An LIS student’s letter to the editor of LJ gave me pause. Krystal Taylor, studying at IUPUI (Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis), detailed the move her program is making from classroom-based instruction to almost 100 percent online delivery. A big-picture concern is evident: “What cost will this be to the library and information science field?” Her word for those completing an online MLS: lackluster.
Careers
Bringing it Back Home: How Do You…? | Not Dead Yet
By on May 9, 2013 Leave a Comment
Here’s a question for anyone who’s willing to share their library’s practice for sharing what you learn “on their dime.” How do you bring back to your library, and share with your colleagues, the information you gain at library-supported professional development activities (conferences, workshops, training, etc.)? I’ve read plenty about libraries’ missions and strategic plans, and so on, but I haven’t been able to find many specific descriptions, or examples, of what librarians are doing to share their knowledge learned at professional events.
Meet the Pierce Sisters, AKA the Future of Libraries | Not Dead Yet
By on April 30, 2013 6 Comments
Ever worry about where our profession is headed? I do—a lot—but then something happens to make me realize there is indeed a bright future for librarianship, and that library work still attracts talented, creative, and interesting people. I recently had the good fortune to meet two such individuals: Ashley and Heather Pierce. They’re sisters who both happen to work at the Harvard Law School Library (HLSL), and they’re both vibrant, motivated young women who enjoy their work immensely and are obviously committed to it.
Can We Talk About the MLS? | Editorial
By on April 29, 2013 155 Comments
Can we have a rational discussion about the MLS? Why is the MLS indispensable? What does it confer that could not be accumulated incrementally on the job just as well? Most important, can’t we have a fraternal, respected, and smart profession without overreliance on an expensive and unnecessarily exclusionary credential?
Holding Us Back | Office Hours
By on April 18, 2013 6 Comments
A new report from Pew Internet and American Life, “Library Services in the Digital Age,” should be required reading for all in LIS education, especially those involved in strategic and long-range planning. For LIS educators, this is yet another call to action for reevaluating core and elective course content.
My Friend Sarah, the Library Data Analyst | Not Dead Yet
By on April 15, 2013 Leave a Comment
I’m a true believer when it comes to qualitative assessment: give me a room full of people and an hour and I’ll gladly do a focus group, but quantitative assessment based on data and metrics? Not so much. In fact, not at all… until I worked on a survey project with Sarah Tudesco, an organizational [...]
You’re Interviewing them Too! Finding the Academic Library Job of Your Dreams | Backtalk
By on April 11, 2013 5 Comments
During the past twelve years, librarianship has been my ticket to adventure. Fueled by wanderlust and a burning curiosity about libraries and locations all over the U.S., I embarked on an expedition of discovery just after receiving my MLIS. During this journey, I worked on all three coasts and gained invaluable experience in academic libraries that included community colleges and universities large and small, public and private. I have seen exemplary practices and have survived dysfunction. I have interviewed countless times and have sat on the other side of the interview table as a search committee member on many occasions. Some of the places and faces I have encountered I miss dearly. Others looked best as they shrank in my rear-view mirror. I have laughed, I have learned. I have made mistakes that I’m hoping to help you avoid.
LIS Education Q&A with Toni Samek, 2007 Teaching Award Winner
By on April 2, 2013 Leave a Comment
To reconnect with them and catch up with their current thinking, we recently sent five questions to each of the first five winners of the LJ Teaching Award. Their thoughtful responses will be featured in this online series sponsored by ProQuest.
Our fifth and last interview: Toni Samek, winner of the first Teaching Award in 2007, is a Professor, School of Library & Information Studies at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton.
It’s About Time! Marketing Your Library’s Electronic Resources | Not Dead Yet
By on March 28, 2013 5 Comments
If you had told me when I was a newbie librarian a lot of years ago that I’d be co-authoring a book someday that had “marketing” in the title I would have (a) laughed and (b) told you “no way.” I didn’t see that in my future at all. Then 35 years passed. In the [...]
Lost Control? Not a Problem | Office Hours
By on March 25, 2013 8 Comments
In a discussion after a recent presentation, an educator stood to make a counterpoint to my take on participatory teaching. “I’m paid to have control,” she said. More than one person in the room gasped. I should have directed her to the new Horizon Report. Among the key trends identified as those impacting teaching and learning for 2013 is an emphasis on “open.” The report states, “Open is a key trend in future education and publication, specifically in terms of open content, open educational resources, massively open online courses, and open access.”
