Essential Skills for Corporate and Special Librarians

Abstract

Library science programs must be responsive to the wide variety of workplace needs to ensure that graduating students are prepared with appropriate knowledge and skills regardless of where their career path brings them, and to do so they must understand the various needs and expectations of the field. Through a nationwide study of over 2,000 current professionals and LIS faculty, this study examines the knowledge, skills, and abilities identified as core for special and corporate librarians. The results help establish a baseline of skills for corporate and special librarians, which will be of interest to current and emerging professionals interested in a career in these settings and could have implications for LIS education.     

Competency-based Professional Development

ABSTRACT

Professional development can be a challenge for LIS professionals upon leaving graduate school and entering the work force. Engaging in an ongoing self-assessment of core competencies can assist LIS professionals in meeting their career goals. The Multi-Subject Learning Survey (MSLS) was administered to practicing librarians for a self-assessment of their abilities. Responses were analyzed through SPSS software to ascertain levels of ability in eight categories. A t test was performed for any significant differences between the groups of librarians. The survey was effective in identifying skills for improvement. Potential use by administrators for professional development and career planning were identified.     

Sprouting STEMs: Recruiting future science librarians through an undergraduate science information internship

The challenge of recruiting science librarians is an ongoing issue, despite efforts to isolate, address, and remedy the deficiency. Most research has focused on investigating why current science librarians chose their careers and on ways library information science (LIS) programs can entice Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) candidates into science librarianship. At Brooklyn College, librarians created a science information internship for undergraduate science majors. By exposing these students to librarianship as a potential career path, we hope to attract and groom future science librarians. This article discusses the development of the internship, the challenges and successes of the pilot, and the assessment of the pilot for improvements and expansion.     

美国州公共图书馆员职业认证制度比较研究

美国各州已有公共图书馆员职业认证制度,其认证制度由各个州自行决定,差别较大。通过文献调研和比较研究的方法,对美国不同州的公共图书馆员职业认证制度进行分析,发现美国公共图书馆员职业认证制度包括以下特点:重视继续教育及职业发展;加强小型公共图书馆员认证;强化公共图书馆领导认证;政府成为认证制度的推手;职业认证成为一种趋势。美国公共图书馆的馆员认证制度可为我国公共图书馆员职业认证制度的建立和发展提供借鉴。     

Librarian Copyright Literacy: Self-Reported Copyright Knowledge Among Information Professionals in the United States

Librarians often act as default copyright experts at their institutions and thus must have an awareness of copyright law and practices. Nevertheless, there is little in the scholarly literature about how well informed librarians are about copyright law. Through a national survey of professional librarians, this study illustrates librarians’ self-perceived familiarity with copyright concepts, interests in training, and sources of support for copyright questions. The results will be of interest to library directors and library and information science (LIS) faculty and could inform curricular decisions in LIS schools and may also be applied to local professional development initiatives for librarians.     

图书馆员刻板印象视角下的图书馆事业边缘化分析

[目的/意义]根据图书馆员刻板印象的研究结论,对当今图书馆事业边缘化相关问题进行深入分析.[方法/过程]综合图书馆员刻板印象系列研究的成果,对与当今图书馆事业边缘化相关的4个议题--图书馆学理论和教育与实践相脱节、尴尬的图书馆学学科地位、图书馆员自我边缘化、图书馆学学生职业背离进行分析.[结果/结论]研究表明:①创造机会让学生深入参与实践,加强研究理论和教育对图书馆实践的专业化改造,可以解决图书馆学与实践脱节的问题;②专业化职业价值的展示与传递,是提升学科专业地位的潜在路径;③恢复图书馆学专业在实践中的话语权,重拾职业的专业自信,是解决图书馆员自我边缘化问题的最根本途径;④取消本科教育与提升未来职业者的专业认同感,是解决职业背离现象的可行方案.总之,解决图书馆事业边缘化诸多问题的根本途径是重塑对职业专业化的信仰.     

A Human Resources Dilemma? Emergent Themes in the Experiences of Part-Time Librarians

Although many newly-graduated librarians are applying for and accepting part-time library employment after graduation, little research has been done into what working part-time means for these early career librarians. This article, based on a survey of recent LIS graduates who have worked part-time, provides a snapshot of part-time library employment and the advantages and disadvantages it affords to new librarians. This information is particularly relevant in light of the difficult job market for entry-level librarians. All of the surveyed librarians have worked in at least one part-time professional or paraprofessional position in a library after receiving their degree. Many of these respondents describe holding multiple part-time positions and receiving low salaries and few, if any, employment benefits. The themes documented in the open-ended short answers of these part-time librarians will help to guide further research into the professional and personal impact of part-time employment.     

Crisis-Management Content in LIS Curricula: Developing a Model for Future Improvement

Abstract

Although the field of crisis management has grown considerably, academic curricula do not seem to have kept pace. This study investigates how library and information science (LIS) programs are addressing the need to provide adequate and relevant crisis management course content, so as to better empower librarians and other information professionals during community-based disasters and unpredictable circumstances. Twenty-eight ALA-accredited MLIS programs were evaluated. A four-phase model for evaluating crisis management content in LIS education (CM-LIS) has been developed. Crisis management topics were identified and categorized under the four phases: landscape survey, strategic planning, crisis management, and organizational learning. Six broad LIS subject modules were also identified to analyze the percentage of coverage of these topics. In the 264 course syllabi evaluated, curricula indirectly prepare librarians on how to meet and respond to crises and disasters within their communities; however, in many cases, this is given low priority. There is not a strong consideration for natural disasters and the societal calamities and unrest that dominate the media and occupy the minds of individual communities. This study gives insight into crisis-management education within LIS graduate degrees and should stimulate additional research to further investigate the preparedness of librarians and other information professionals to interact with communities in need in times of crises.     

A Critical Phenomenology of Whiteness in Academic Libraries

This exploratory qualitative study examines how whiteness functions in the field of library and information science (LIS) within higher education institutions. Utilizing a critical phenomenological approach, three questions guided the inquiry: (1) How is whiteness embodied by academic librarians, (2) What perceptions do academic librarians hold that contribute to the maintenance or disruption of habits of whiteness in libraries, and (3) How and where is whiteness embedded within academic library settings and the field of LIS?The aim was to begin understanding whiteness in libraries as an experientially-grounded and systemically reproduced phenomena. Four academic librarians participated in semi-structured interviews that explored participant identity and experiences with race, specifically whiteness, in their professional lives. Data were analyzed using a cyclical coding approach resulting in six themes. This research may contribute to a better understanding of the way libraries function as racial projects and can assist librarians in seeing the importance of adopting critical reflexivity as a tool for recognizing and disrupting systemic habits of white normativity in libraries.     

美国黑人图书馆事业发展研究

美国黑人图书馆事业在整个美国图书馆事业中占有重要的地位。在黑人馆藏、黑人图书馆员及其教育、独立黑人图书馆、黑人图书馆专业组织及黑人图书馆事业研究等方面要素的推动下,美国黑人图书馆事业大致经历了萌芽、奠基、发展、转折和今天的繁荣时期,黑人图书馆事业的发展历程反映了美国不同历史时期社会对待种族问题的态度,是美国社会民主进程的一个缩影。     

Web Duplicate Materials Exchange Program: The Library of Congress Takes International Exchange to the Internet

ABSTRACT

Despite demonstrated credentials, vast subject expertise, and knowledge of foreign languages and cultures, immigrants educated in schools of library and information science (LIS) in Eastern Europe (EE) and the former Soviet Union (FSU) face numerous challenges when trying to gain work as professional librarians in Canada. We introduce a model for retraining EE-and FSU-educated librarians to expedite their entry into professional librarianship in Canada without their having to undertake the formal requirements of a host-country graduate LIS degree. Taking into account and building upon their existing foreign-earned degrees, this retraining program will result in an ALA-accredited LIS degree that will allow foreign-educated immigrant librarians to compete on a level playing field with domestically educated librarians, thus eliminating discrimination based on what one labor economist calls the 'national origin of an individual's human capital.'     

北美生物情报学研究生培养现状与发展

研究和介绍生物情报学这门新兴学科的定义及其重大的学科意义以及与生物信息学的区别,总结北美图书情报学院设置的相关生物情报学近年来的发展概况, 重点分析北美生物情报学科建设,比较分析课程设置、职业发展以及人才培养及定位,并提出生物情报学学科建设的未来发展方向。     

中美高校元数据课程的现状与启示

对美国图书馆学会认可的图书情报学院和中国主要的图书情报学院开设元数据课程的情况进行了调研,分析了该课程开设的基本情况、课程内容、阅读材料、课程实习等信息,通过中美对比,提出了我国元数据课程教学的建议。     

iSchool毕业生在信息领域的就业分析及思考

调查分析iSchool院校的毕业生就业率、就业领域、影响求职的因素、求职时长、对职业的满意程度等情况,认为它带给LIS教育的思考是:LIS教育要面向更宽广的信息职业,要以提升职业竞争力为导向改革LIS教育的教学方式,要在融入信息科学的同时保持学科原有的特色。     

Leadership competencies and the importance of research methods and statistical analysis in decision making and research and publication: A study of citation patterns

The roles of academic librarians and administrators include the use of statistical analysis and general analytical abilities in their decision-making processes, as well as in their roles as researchers, in developing research collections, and in providing instruction and reference assistance for students and other researchers. The research presented in this article addresses the original research published in frequently cited library and information science (LIS) journals to consider the extent to which academic librarians and administrators conduct and publish original research and to evaluate the range of research methodologies used and the level of collaboration among academic librarians, LIS faculty members, and others. The research results extend the prior self-report research in this area and indicate that academic librarians, administrators, and LIS faculty are authors of most of the published research in highly ranked journals. The level of collaboration among those in different types of roles is limited, however. In addition, most of the research articles have been authored or coauthored by those in research university libraries.     

中美图情科研机构研究领域比较研究

科研机构在科学研究和技术创新过程中发挥着重要作用,对不同国家科研机构的研究领域进行分析有助于促进相互学习并提高合作的可能性。本文利用自组织映射(SOM)人工神经网络方法对87所中美图书馆学情报学(LIS)科研机构在技术维度的图书情报学领域研究进行可视化比较分析。研究发现,中美图情科研机构都与本国同行具有更相似的研究领域。根据其研究领域的相似性,共识别出八组国际潜在合作机构和七组国内潜在合作机构,最后分析了中美图情机构的热点与特色研究领域。该研究发现有助于更好地了解中美图情机构在技术维度的图书情报学研究领域的相似性与差异,为相关科研机构寻找潜在的合作对象,跟踪国外热点研究领域,发现自身研究的不足提供决策支持。图1。表6。参考文献42。附录1。