ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 1 6 6 / C &RL News W here are all th e sc ie n c e librarians? B y S u s a n M . V a z a k a s Chemistry, Physics, and Astronomy Bibliographer Boston University and Camille Clark Wallin Librarian LABAT-AND ERSON, In c * W hat you can do to combat the science librarian shortage. I t is generally acknowledged that there is a shortage of librarians with backgrounds or training in the science and technology fie Anne Beaubien, the President of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) chose “recruitm ent” as a them e for 1991-92, with an emphasis on hard-to-find specialties such as sci­ ence. How can those of us already in the profession do our part to help increase the num bers of current and future librarians who will practice in science, medicine, or technology? Recruitment efforts should be intensified, and can take place at the levels of undergraduate student, library school student, li­ brary professional, and professionals outside li­ brarianship. R e c r u it in g a t t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e l e v e l A largely untapped reservoir of library science recruits can be found among the undergraduate population. According to a 1988 survey, only 29% of some 1,547 library school students had chosen a career in the library field prior to getting their bachelor degrees.3 Academic librarians are in a unique position to reach many students who have not yet declared their majors or have no idea about what they would like to do after they graduate. At the reference desk, during library tours, and during formal and informal bibliographic instruction, there are opportunities to talk about what we do and what steps are required to becom e a librarian. Sci-tech ld librarians who teach subject-specific library re­ source seminars and classes should mention either st.o1,2 the students or to the instructor that they would be happy to discuss opportunities in science librari- anship with any student who might be interested. T h e p e r s o n a l a p p r o a c h Because most colleges and universities across the country do not have library schools, independent study courses done cooperatively betw een the de­ partm ent and an academic librarian provide a rare opportunity for undergraduates who have an inter­ est in libraries to get some exposure to the field under the tutelage of a professional librarian. To this end, science librarians should take a particular interest in student workers who are science majors. They may be student assistants in the academic library, sum m er interns in a corporate library, or pages and library aides in the public library. Speak to them one-on-one about librarianship. Since they are already working in a library, they will be recep­ tive to what you have to say. Along this same vein, special librarians at science and technology firms in cities without library schools can advertise for stu­ dent help or sum m er co-ops and internships through science departm ents at nearby campuses. A 1979 survey at the George Peabody College for Teachers School of Library Science found that 87% of the respondents had previous library experience, such as working as a student assistant, and 34% said * Under contract to the Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory Library o f the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency March 1992 /1 6 7 theywereinfluencedin their careerchoice by librarians.'1 Clearly, this personal approach is an effective means to reach the undergraduate student. I n t h e lib r a r y s c h o o l s I f som eone who is studying for an MLS has not yet given m uch thought to specializing in a p articu ­ lar type o f service or type o f library, a class in an area the stu d e n t finds interesting m ight tip th e scales for th at person. Accordingly, i f o n e ’s library school has a good course in the literature o f science and technology, one m ight becom e inte rested enough in the area to w ant to learn m ore about it and perhaps becom e a science librarian. This assumes th at two conditions are p resent, however: th at the library school has a sci-tech course, and th at the professor o f th e course has personal experience w ith the literature and is able to p re se n t it clearly and in a way th at is interesting. This is certainly not always the case. O ne of th e authors h ad a sci-tech professor with a background in religion. H e as­ signed only one project for the entire sem ester: each student was to choose a subdiscipline in sci­ ence or technology, such as botany or pharmacy, and deliver a presentation on th e tools one could use to find inform ation in th a t area. T he students en d ed up attem pting to teach them selves how to use specialized bodies o f literature with no guidance w hatsoever from th e professor. They learned little, and m uch worse, becam e frustrated by th e science and technology literature. C o u r s e s i n s c i e n c e / t e c h n o l o g y l i t e r a t u r e Unfortunately, statistics on how m any accred­ ited library schools in the country offer a course on the literature of science and technology th at is separate from th e regular reference course are not available.5 Some schools do n ot offer such a course at all. O th e r program s have a sci-tech course in the c u r r i c u lu m , b u t h a v e o n ly u n q u a li f i e d o r underqualified people to teach it. This should not be surprising; if only 5%6 o f all MLS degrees are taken by people with a science background, it is logical to assume th at an even sm aller n u m b er of library school professors have such a background. At th e o th er end o f th e spectrum , however, are a handful o f program s th at offer specialization or joint degrees in library science and a scientific field. Southern C onnecticut State University’s School o f Library Science and Instructional Technology of­ fers a dual m aster’s program — the graduate emerges with an MLS as well as an M.S. in chemistry. T he program at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, provides an MLS with a specialization in chemistry, requiring a bachelor’s degree in ch em ­ istry or its equivalent for adm ittance. G raduates of Indiana’s program currently hold positions at Dow Chem ical Com pany, Union Carbide, Bell L abora­ tories, the National Institutes of H ealth, the U ni­ versity o f Indiana library system, and Chemical Abstracts Service, to nam e just a few. Catholic University o f Am erica in W ashington, D.C., offers a choice: a joint M . S./MLS degree in library science and biology, or a specialization in biom edical infor­ m ation services. Awareness of such program s by m em bers o f th e profession and sci-tech librarians in particular is essential. Support such program s by informing science undergrads and others about them, and by requesting brochures to post on science depart­ ment bulletin boards around campus. I m p r o v i n g li b r a r y s c h o o l s c i e n c e e d u c a t i o n W hile these types o f program s are invaluable for providing specialized scientific backgrounds for future librarians, they are few and far betw een. If the adm inistrators o f a given library school program plan to offer a sci-tech course, th ey should attem pt to hire som eone w ho is familiar with th e literature. H iring a librarian from a science, medical, or tech­ nology library, e ither academ ic or corporate, as a Much o f the science phobia prevalent among librarians w ithout any science background is simply the lack o f experience w ith the material. visiting or adjunct professor would seem to be a sensible and reasonably uncom plicated way to pro­ vide a m uch n e ed e d course for library science students. In addition, if library science program s w ere to offer a sci-tech course at least once a year, greater num bers o f students w ould have th e opportunity to be exposed to such literature, a nd therefore the degree o f “science phobia” among these potential future sci-tech librarians would b e lessened. Much o f th e science phobia prevalent am ong librarians w ithout any science background is simply the lack o f experience w ith th e m aterial, and a solid, inter­ esting course would do w onders tow ard dispelling such impressions. Like those recruiting science librarians at the u n d e rg ra d u a te level, library science professors should make a point o f explaining th e m ore practi­ cal considerations of science librarianship: that science librarians are very m arketable and in m uch dem and; th at th ere are terrific internships available such as the one at the N ational L ibrary of M edicine; O u r L ib r a r y o f C o n g r e s s C la s s if ic a t io n C u m u la t iv e S c h e d u l e s a n d I n d e x e s o f f e r m a n y a d v a n t a g e s o v e r t h e c o m p e t it io n : — All LC Additions & Changes are integrated with the basic LC schedules into one book, so that the cataloger only has to look in one place to find the most up-to-date classification numbers. — Supplements are published quarterly, after the issuance o f each LC Additions & Changes List. T he competition only supplem ents their schedules annually. — Each schedule is attractively bound in a sturdy three-ring loose-leaf binder, with each major section divided by tabs for easy access. Compiled by Larry D. Dershem Class H Subclasses HM-HX Social Sciences $75.00 Class H Subclasses H-HJ Social Sciences: Economics $95.00 Class Z Bibliography and Library Science $95.00 Class J Political Science $100.00 Also available are the schedules and indexes for Class K Subclass KF (Law o f the United States, 2v., $ 110); Subclass K (Law, General $60); Subclass KD (Law o f the United Kingdom and Ireland, $75); Subclass KE (Law o f Canada, $75); Class KDZ, KG-KH (Law o f the Americas, $85); Class KJV-KJW (Law o f France, $85); Class KK-KKC (Law o f Germany, $95); and Class KJ-KKZ (Law o f Europe, $95). Estimated annual cost o f updating: $52.50 per volume The process o f cataloging library materials is time consuming and expensive. Why not give your technical services department the edge by purchasing our time saving LC Classification Cumulative Schedules and Indexes today! To place an order, call or write: F re d B. R o th m a n & Co. 10368 West Centennial Road / Littleton, CO 80127 (800) 457-1986 March 1992 /169 and th at corporate libraries in engineering firms and biotechnology firms, to name only two, offer attractive salaries to those with such background or training. In addition, government m egaprojects like the H um an G enom e Project and national labo­ ratories such as Los Alamos are desperate for infor­ m ation specialists, and have even allotted portions of their multi-billion-dollar budgets for the hiring of such persons. R e c r u i t i n g w i t h i n t h e p r o f e s s i o n This level would perhaps be the hardest at which to recruit science librarians. Usually by the tim e one has obtained a professional position, s/he has cho­ sen, at least initially, an area of librarianship such as academic librarianship, or a specialty such as social science, in which to work or concentrate. In addi­ tion, people w ithout a science background can be intim idated by the thought of having to get a handle on imposing sets like Chemical Abstracts. This is certainly understandable; one o f the authors, who hasn’t a scrap of experience with business literature, breaks out in hives w hen she even walks past item s like Standard and Poor’s Register o f Corporations, Directors, and Executives. However, someone who has experience using the science and technology literature, and enthusiasm for doing so, can explain the ins and outs of the m ajor tools clearly, and make it interesting, to his or her colleagues. This kind of explanation can be accomplished through anything from an informal m em o to an in-service training presentation, such as th at held by one o f the authors w hen asked by h e r colleagues to explain the ar­ rangem ent o f chemical compounds in some o f the reference sources. R e f e r e n c e q u e s t i o n s — m o r e t h a n j u s t s c i e n c e In academic science libraries, the reference ques­ tions are not all about designing solid rocket boost­ ers or isolating plant alkaloids. Science, m edicine, and technology are the underpinnings o f m uch of today’s society, and have becom e a factor in almost every societal situation that arises. As a result, the variety of information required by students and researchers covers the entire spectrum o f subjects. T here are class projects about conservation o f the rain forests, degradation o f the ozone layer, the ethics o f organ transplantation, biodegradable m a­ terials, and patenting microorganisms. A science librarian m ight get a legal question about recent legislation concerning pesticides, a policy question a b o u t th e fu n d in g o f th e S u p e rc o n d u c tin g Supercollider, or a business question about the conflicts o f interest betw een university scientists and the biotechnology industry. Recently a student with an art history major and a chem istry m inor re q u este d a com puter search about the weathering o f m arble— she was applying for an internship at Boston’s M useum o f Fine Arts! T he variety of questions is boundless, and librarians with back­ grounds in history, archaeology, public policy, law, or the social sciences are extremely valuable as science librarians because they are able to provide more com­ plete answers to multidisciplinary inquiries. W ith the c u rrent staffing shortages and the effort it takes to hire and train a professional librarian, an article whose intent appears to be to spirit away everyone’s b est people to the land o f science librari­ anship m ight not be appreciated. T he recruiting efforts the authors discuss in this article are aimed at college science majors, librarians who are just starting th eir professional careers, and profession­ als who are interested in a change o f specialization or simply wish to expand their horizons. As science librarians, it falls within our professional responsi­ bility to publicize opportunities in science librarian- ship for these groups and educate those interested about what we do. The “Each One Reach One” cam­ paign developed by the ALA Office for Library Person­ nel Resources7 works especially well in the realm of science librarianship and should be encouraged. O t h e r p r o f e s s i o n a l r e c r u i t i n g s t e p s Small steps within the professional milieu that simply provide exposure to science libraries and w hat science librarians do can also be very helpful in the recruiting effort. F o r example, within aca­ dem ic library systems, job rotations to branch li­ braries whose collections are science- or technol­ ogy-oriented would acquaint or reacquaint non­ science colleagues with the literature and the clien­ tele from those fields. W hat about “exposure” o p ­ portunities at library conferences? O pen houses and program s sponsored by th e science and tech­ nology sections o f both ALA and SLA are excellent opportunities to acquaint one with science librari­ anship and the scientific literature. F o r example, ACRL’s Science and Technology Section is planning a preconference in New Orleans in 1993 on training non­ science librarians to do science reference. O u t s i d e t h e p r o f e s s i o n So how do we reach the potential librarian who is working in a different field altogether? I n a survey conducted by Pearson and W ebb8, over 70 percent o f library school students worked full-time in other fields before deciding to becom e librarians; 63 p e rce n t o f these “m ade an outright career change into librarianship.”9 They are the science journalist who is browsing th e latest scientific and medical periodicals, the high school chem istry teacher, the indexers and abstractors at scientific publishing firms, the graduate student who asks a question 24,000 ways to make a difference: ► To Patrons: New Products to Support On-line PACs put patrons ► Gaylord's 1992 Catalog features over in touch with information faster and easier than ever. 24,000 products, including over Handicapped-Access innovations help you comply 400 brand-new ones. with the new "Americans with Disabilities Act." 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If you haven't yet received your copy of Gaylord's new 1992 Catalog, a toll-free call can make all the difference. ► 1 -800-448-6160 Gaylord Bros., Box 4901, Syracuse, NY 13221 March 1992/171 about biosensors at th e reference desk, the editorial assistant betw een assignments at a scientific p u b ­ lishing house, and the secretary with a degree in zoology who loves to read. I f one o f th em knows you are a science librarian, they m ight approach you and ask w hat is involved in becom ing a librarian. Tell them how they m ight b e well suited to this area of librarianship because of th eir familiarity with librar­ ies or the information industry and their inherent interest in the sciences. C o n c l u s i o n Sharing inform ation and practical tips about recruiting m ight be the most im portant strategy of all. T he “E ach O ne Reach O ne” concept m entioned previously w ould be extremely p o ten t if m any o f us p u t it into practice. Institutions should develop models and practices based on those th at are m en­ tioned in th e literature or discussed at conferences: plans for how library schools can keep a high profile within th eir institutions and for how librarians can help dispel stereotypes about the profession10; bro­ chures outlining em ploym ent opportunities in sci­ ence by geographical region11; and even m ore am ­ bitious long-range plans, such as library schools im plem enting joint degrees with scientific or tec h ­ nological disciplines. Sci-tech librarians have a re ­ sponsibility to take the lead in som e of the ways described here. T hose o f us who do not have science back­ grounds n e ed to b e aware o f opportunities in sci­ ence libraries for ourselves (job rotation, in-service training) and for others. Scan the job listings for science librarians, know the nam es o f science li­ brarians at nearby universities and special libraries so you can always get additional information for a potential recruit, i f you cam e to librarianship from another field, do your form er colleagues know what you’re doing now? Be available to those who m ight be in terested in a career change. You already speak th eir language— speak to th em about librarianship! Last b u t not least, being a science librarian is fun. You can get great satisfaction from knowing that w hen desperate graduate students come looking for dictionaries to help them w ith their language ex­ ams, you can actually produce one th at covers high energy physics in English, F rench, Russian, and G erm an. O r knowing how to locate a technical report from NASA or a p a tent application from J apan for a n ew technology because the director for R& D at your corporation needs it for the coming year’s R&D plan. Most satisfying o f all is helping out the undergrads who have n ever before set foot in a university science library; showing them the array o f subjects covered by the indexes and how to find all sorts o f n e ed e d information about th eir p aper topics. T he best thing they can say byw ay of thanks is “Wow, I never knew stuff like this existed!” NOTES 1L. Brown, “R ecruiting science librarians,” in Librarians f o r the N ew M illennium , W. M oen and K. Heim , eds. (Chicago: American Library Associa­ tion, 1988), pp. 65-71. 2W. M oen and K. Heim , “T he class o f 1988: Librarians for the new m illennium ,” American L i­ braries (N ovem ber 1988): 858-61. 3R ichard C. Pearson and T. D. W ebb, "The new librarians: How pre p are d are they?” Library Jour­ nal (S eptem ber 1, 1988): 132-34. 4Ibid., p. 133. 5Office o f Library Personnel Resources, Am eri­ can Library Association, personal communication. 6Brown, "Recruiting science librarians,” p. 65. 7M oen and H eim , “T he class o f 1988: Librarians for the new m illenium ,” p. 860. 8Pearson and W ebb, “T he new librarians: How pre p are d are they?” p. 133. 9Ibid. 10B. Dewey, “Selection o f librarianship as a ca­ reer: Implications for recruitm ent,”J o u m a lo f E du­ cation f o r Library and Inform ation Science 26 (Sum m er 1985): 16-24. "Brown, “Recruiting science librarians,” p. 68. ■ ■ Preparing to be a science librarian in college As an u ndergraduate with a biology major, I assum ed th at all librarians had hum anities or English literature backgrounds. U ntil an aca­ dem ic librarian told m e th at having a science degree would be extremely valuable in a career in th e library field, it had never occurred to me to becom e a librarian. T he zoology course at my undergraduate institution re q u ire d students to survey and review the literature on a selected animal species in a com prehensive term paper. I had always been interested in libraries, so I spoke with my advisor in the biology departm ent and with a reference librarian, and was able to get approval for an individual study course. T he librarian introduced m e to th e various collections in the library and to basic biblio­ graphic resources such as Sheehy’s Guide to Reference Books. She also assigned selected readings in th e library literature and had me observe online searches. My final project was to develop a p athfìnderforthe biotechnology litera­ ture, which later becam e p art of the library’s series of pathfinders. This early exposure to the field of librarianship was the determining factor in my decision to become a science librarian.— C C W