College and Research Libraries ELIZABETH W. STONE Quest for Expertise: A Librarian's Responsibility A distinguished anthropologist, Ashley M ontagu, once wrote, "The deepest personal defeat suffered by human beings consists of the dif- ference between what one was capable of becoming and what one has, in fact, become."1 The purpose of this article is to focus atten- tion squarely on ourselves as librarians to see what gaps exist between perceived importance and actual involvement in the area of the aca- demic librarian's professional development and to develop action planning on the basis of the data . MucH HAS BEEN WRITIEN concerning the need for the continuing profession- al growth of college and university li- brarians, but the ideas expressed have generally been the feelings and supposi- tions of library administrators, library school professors, or library association leaders. The author knows of no study concerned directly with the perceptions of practicing academic librarians to- ward their own responsibility for pro- fessional growth and their own prac- tices concerning these activities. This es- say presents part of the findings from a study which presented an opportunity for a stratified random sample of sixty- eight college and university librarians (twenty-one graduates of the MLS class of . 1956 and forty-one MLS graduates of the class of 1961) to express their views concerning their responsibility in this area of growth and to reveal their practices in order to determine gaps be- Mrs . Stone is an associate professor an.d assistant to the chairman of the Graduate Department of Library Science at the Cath- olic University of America, Washington, D .C. 432 / tween what they think they should be doing and what they actually are doing for professional growth. 2 The college and university library participants placed greatest importance on . ( 1 ) reading professional literature in library science; ( 2) reading in their subject specialty; ( 3) attending library conventions or meetings; ( 4) recruiting for their profession; and ( 5) visiting other libraries. They placed least impor- tance on ( 1) participation in in-service training activities inside the library ( Rank 37 ) .; ( 2) formal course work to meet certification requirements (Rank 36); ( 3) formal course work at the post-MLS level in library science leading to a sixth-year credential (Rank 35); ( 4) service in political clubs (Rank 34); and ( 5) participation in honor so- cieties or fraternities (Rank 33). The findings revealed that the college and university librarian participants were chiefly involved (spending time .and energy) in reading professional lit:. erature in library science (Rank 1 ) ; reading in their subject specialty (Rank 3); visiting other libraries (Rank 3); at- tendance at library conventions or meet- ings (Rank 4); and recruitment for the profession ( Rank 5) -exactly the same activities which they considered to be the most important for professional growth. The college and university li- brarians further indicated that they were minimally involved in formal course work to meet certification re- quirements (Rank 36.5); formal course work at the post-MLS level in library science leading to a sixth-year credential (Rank 36.5); participation in employee unions (Rank 35); service in political clubs (Rank 34); and formal course work to qualify for salary increments (Rank 33). Thus, based only on comparison of overall rankings, the chief differences between activities considered important for professional growth of the college and university librarians and activities in which they were actually involved were at the lower end of the continu- um. They rated activities related to em- ployee unions, in which they were mini- mally involved, twelfth in importance out of the thirty-seven items listed and, rather surprisingly, they ranked in-ser- vice training activities least important but ranked it tenth out of the thirty-sev- en items on which they were spending tim e and energy (which would seem to have a message to give regarding the quality of the in-service programs in which they w~re participating). On the basis of the evidence present- ed, it might seem at first glance that college and university librarians could sit back and be well pleased with their efforts in the area of continuing educa- tion and professional growth. Were they not busily involved (except in two instances) in the very things they rated most important for professional growth, and least involved in those activities they deemed least important? Further analysis show.ed, however, that on an item-by-item basis, the librarians were spending far less energy and effort on the majority of the activities listed than Quest for Expertise I 433 they considered necessary for maximum professional development. 3 The activi- ties that showed the largest gaps be- tween importance and involvement were legislative promotion of financial sup- port of libraries; legal support of intel- lectual freedom; and support for li- brarians' tenure, retirement, and other benefits. From the data, some .aspects of the present character of librarianship be- come apparent. Evidently the librarians seemed to regard as more important those activities that are somewhat in- formal in nature and which provide so- cial contacts with others in the profes- sion. The librarians were much less con- cerned with activities which called for independent action, such as research, writing, formal course work, and study in small independent groups. These observations are reinforced by findings in other sections of the study which show that 87 percent of the col- lege and university library participants had not published any books in library science or in .any subject specialty; 81 percent had edited no library journals; 79 percent belonged to no individual study group; 7 4 percent had not en- gaged in any research since their MLS, nor did they belong to any learned soci- eties; 68 percent had not formulated any self-learning career agenda for themselves; 58.8 percent were not read- ing regularly any other professional journals (outside librarianship) at the time of the survey; and 58 percent had had no articles published during the last five years. IMPLICATIONS These findings suggest three problems. ( 1) The library school has not given sufficient attention to presenting its stu- dents with a clear and precise model of what one should be ab~e to do to quali- fy as a professional. If the library school does not instill this concept, it is 434 I College & Research Libraries • November 1971 difficult for the librarian to develop his own after leaving the university. ( 2) Li- brary administrators have not succeeded in «producing conditions where people and ideas and resources can be seeded, cultivated, and integrated to optimum effectiveness and growth."4 ( 3) The li- brarians themselves have not fully real- ized that an essential element in profes- sional behavior is clientele service based on expertise and on the willingness to do all that is involved in order to as- sume the role of expert. In this article, attention is focused on this third area. This study did not attempt to state what the ideal character of librarian- ship should be. But the data collected did suggest some objective nmms by which an individual librarian could compare his position within the profes- sion with other librarians. As part of the overall study, a Professional Index Score was derived which reflected twelve commonly held professional criteria. Based on the answers from the total nu1nber of respondents, scores were di- chotomized into a "high" and cclow" cat- egory. 5 Of the academic librarians, 7 4 percent fell into the cclow" category. Similarly, a level of aspiration score was derived (made up of certain profession- al and personal goals within the profes- sion of librarianship); 72 percent of the college and university librarians were in the "low" category when these scores were dichotomized. Writing to educators, Don Davies forcefully points out that a profession ... will be irrevocably shaped by that for which its members hunger most. If we hun- ger for the self-respect that comes with self-discipline and the courageous exercise of personal and professional autonomy, and if we hunger for expertness in all that we do as professionals, we shall be proud of our calling and our commitment to it, and we shall build a profession that will be able to provide the high-quality . . . service which the times demand. 6 Are the things that the librarians hun- ger for most-professional reading, at- tending meetings, recruiting, and visit- ing other libraries-the activities that would most effectively upgrade the pro- fession? What the librarian considers most important for his professional growth is one of the tangibles which will determine in what manner the pro- fession is upgraded. In essence, there would seem to b e two basic problems facing the profes- sion relative to the data presented. First, how to upgrade the level of what li- brarians consider most important for their own professional development. Second, how to bridge the gap between what the librarians are actually doing for their professional development and what they think they should be doing in those areas. The means that the librarians are us- ing to achieve professional growth are the old familiar ways that many other professions have tried. But, as Houle pointed out, in profession after profes- sion, these overworked standbys are be- ing examined in a new light. The uni- versal conclusion is that some form of strong correction is needed. 7 These al- tered means are based on the premise that every profession must be concerned with the education which occurs throughout the lifespan of its individu- al members and on the premise that one of the most creative and effective solu- tions to many complex problems is the development of programs that antici- pate the stresses of rapid and radical change. John Lorenz has sensed the ur- gency of this need. The development of strong programs for the coming decades demands from -· profes- sional associations, library schools, and li- brarians a commitment to the ideas of self- renewal and excellence in professional edu- cation, and to willingness to adapt to change, to utilize the knowledge of other disciplines in designing new libraries and new services to meet new needs. 8 Lorenz calls attention to one of the Quest for Expertise I 435 Rank According to Involvement (Range 1-3 7 ) Rank According to Type of Formal Importance (Range 1-37) Course Work 36.5 36.5 33 28 25 14 greatest needs-for professionals to take the commitment to continuing edu- cation seriously. If librarians are going to be victori- ous in their fight against obsolescence, it would seem that one area of primary focus would be formal study in a uni- versity setting following the MLS de- gree and experience in the field. In a re- cent article, Bennis emphasizes that at- titudes toward continuing education are changing. "The idea that education has a terminal point ... is old-fashioned. A 'drop-out' should be redefined to mean anyone who hasn't returned to school."9 One of the most revealing and alarming findings in the data collected was the attitude of academic librarians toward formal course work. In general, these librarians were neither hungering for nor did they attach much impor- tance to formal course work, nor were they involved in it to any great extent. Of all the activity items listed, formal course work received some of the lowest ratings both in importance and involve- . ment. For example, out of the thirty- seven items listed, various kinds of for- mal course work received the ratings given above by college and university librarians. This attitude toward forn1al course work is also noted elsewhere in the study by the fact that 93 percent of the col- lege and university library respondents 36 For post-MLS sixth- year credential in library science 32 For certification purposes 32 For qualification for salary increment 21 For master's in subject specialty 24 For Ph.D. degree 13 For general enrichment had not received a further advanced de- gree since receiving their MLS degree, and 62 percent had taken no formal study of any kind for credit following the receipt of their MLS degrees. But will the library schools be able to draw the busy professional away from his work to learn that which is new and dif- ficult in order to keep abreast of con- stant changes in a turbulent and uncer- tain environment? This presents a problem in motiva- tion. But the librarians themselves gave some valuable clues to solving the prob- lem. They stated forcefully that they were interested in taking only courses that were based on their actual job needs and those that were interdisci- plinary in their approach and instruc- tors who were more concerned about content presented than in fitting a stu- dent into a formal degree program. This general feeling was also rein- forced by the statistics presented here which show that the one type of formal course work rated in the median rank- ing for importance and involvement was the formal course for enrichment purposes. The respondents also suggest- ed that the content of courses might be packaged by the library schools and, making full use of the new media and technology now available, be made available to them wherever they might be located geographically. 436 I College & Research Libraries • November 1971 BATTLEGROUND FOR AcmEVING ExPERTISE: THE MIND OF THE PRACTITIONER College and university librarians are not actively pursuing obsolescence, but there are indications that some are pas- sively permitting it to overtake them. To obtain the expertise demanded by today' s faculty, students, and communi- ty, it is necessary to work individually to narrow the gap between what we are doing and what we are capable of doing professionally. We must become aware of our own needs for learning and real- ize that continuing education is not something done to someone, but rather something the individual must constant- ly do for himself. Examples of the realization of this concept are found in the spontaneous responses of the participants in the sur- vey. Continuing education is basically an individual responsibility for which one has to plan. If students graduate from an MLS program with the attitude that graduate school is a life-time guar- antee of professional competence, their minds may never be able to master the vastness of today's chal- lenges and problems. They will not be as literate as the people they serve. No matter what opportunities are made available by societies or gov- ernment, they are useless without individual initiative. The primary responsibility for the individual's continuing growth rests with the individual. Two signs of a professional are the individual's continually seeking oppor- tunities for development and further learning, and his realization that the main instrument or "tool" for him as a professional is himself and how cre- atively he can use his talents and train- ing. The respondents in the study indi- cated that a new kind of self-discipline and initiative are required. They sug- gested some important strategies for learning and pointed out areas in need of attention. How you grow depends upon you alone, but any growth should be based upon a considered view that the growth enable you to serve your clientele (not yourself) bet- ter. This calls for reassessment of our at- titude toward professional develop- ment. We must come to the full realiza- tion that one has entered a client-ori- ented profession which makes lifelong learning mandatory if one is to serve his clients with expertise. Further, it is a necessity if the librarian is to be looked upon as a professional by those he serves. A strongly stated presentation of the importance of client orientation is found in the recent article by Bundy and Wasserman, "Professionalism Re- considered."10 Classify impediments and favorable condi- tions . . . seek avenues of growth . . . plot a course of action and stick to it. ... decide on goals. The suggestion here is that the librari- an should carefully analyze his own needs and work out a plan for long- term professional growth to combat per- sonal obsolescence. A definite learning agenda is called for. Specifically, this would mean the formal writing of a statement of aims, definition of the areas for study, searching, reflecting and testing, and preparation of a list of pri- orities. Such a systematic approach to the matter of self-learning insures that time invested will be used efficiently and that efforts will be concentrated where most needed. An excellent checklist to guide the individual in the preparation of such agenda is the statement by Dill on "Strategies for Self Education."11 The problem in this area is, according to Knowles, "that education is not yet perceived as a lifelong process, so that we are still taught in our youth what we ought to know rather than how to keep finding out. One mission of the adult educator, then, can be stated positively as helping individuals to develop the at- titude that learning is a lifelong process and to acquire the skills of self-direct- ed learning. 12 He goes on to point out that, in a sense, the criteria of success of a human relations workshop, a staff meeting, or any given course is the ex- tent to which the participants leave the experience with heightened curiosity and the increased ability to carry on their own learning. Read! Widely! Outside library professional literature. Formal instruction in government, econom- ics information retrieval, education, public ad~inistration, sociology, all would be helpful. The librarian must recognize that he needs to study the basic disciplines which support librarianship-.and they are growing in number every year-so that he will be able to judge the appli- cability of their findings to his own work. The librarian cannot, of course, become a "professional" in all relevant disciplines, but he must be sophisticated enough to make competent use of the scientific knowledge that is available. The time has come when every compe- tent librarian, as every other profession- al practitioner, finds it necessary to be sufficiently well versed in all the disci- plines relating to his work to be able to read the literature and judge the ade- quacy of his findings and claims for himself. That is to say, the position of the librarian in relation to the social and behavioral sciences should be no different from that of the engineer in relation to physics or the doctor in rela- tion to biology and chemistry. Don't be afraid of innovation and change. We see fear everywhere that the non-book Quest for Expertise I 437 material is going to gain supremacy. Fear is nurtured by ignorance. Go to every course and workshop you can. The view expressed by this respon- dent reflects the contention made by Bundy and Wasserman that "Innova- tion remains on trial when it should be encouraged. The field stands conserva- tive and deeply rooted in the past at a time when such a stance exposes it to danger."13 One way to welcome innova- tion rather than flee from it in fear is to participate periodically in for- mal academic programs-whether of a course, institute, or workshop frame- work-in a university setting. At a uni- versity it is acceptable to be critical of the status quo, to experiment with new concepts and innovative ideas. Such re- turn trips to the university will broaden the librarian's understanding of his job and challenge him to replace old truths with new truths which he can later in- corporate into his job. By such proce- dures he can prevent change from out- dating his competence. The respondent suggested attendance at workshops, but it was found that during the last five years, 0.3 days per year was the median time spent in at- tendance at workshops or short courses by the academic library participants in the study. Further, 38 percent of the college .and university librarians report- ed that they had attended no workshops or seminars at all during the last five years. What we need most after we have been out in the profession is training in human rela- tions, personnel guidance and supervision. This statement points up the need of the individual librarian for sensitivity to human values as well as the necessity of stimulating the development of each individual in his library. As the librari- an moves from echelon to echelon, he needs help in directing effectively the work of other professional workers and 438 I College & Research Libraries • November 1971 colleagues. Skill in work direction in- volves, over and above all other ele- ments, understanding of human moti- vation and human relations-how to de- velop the full potential of each indi- vidual. These skills can be improved through classroom experience and prob- lem-solving situations; they can be im- proved through reading. Such study can give an understanding of theory which is basic for every manager as he directs others, because every decision he makes and every action he takes rests on the management theory which he holds and believes in. 14 But skill in social interac- tion does not come solely from lectures, discussion of the principles of supervi- sion, or reading. Research has shown that effectiveness in applying skills and practices in the area of human relations is also related to the impact of our be- havior on others. One recent method for developing skill in social interaction uses variant forms of sensitivity train- ing developed by a group of social sci- entists affiliated with the National Training Laboratory for Group Devel- opment.15 The purpose of the T -group (training group or sensitivity group) is to help individuals increase their un- derstanding of the impact of their be- havior on others, of their own reactions to the behavior they exhibit. That its consequences are of genuine signifi- cance is evidenced by the growing de- mand in many professions for oppor- tunities to participate in this form of education. Bennis sums up the need in this area: "In addition to substantive competence and comprehensions of both social and technical systems, the new leader will have to possess interpersonal skills, not the least of which is the ability to defer his own immediate desires and gratifica- tions in order to cultivate the talents of others."16 I'll suggest individual discussion groups to my colleagues. In making this statement, the respon- dent was referring to the value of the small voluntary study groups which, in recent years, have become an important extension of the principle of self-in- struction. The American Psychological Association has viewed them as loosely knit groups of people who meet togeth- er, correspond with one another, read papers to each other, circulate reprints, and generally stimulate one another through mixed collaboration and com- petition. In the literature they have been termed .. invisible colleges."17 It has been found that these groups have extraordinary importance, not only for their own participants, but also for other alert people who aspire to mem- bership. In the present study, 22.4 per- cent of the respondents indicated that they were participating in such groups. The suggestion here is that such groups are an excellent method for the profes- sional to use in constantly expanding his knowledge, and are a means of rein- forcing and strengthening existing pro- fessional associations. Engage in research and growth will follow automatically. Although many leaders in the profes- sion have emphasized the need for li- brarians to engage in research, it has generally been characteristic of the pro- fession to invite specialists from other fields to study the nature and needs of librarianship. These specialists from other disciplines do research, state their views and conclusions, and depart. Rare- ly does sustained research ensue on the part of the librarians themselves. In fact, this has been one of the charac- teristic differences between librarianship and other professions. In librarianship, leadership typically comes from the ranks of those holding office in profes- sional associations, while in scholarly disciplines, it comes from the produc- tion of research resulting in thoughtful publications. The importance of publishing the ideas and findings of research in a sci- entific manner, of making those materi- als visible to as wide a reading audience as possible, is also important. It was Dr. Abraham Flexner' s contention in 1915, and it stands as true today as the day he spoke his view to social workers, that "the evolution toward professional sta- tus can be measured by the quality of publication set forth.''18 He went on to observe that this was not the sole re- sponsibility of publishers, but the joint responsibility of all mem hers of the profession to provide a record that was scientific rather than merely journalistic in its character. Admittedly, it is difficult to get the re- sults of research published, but even without publication, the rewards of re- search are great to the individual, as the participant in this study indicated, and certainly all such research serves the ul- " timate objective of giving more expert service to the clientele. Admittedly too, not everyone is in- clined to do research himself, but just as important to the profession's overall research effort is a scholarly concern which · will cause the individual to in- terpret and apply the research of oth- ers. There is no value to research which in the end is not applied and tested. There are countless opportunities for the practicing librarian to research fur- ther within the profession by experi- menting with research findings not only in library science but also in the be- havioral sciences. Gomersall and Myers recently published a helpful article de- lineating ways and means of testing re- search findings in an organization set- ting.19 Individual growth will follow just as surely from the application and testing of research findings of others as from solving problems through the basic re- search activity itself. Librarians should get involved in non-li- Quest for Expertise I 439 brary activities in the community ... be ac- tive and alive, the rest of us are being judged by you. Some of the best minds in America are telling us that our nation today faces the most severe domestic crises we have confronted since the Civil War. In our cities we are faced with deep-seated problems which can be arrested and cured only by daring, imaginative, and cooperative action. There is no single group which can cure the situation. It is a job for everyone-a job in which librarians should be playing a major part as professionals in society. If we are to stand with other professions we must involve ourselves in community ac- tion as a means of serving our widest clientele-the public at large. 20 In short, to stand with other professionals in our society, the librarian must accept his share of responsibility for the environ- ment in which he operates; he must bring to these cmnmunity needs the full weight of his professional expertise. In order to bring expertise to the situ- ation, the individual librarian needs to see fully how the forming of objectives of library service should be related to major problems in society. He needs to "catch up" and to supplement preju- dices and beliefs with knowledge based on current sociological findings. Read- ing is helpful, but as most people grow older, they find it increasingly difficult to adapt to new ways. They are less ea- ger to experiment with the development of new procedures. To make their rea- soning processes more flexible and to acquaint them with possible approaches to increasing the effectiveness of library service to the community, they need de- tachment from the day-to-day routine of the library and the stimulus of new faces and new concepts. Here again the university is an environment which can satisfy such a need-if it recognizes the individual's special needs and provides individualized opportunity to seek the 440 I College & Research Libraries • November 1971 concepts and knowledge that are essen- tial in formulating ways and means of cooperating with other agencies in the community. CONCLUSION Margaret Mead stated one of the most vivid truths of our new age: "No one will live all his life in the world in- to which he was born, and no one will die in the world in which he worked in his maturity."21 Facts and conditions change. We must keep up with the facts and the conditions. Keeping up with the facts and conditions changes them. It is a fallacy to think we can solve the problem of obsolescence in any final sense. The belief that we can is a hin- drance to our thinking. What we need is some systematic process for confront- ing new facts and concepts continually. When we think we have slipped behind and we must run to achieve expertise, we are often discouraged. Why? Rather than be discouraged, it should be our strength and our hope, for we do not want any life pattern that holds us en- meshed and keeps us from becoming that of which we are fully capable of being. REFERENCES 1. Ashley Montagu, The Cultured Man (New York: Permabooks, 1969), p.3. 2. For complete study, which included find- ings relative to all types of librarians- public, school, special, and academic-see Factors Related to the Professional Devel- opment of Librarians ( Metuchen, N .] . : The Scarecrow Press, 1969). The questionnaire used in this section of the study was made up of thirty-seven items relating to the activities of librarians which may or may not be important for professional growth. Each participant was asked to indicate the relative importance of each activity as to whether he felt it was of "major importance," "fairly important," or of "little importance." At the same time, the librarian indicated in a second column whether his present involvement (in terms of time and energy expended) was "very much," "somewhat," or "little." Weighted ratings were then converted into weighted scores for interpretative and sta- tistical treatment and for comparison. Ac- tivities were ranked by "degree of involve- ment" according to magnitude of weighted scores thus derived. Responses relative to "degree of importance" of activities were accorded the same treatment. Rank order correlation coefficients were then computed to show relationships be- tween each category of librarians and their rankings for involvement and importance. In addition to this vertical comparison of the data, column by column, the responses were compared horizontally, item by item. In order to make a comparison between the perceptions regarding involvement and im- portance for each of the thirty-seven items, correlation coefficients were computed to show the relationships. 3. The paired t-test was applied on a hori- zontal basis to the thirty-seven activity ' items to measure the disparity between the degree of importance and the degree of in- volvement that was accorded each develop- ment activity. 4. Warren G. Bennis, "The Leader of the Fu- ture," Public Management 52:19 (March 1970). 5. Each of the responding librarians was as- signed a professional index score. The high- est possible score was fifty-two points. For purposes of analysis-so that the profes- sional index score could be related to other variables in the study-the correlation co- efficients were computed for the scores by dividing them into high and low groups. A score of twenty and above was placed in the "high" group; a score under twenty was in the "low" group. 6. Don Davies, "Professional Standards in Teaching; Moving from Ideas to Action," Journal of Teacher Education 13:191 (June 1962). 7. Cyril 0. Houle, "The Role of Continuing Education in Current Professional Develop- ment," ALA Bulletin 41:261 (March 1967). 8. John G. Lorenz, "The Challenge of Change," PNLA Quarterly 29: 13 (Oct. 1964). 9. Bennis, "The Leader," p.14-15. 10. Mary Lee Bundy and Paul Wasserman, "Professionalism Reconsidered," CRL 29: 5- 26 (Jan. 1968). 11. William R. Dill and others, "Strategies for Self-Education," Harvard Business Review 43:119-30 (Nov.-D ec . 1965). 12. Malcolm S. Knowles, Th e Modern Practice of Adult Education: Andragogy Versus Pedagogy (New York: Association Press, 1970), p.23. 13. Bundy and Wassem1an, "Professionalism R econsidered." 14. Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1960) , p.6. 15. Ibid, p.221-25. 16. Bennis, "The Leader," p.18. 17. Derek ]. de Solla Price and Donald de B. Quest for Expertise I 441 Beaver, " Collaboration in an Invisible Col- lege," American Psychologist 21:1011 (Nov. 1966). 18. Abraham Flexner, " Is Social Work a Pro- fession?," School and Society 1:901- ll (26 June 1915). 19. Earl R. Gom ersall and M. Scott Myers, "Breakthrough in On-the-Job Training," Harvard Business R eview 44:62- 72 (July- Aug. 1966). 20. John F. Mee, "Participation in Community Affairs: The Role of Business and Business Schools" (Research pap er, Division of Gen- eral and Technical Studies, Indiana Uni- versity, 1968). ( Mimeo.) 21. Margaret Mead, "Why Is Education Obso - lete?" (Thinking Ahead), Harvard Busin ess R eview 36:34 (Nov.-Dec. 1958).