of certification, and

(iv) courses in librarianship offered as part of teacher-training programmes such as the Minor in librarianship run for the first two years of a three-year course leading to the award of the Nigerian Certificate in Education in some Advanced Teachers’ Colleges in Nigeria.

Narrowing down the scope of the title in this way leaves us mostly with African library schools offering sub-professional courses and particularly the two library schools in Nigeria with which the writer is closely connected. But in doing so attention will be drawn to certain issues characteristic of this level of education for librarianship generally with occasional comments whenever necessary.     

Five years later: medical reference in the 21st century

In 2000, three groups of health sciences librarians-new library school graduates, those currently working at a medical library, and medical library directors-were interviewed about the status and future of medical reference librarianship. Five years later this follow-up article summarizes the responses from many of the same librarians about the biggest changes, newest trends, evolving roles, challenges, and hopes for the future.     

Education for health sciences/biomedical librarianship: past, present, future

This paper offers an analysis of and some predictions for the fields of library education and medical librarianship. The recent past of education for medical/health sciences librarianship is outlined, with emphasis on the changing nature of the library school, its faculty, and its students. The present situation is described, with specific reference to faculty, curriculum, and accreditation issues. A future agenda is proposed, identifying the need for interdisciplinary and cooperative efforts within the larger realms of medical informatics, high technology, a variety of health professions, and the community of contemporary library practice.     

Getting on the fast track, or how to get an MLIS through distance education, with a specialization in medical librarianship

The article describes an innovation in MLIS education for medical librarianship, with an introduction to the FastTrack, the distance education program at the University of Pittsburgh's library and information science school, together with an overview of a model program linking the biomedical library at Vanderbilt University with the School of Information Sciences in Pittsburgh. Admissions requirements and specific curriculum for the distance education master's degree are detailed in an FAQ format.     

From the Majors to the Minors: Playing the Game as the Rules Are Changed

In Australia no library school at either professional or paraprofessional level offers a course to meet the needs of serials librarians. In the absence of such provision, this paper summarizes the findings of research on serials courses in the U.S.A. and Britain. It highlights the dissatisfaction of practitioners with training in this area and the failure of serials training to meet the needs of the profession; it indicates that a survey in Australia would probably produce similar findings. It discusses the content of librarianship courses-both the core curriculum and a specialized serials librarlanship curriculum-with the objective of outlining a professionally relevant serials librarianship course for Australia, drawing on experiences such as those at Loughborough and Columbia Universities. Finally, the paper specifies the aims and objectives of the proposed Australian course in serials librarianship, and outlines the content of thirteen suggested components.     

Getting on the Fast Track,or How to Get an MLIS Through Distance Education,with a Specialization in Medical Librarianship

Abstract

The article describes an innovation in MLIS education for medical librarianship, with an introduction to the FastTrack, the distance education program at the University of Pittsburgh's library and information science school, together with an overview of a model program linking the biomedical library at Vanderbilt University with the School of Information Sciences in Pittsburgh. Admissions requirements and specific curriculum for the distance education master's degree are detailed in an FAQ format.     

Profesional medical library education in the United States in relation to the qualifications of medical library manpower in Ohio

THE PRESENT SYSTEM OF EDUCATION FOR MEDICAL LIBRARY PRACTICE IN THE UNITED STATES CONSISTS OF FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS: graduate degree programs in library science with specialization in medical librarianship; graduate degree programs in library science with no such specialization; postgraduate internships in medical libraries; continuing education programs. Data are presented illustrating the flow of graduates along these several educational pathways into medical library practice.The relevance of these educational components to the current medical library work force is discussed with reference to manpower data compiled for Ohio. The total number of medical library personnel in Ohio in 1968 is 316. Of this total, only forty-two (approximately 14 percent) have received any formal library training. Seventy persons have only a high school education. From these figures, it is concluded that there is no standard or essential qualification which is universally accepted as educational preparation for work in medical libraries; that the comparative sophistication of the educational programs in medical librarianship has yet to be reflected widely in general medical library practice; that an increasingly large number of non-professional or ancillary personnel are being, and will continue to be, utilized in medical libraries; that large numbers of untrained persons have sole responsibility for medical libraries; and that appropriate educational programs will have to be designed specifically for this type of personnel.     

Serving Community Faculty Through a Dedicated Liaison

Community-based medical schools rely heavily on volunteer faculty to provide medical education. Volunteer faculty consist of health care professionals, primarily physicians, who commit to educating medical students and residents. While these volunteer faculty are typically unpaid, many medical schools provide some benefits to them for volunteering their time. One such benefit, although rarely noted in library or medical education literature, is access to academic medical library resources and services. This article highlights a library services liaison model dedicated to the support of volunteer faculty at a community-based medical school.     

The New National School Library Standards: Implications for Information Literacy Instruction in Higher Education

This paper explores the new American Association of School Libraries (AASL) National School Library Standards relative to the information literacy pipeline as K-12 students reach university-level learning environments. Shifts in the standards, and therefore eventual shifts in this pipeline, are examined. The new school library standards integrate standards for learners, school libraries, and school librarians. This paper will focus exclusively on the standards for learners, as this is where the primary crossover between high schools and academic libraries takes place. Potential implications and future directions for academic librarianship, especially relative to information literacy instruction, are discussed.     

National Information and Communication Technology Policy and Digital Era School Librarianship in Botswana

School librarianship has advanced in the digital era to encompass interactivity, connectivity, and access to a wide variety of information in different formats, through the capabilities of information and communication technologies. School libraries exist to support learning in schools and the importance of the digital age in student's learning cannot be overstated. Today's students are born in the age of technology; therefore a school library that does not encompass the use of electronic media will not meet the needs of the digital generation. The purpose of this article is to find out the status of technology diffusion and use in Botswana school libraries and to advance reasons for the lack of information and communication technology uptake in school libraries. A document analysis of literature was done to determine the factors that hinder the growth of school librarianship in Botswana during the digital era, using the stakeholder theory as a lens for the investigation. Findings reveal a weakness in the social, political, and economic areas of leadership in national information policies which seem to be a remnant from the beginning of the digital age in Botswana and indeed in most African countries. Some of the recommendations point to using the stakeholder theory to tackle the hurdles in school librarianship leadership and policy in the information age.     

An annotated bibliography of education for medical librarianship, 1940-1968

An attempt has been made in this bibliography to represent the various viewpoints concerning education for medical librarianship equally. The topics covered include: general background reading and readings for those interested in establishing courses in medical librarianship. The former includes annotations on the history and international aspects of the subject. The latter consists of annotations of articles on early courses and present courses in medical librarianship. A final area discussed is the Medical Library Association's Code for the Training and Certification of Medical Librarians.     

Centralization vs. decentralization in medical school libraries

Does the medical school library in the United States operate more commonly under the university library or the medical school administration? University-connected medical school libraries were asked to indicate (a) the source of their budgets, whether from the central library or the medical school, and (b) the responsibility for their acquisitions and cataloging. Returns received from sixtyeight of the seventy eligible institutions showed decentralization to be much the most common: 71 percent of the libraries are funded by their medical schools; 79 percent are responsible for their own acquisitions and processing. The factor most often associated with centralization of both budget and operation is public ownership. Decentralization is associated with service to one or two rather than three or more professional schools. Location of the medical school in a different city from the university is highly favorable to autonomy. Other factors associated with these trends are discussed.     

谈我国图书馆学专业的可持续教育

图书馆学专业可持续教育是图书馆事业可持续发展的基础。目前我国图书馆学专业教育困难与机遇并存。图书馆学专业可持续教育的对策:发展图书馆事业,深化图书馆学理论研究,改善图书馆学专业课程设置,拓宽图书馆学专业教育途径,走出专业教育的小圈子。     

中学图书馆参与新课程资源建设探究

从高中课程改革的实际出发，分析中学图书馆在课程资源建设中的优势，提出中学图书馆参与课程资源建设的一系列举措。     

The changing role of school/media resource libraries in secondary schools in Singapore and the need to implement mandatory standards, 1946–2010: Issues,challenges and opportunities

The aim of this paper is to study the development and evolution of secondary school libraries into Media Resource Libraries (MRLs) in Singapore after the Second World War and the rationale to have mandatory school library standards. It is an historical survey analysing published data about the linkages of libraries and librarianship, school library standards, education and school reforms in Singapore. It analyses historical and current documents on the roles played by stakeholders like the Library Association of Singapore (LAS) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) in the introduction and development of school library standards. The need for school libraries standards was first discussed when the Malayan Library Group (MLG) organised the first course on librarianship for school teachers in 1955, but, with no follow through. The need for school libraries standards was also mentioned by the LAS in 1962 in a memorandum to the Commission of Enquiry into Education to train teacher librarians and adopt school library standards. However, this was left out in the final report of the Commission published in 1964. The need for school library standards was discussed in a school library seminar for 150 teacher librarians in 1970. The first Recommended Minimum Standards for Secondary School Libraries was published two years later by the Standing Committee on Libraries set up by the MOE, but it was not mandatory for schools to adopt the standards. In 1997 the MOE launched its “Thinking School Learning Nation” vision to teach thinking skills. Students were expected to do multidisciplinary project work and be independent users of information. The MOE began to convert school libraries into Media Resource Libraries (MRLs) with print and non-print materials. However, a survey conducted in 2001 on the roles and competencies of 112 Library Coordinators (LCs) or teacher librarians revealed that they lack the skills and knowledge to manage MRLs effectively. This is because subsequent school library standards published in 1983 and 2002 did not require trained and full-time teacher librarians to manage the MRLs. Furthermore, it is essential for the standards to be periodically updated with regards to professional staff, collection development, facilities, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and school library programs. Otherwise, MRLs risk being “hollow shells still considered on the periphery of core educational requirements, and are run by teachers not professionally prepared to do the work” (Hart, 2001, p. 25). The national standards published in the United States from 1918 to 2008 are well researched and provide substantive guidelines to develop school libraries. Therefore, it is essential for the MOE to formulate MRL standards by doing comparative studies of school library standards in other countries. These standards have to be mandatory and fully adopted by the schools. It provides opportunities for stakeholders like the LAS, National Library Board (NLB), the National Institute of Education (NIE), and the Singapore Teachers’ Union, to collaborate in the formulation of these standards and take collective ownership to implement them.     

The changing role of school/media resource libraries in secondary schools in Singapore and the need to implement mandatory standards, 1946–2010: Issues, challenges and opportunities

The aim of this paper is to study the development and evolution of secondary school libraries into Media Resource Libraries (MRLs) in Singapore after the Second World War and the rationale to have mandatory school library standards. It is an historical survey analysing published data about the linkages of libraries and librarianship, school library standards, education and school reforms in Singapore. It analyses historical and current documents on the roles played by stakeholders like the Library Association of Singapore (LAS) and the Ministry of Education (MOE) in the introduction and development of school library standards. The need for school libraries standards was first discussed when the Malayan Library Group (MLG) organised the first course on librarianship for school teachers in 1955, but, with no follow through. The need for school libraries standards was also mentioned by the LAS in 1962 in a memorandum to the Commission of Enquiry into Education to train teacher librarians and adopt school library standards. However, this was left out in the final report of the Commission published in 1964. The need for school library standards was discussed in a school library seminar for 150 teacher librarians in 1970. The first Recommended Minimum Standards for Secondary School Libraries was published two years later by the Standing Committee on Libraries set up by the MOE, but it was not mandatory for schools to adopt the standards. In 1997 the MOE launched its “Thinking School Learning Nation” vision to teach thinking skills. Students were expected to do multidisciplinary project work and be independent users of information. The MOE began to convert school libraries into Media Resource Libraries (MRLs) with print and non-print materials. However, a survey conducted in 2001 on the roles and competencies of 112 Library Coordinators (LCs) or teacher librarians revealed that they lack the skills and knowledge to manage MRLs effectively. This is because subsequent school library standards published in 1983 and 2002 did not require trained and full-time teacher librarians to manage the MRLs. Furthermore, it is essential for the standards to be periodically updated with regards to professional staff, collection development, facilities, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and school library programs. Otherwise, MRLs risk being “hollow shells still considered on the periphery of core educational requirements, and are run by teachers not professionally prepared to do the work” (Hart, 2001, p. 25). The national standards published in the United States from 1918 to 2008 are well researched and provide substantive guidelines to develop school libraries. Therefore, it is essential for the MOE to formulate MRL standards by doing comparative studies of school library standards in other countries. These standards have to be mandatory and fully adopted by the schools. It provides opportunities for stakeholders like the LAS, National Library Board (NLB), the National Institute of Education (NIE), and the Singapore Teachers’ Union, to collaborate in the formulation of these standards and take collective ownership to implement them.     

Teacher and librarian collaboration: A qualitative study

The twenty-first century is marked by increased challenges in education and limited resources to address them. A solution proposed within school librarianship is teacher and librarian collaboration. This qualitative study examines the practices of highly collaborative teachers and librarians and identifies mechanisms that operate within schools to facilitate high-end collaboration. Five broad themes emerge from the data and identify essential elements of successful collaboration: school culture, positive attributes of collaborators, communication, management, and motivation. This study adds to the body of knowledge of teacher and librarian collaboration by providing empirical support for collaborative practices described in school librarianship literature. The model of teacher and librarian collaboration that emerged from the data provides a preliminary framework for high-end collaborative environments in schools. Of particular interest were findings regarding time management. Participants indicated that in spite of limited time, time issues are overcome when collaboration is highly valued.