ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL N ew s ■ J une 7 999 / 473 THE W AY I SEE IT by Mary Reichel and Marion T. Reid E d note: M o re t h a n 100 d e le g a t e s fro m n a tio n a l a n d i n te r n a tio n a l a s s o c ia tio n s o f lib ra ry a n d in f o r m a tio n s t u d ie s , e d to rs , a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l s c o n v e n e d in W a s h ­ i n g to n , D .C. fo r a tw o - d a y C o n g re s s o n P r o f e s s io n a l E d u c a tio n , A p ril 3 0 -M a y 1, 1999, s p o n s o r e d b y ALA. T h e C o n g r e s s a im e d to r e a c h c o n s e n s u s a m o n g s t a k e ­ h o l d e r g r o u p s o n t h e v a lu e s a n d c o re c o m ­ p e t e n c i e s o f t h e p r o f e s s i o n a n d o n s t r a te ­ Observations T h i s r e p o r t is o n e o f i m p r e s s i o n s a n d th o u g h ts, since th e re is a n e x c e lle n t su m ­ m ary o f th e C o n g re ss d o n e b y K en H aycock, U niversity o f B ritish C o lu m b ia a n d c h a ir o f th e Steering C o m m itte e , o n th e ALA W e b site fo r th e C o n g re ss ( h ttp ://w w w .a la .o r g /c o n - g r e s s /). T h e W e b site a ls o c o n ta in s b a c k ­ g r o u n d re a d in g , ACRL’s s ta te m e n t fo r th e C ongress, a n d c o p ie s o f th e talks. Participation at th e C ongress left m e w ith a n u m b e r o f q u e stio n s a n d c o n c e rn s a b o u t the p rofessional d e g re e a n d aca d em ic librarians. V a lu e s In c o n n e c tio n w ith th e s p e a k e rs a n d p a n els, p a rtic ip a n ts s p e n t tim e in sm all g ro u p s d is­ c u ssin g v alues, p h ilo s o p h y , a n d stra te g ies for actio n . It w a s c le a r th a t p a rtic ip a n ts w a n te d g ra d u a te s to h a v e carefu lly tu n e d abilities in s u c h a re a s as in te rp e rs o n a l skills, w ritte n a n d o ra l c o m m u n ic a tio n , a n d a p re d is p o s itio n to c o n tin u e to learn. T h e re w a s less e m e rg in g u c g ie s fo r a c tio n to a d d r e s s c o m m o n is s u e s a n d c o n c e r n s . a ­ T h e im p e tu s fo r th e C o n g re ss a ro se from c h a n g e s in n a m e o f so m e p ro g ra m s o f g ra d u ­ a te e d u c a tio n , th e s e e m in g lack o f a tte n tio n to c o re c o m p e te n c ie s, a n d th e n a tio n a l sh o rt­ a g e o f p r o fe s s io n a ls to w o r k w ith y o u n g p e o p le a n d d iv erse a n d u n d e rs e rv e d p o p u ­ lations. F o llo w in g a re re p o rts from tw o ACRL m e m b e rs w h o a tte n d e d th e C ongress. a g re e m e n t o n w h a t th e c u rric u lu m o r c o n ­ te n t o f lib ra ry a n d in fo rm a tio n sc ie n c e p r o ­ g ra m s n e e d to h a v e fo r th e n e w m illen n iu m . T o fo llo w u p o n th e w o rk o f th e C o n ­ gress, ACRL n e e d s to c o n tin u e o u r activities d e fin in g a n d p u b lic iz in g w h a t a c a d e m ic li­ b ra ria n s n e e d at th e b e g in n in g o f th e ir c a ­ re e rs in te rm s o f form al p re p a ra tio n . Ed u ca tio n a l roles It c ertain ly m a d e m e th in k to h a v e th e d i­ c h o to m y o f p ra ctitio n ers/e d u ca to rs re fe rre d to in m a n y pre sen ta tio n s. (Luckily, a n u m b e r of sp e a k e rs a c k n o w le d g e d th at w e a re all e d u ­ cators.) P e rh a p s this d ich o to m y has a d e e p e r g ro u n d in g in th e u n e a s y re cognition o f th e library a n d inform ation science faculty o f the p e d ag o g ica l a n d curricular role o f academ ic librarians as w ell as aca d em ic librarians’ role o f su p p o rtin g a n d ad v an c in g research. I fo u n d m yself very in te rested in p u rsu in g th e re lationship o f u n d e rg ra d u a te m ajors o r About the authors Mary Reichel is university librarian atAppalachian State University, e-mail: reichelml@appstate.edu; Marion T. Reid is dean o f Library and Information Services at California State University in San Marcos, e-mail: mreid@mailhost1 .csusm.edu; Reports from the Congress on Professional Education http://www.ala.org/con-gress/ http://www.ala.org/con-gress/ mailto:reichelml@appstate.edu csusm.edu 4 7 4 / C & R L N e w s ■ J u n e 1 9 9 9 m inors in in fo rm a tio n science (e.g., program s at U niversity o f Pittsburgh a n d U niversity o f N orth C arolina at C h ap e l H ill) a n d info rm a­ tio n literacy efforts a n d curriculum th ro u g h ­ o u t h ig h e r edu catio n. A cadem ic librarians a n d library a n d info rm a tio n science faculty ne ed to explore the conne ctions a n d gaps in o u r efforts. A closely related issue is the lack o f w ill­ ingness o f graduate program s to prepare li­ brarians for their te aching role. A lth o u g h this issue has b e e n a n o n g o in g co nce rn o f ACRL for m o re th a n 20 years, this area rem ains d efi­ cient in graduate program s, a p ro b le m for li­ brarians in all types o f libraries, as w as articu­ lated at the Congress. ACRL can b e p ro u d o f its Institute for In fo rm a tio n Literacy (IIL ) a n d the leadership role that it represents in pre­ p aring librarians for their e d u catio n al role. A t the sam e tim e, g rad uate pro gram s n e e d to accept th e im p o rta n c e o f le arn in g to te ach a n d in c o rp o ra te it fu lly in to the cu rric u lu m . A c c re d ita tio n Sue M artin, o f G eo rg e to w n U niversity, p ro ­ po sed in her presentation that ALA seriously study its accreditation process a n d lo o k at the possibility o f establishing w ith other professional organizations a separate accrediting body. This p ro p o sal has m u c h m erit (e v e n if the o u tco m e o f the process w as n o t a separate b o d y ), a n d ACRL m ay w a n t to use its in flu ­ ence to encourage ALA to p u t such a study h ig h o n its agenda. For m e, Congress clarified the n e e d to un d e rsta n d b o th th e ALA a n d NCATE accre diting v a lu e a n d process. ACRL’s n e e d to articulate program s a n d activities w ith lib rarians in th e K-12 sector p articu larly d e ­ m a n d s a n u n d e rstan d in g o f the role o f NCATE a ccre d itatio n, since m a n y sc h o o l lib rarians fo llo w th at path. Conclusion I learned n e w ideas a n d areas o f study from m a n y delegates to the Congress, b u t the d e l­ egates I le arned the m ost fro m w ere the cur­ rent students, those d o in g program s solely th ro u g h distance le arning a n d those in cam ­ p u s settings. W h ile m y overall reaction to the Congress w as to have real concerns a b o u t the ad eq uacy o f the Masters degree as the pre p a­ ration for academ ic librarians, m y interaction w ith students gave m e great h o p e fo r future generations o f librarians. — M ary R e iche l W hat have y o u d o n e fo r a lib ra ry sc h o o l lately? W e library practitioners are frequently at odds w ith library educators. W e take issue w ith the w ay things are taught n o w or if w e ’re o n a cam ­ pus that also has a library school, w e criticize aspects o f h o w it’s run. W e ’re concerned that those graduating n o w w o n ’t have the same val­ ues instilled in us during our library education. People are o ur m ost im portant resource. Edu­ cation o f o ur future librarians is the key to the security o f o ur future libraries, n o matter w hat their iteration. The best thing yo u as a practitio­ ner can d o is quit q u ib bling an d contribute to the education o f o ur future librarians. “I c an ’t d o th at,” y o u say. “I ’m n o t anyw here near a li­ brary school. A n d besides, th ey ’re all ch an g ­ in g their nam es!” W ell, listen u p . There a re things y o u can do. D rop th e n am e th in g A lo t has b e e n in the literature lately a b o u t “T he L W o rd .” S h o u ld library schools retain the w o rd “library" as part o f their nam es or n o t? I w as priv ile ge d to participate in discus­ sions at the ALA’s Congress o n Professional E ducation. There, a thread th ro u g h o u t the ses­ sions w as: q u it g rip in g a b o u t w h at a scho ol or pro gram is called. Barbara Spiegelm an, m a n ­ ager o f T echnical In fo rm a tio n Services at the W estinghouse C om pany, p u t it m ost succinctly: “W e m e n tio n ‘The L W o rd ’ as if w e ’re asham ed o f the w o rd ‘library.’ The m ore w e d o this, the m ore others w ill feel the sam e. W e ’re m o d ­ e ling b eh avio r w e d o n ’t w a n t to see o u t there.” So, stop “The L W o rd ” argum ents. Converse w ith educators • Find out what their challenges are; w h y som e o f their n e w faculty have P h .D .’s in fields o the r th a n librarianship; w h y they believe it app ro priate to chang e their p ro g ram ’s nam e. G e n u in e ly pose y o u r questions in a positive light, w ith o u t p u ttin g th e m o n the defensive. • Think about their situations. T hey are faced w ith significant d y n am ic tensions. Just lik e acade m ic librarians, they m u st m arshal finite resources w h ile p ro v id in g o p p o rtu n ity for creative n e w directions. Ju st lik e academ ic (c o n tin u e d o n p a g e 4 8 4 ) 4 8 4 / C & R L N e w s ■ J u n e 1 9 9 9 tered th ro u g h o u t are su c h first-person d e ­ s c r ip t io n s as Y u r i G a g a r in ’s r e m in is ­ cence o f the first space flight, the transcript o f th e last m o m e n ts o f the C h alle n g e r crew , a n d B u z z A ldrin’s ac­ c o u n t o f N e il (W h a t h a v e y o u d o n e . . . co nt. fr o m p a g e 4 7 4 ) librarians, th ey m u st hire p e o p le w ith o n g o ­ in g interest in q uality teaching, quality research, a n d q u a lity service. H ow ever, they m u st also p ro v id e high-quality graduates w h o pe rform w e ll fo r pragm atic em ployers. A nd , u n lik e aca­ d e m ic librarians, they serve tw o masters: prac­ titioners a n d their institutions. C ertainly, they w a n t to k n o w w h a t w e th in k , b u t the b u d g e t they receive is base d o n h o w w e ll their a d ­ m inistrative superiors ju d g e they are m e e ting the in stitu tio n ’s m ission. T hey m ay b e, for ex­ am p le , w a lk in g a tigh trop e stretched betw e en the needs o f the em plo ye rs in their reg io n a n d the m ission o f their in stitutio n to g a in in ­ te rnatio nal stature. G ive • Go to a library school reunion at ALA. T alk n o t o n ly w ith y o u r fe llo w classm ates a n d others y o u k n o w g rad uate d fro m y o u r institu­ tio n , b u t also w ith current faculty a n d fin d o u t w h a t they’re u p to a n d h o w y o u m ig h t h e lp. • Volunteer to help a library school p ro­ gram . E v e n if y o u ’re n o t in th e g e o g ra p h ic a l lo ca le o f a lib rary s c h o o l, c o n ta ct o n e a n d fin d o u t w h a t y o u can d o at a d istance. C an y o u p a rticip a te in a n e le ctro nic list? A nsw e r q u e stio n s o f a s tu d e n t fo r a p a rtic u la r a ssign­ m e n t relevant to y o u r expertise? B e p a ire d as a m e n to r w ith a student? • Offer an internship in the field. Li­ brary e d u c atio n is a b o u t b o th theory a n d prac­ tice. V olunteer to p ro v id e a practical experi­ ence th at allo w s a library scho ol stud e nt to g ra p p le w ith a real-life acade m ic library p ro b ­ le m a n d co m e u p w ith a so lu tio n . G iv e the stu d e n t b o th th e la titu d e to d o s o m e th in g m e a n in g fu l a n d the a p p ro p riate g u id a n c e a n d tools w h ic h w ill a llo w for success. B e honest in y o u r e v a lu a tio n o f th eir w ork. • Teach. V olunteer as a guest lecturer for a library scho ol class. B e com e a n ad ju n ct a n d A rm strong’s w a lk o n the m o o n . A p p e nd ice s offer a c o m p le te list o f m a n n e d flights in c h ro ­ n o lo g ic a l order, w o rld d u ra tio n a n d EVA (ex- tra-vehicular activity) logs, a n d the nam e s o f teachers a n d journalists selected in 1985 a n d 1986 p rio r to the C h alle ng e r disaster. D escrip­ tions o f h o w each g ro u p o f astronauts were chosen a n d a color section show ing N ASA m is­ s io n c re w p a tc h e s a d d v a lu e . $ 1 1 5 .0 0 . M acm illan. ISB N 0-02-864965-6. ■ te ach a n e ntire course. S tud ents better u n ­ d e rs ta n d m u ltip le p e rsp e ctiv e s w h e n th ey h a v e b o th full- tim e lib ra ry e d u c ato rs a n d practitio ners as th e ir professors. • Participate in professional com m it­ tees th a t c o n trib u te to lib rary e d u c a tio n . For e x a m p le , b e c o m e in v o lv e d in p e r tin e n t g ro u p s w ith in ACRL. T hese in c lu d e th e E d u ­ ca tio n a n d P ro fe ssio nal D e v e lo p m e n t C o m ­ m itte e o f th e Rare B o o k s & M an u scrip ts Sec­ tio n , th e E d u c a tio n fo r Library In s tru c tio n C o m m itte e o f th e In s tru c tio n S e c tio n , th e D istan ce L e arn in g S ection, o r th e c o n tin u in g e d u c a tio n co m m itte e s in th e C o lle g e Librar­ ies S ection, th e In stru c tio n S ection, th e Sci­ e nce & T e c h n o lo g y S ection, a n d the Slavic a n d Eastern E u ro p e a n Section. Seek a p p o in t­ m e n t to ALA s ta n d in g C o u n c il co m m itte e s, w h ic h d ire ctly address e d u c a tio n issues: the E d u c a tio n C o m m itte e a n d the A ccre d itatio n C o m m itte e . V o lunte er fo r th e site v isito r p o o l o f th e latter b o d y b y c o n ta c tin g A n n O ’N eil, d ire cto r o f A LA ’s O ffic e fo r A ccre d itatio n. • Give m oney. D u rin g th e Congress, I h e a rd th e story o f a lib rary e d u c a to r w h o gave b a c k to his lib rary sc h o o l one-tenth o f w h a t h e e a rn e d e a ch year. B u d g e tin g , after all, is w h a t y o u m a k e it. I ’m n o t a s k in g y o u to tithe; I ’m a s k in g y o u to c o n s id e r c o n trib ­ u tin g m o re th a n in th e p ast the n e x t tim e y o u get o n e o f th o se s o lic ita tio n letters or p h o n e calls fro m y o u r lib rary sch o o l. W h a t have y o u d on e fo r a lib ra ry school lately? N o w , d e a r c o lle a g u e , if y o u ’v e re a d th is fa r, I o ffe r y o u a c h a lle n g e : V o w th a t b y th is tim e n e x t y e a r, y o u , as a n a c a d e m ic lib r a r ia n , w ill b e d o in g m o re th a n y o u are n o w fo r lib ra ry e d u c a tio n . A fte r a ll, c o n ­ tr ib u tin g to th e e d u c a tio n o f n e w lib r a r ­ ia n s is o n e o f th e m o s t im p o r ta n t th in g s y o u c a n d o ! — M a r io n T. 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