Search

This section offers news briefs related to the American Library Association (ALA). A definition of digital preservation was published by the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS). Former basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has been chosen as 2008 honorary chair of the Library Card Sign-Up Month in September. The Committee on Accreditation has granted continued accreditation status to the Master of Information Sciences program offered by the University of Puerto Rico.

Focuses on programs offered at schools of library and information science (LIS) which expand the mission of library education. Benefits of information and technology oriented programs; Background on LIS programs; How the programs offer alternatives to information-related degrees; Challenges of degree programs; Student perspectives on the Information Technology and Informatics program at Rutgers University, New Jersey.

The article comments on the role of the lack of consensus both in library school curricula and in libraries in the conflict between library and information studies (LIS) educators and practitioners in the U.S. It describes the absence of a core curriculum in LIS schools. The implications of the outsourcing of the core services of libraries are outlined. It discusses the uncertainty facing the careers of certified librarians.

Reports that the School of Information Management and Systems at the University of California/Berkeley decided not to seek American Library Association accreditation for a master's degree program in information science. How the previous accreditation ended; The issue of how the lack of accreditation might impact graduates' ability to get jobs; Comments of Hal Varian, dean of the school.

The author reports on her experiences as a Fulbright Scholar teaching library science at Jimma University in Jimma, Ethiopia. She describes the need for library education, the classes that she offered in library and information science, and the difficulties of teaching and living in Ethiopia.

The author discusses his experience of teaching an undergraduate course titled Intellectual Foundations of Informatics in which students discussed how knowledge and authority are constructed, individually and collectively. Topics include vocabulary control and bibliographic database searching, and the tendency for people to believe things that are patently untrue and unsubstantiated.

Highlights the Association for Library and Information Science Education Annual Conference held on January 16-19, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. Theme of the event; Total number of attendees; Topics discussed; Key speakers.

If you asked any of the 358 Association of Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) conference registrants what is at the top of the ALISE agenda, you would likely be told: connecting library and information science education with the practice of librarianship. Composed primarily of professors and doctoral students, the assembly also seemed fairly certain about where library and information science education (LIS) is headed: Clearly away from "L," definitely toward "I," and less clearly toward a lot of other letters that stand for dozens of related careers. Programs at the 2003 ALISE conference, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, examined the theme of "connecting researchers and practitioners" within the framework of a "Declaration of Interdependence." Yet the lack of a core connection between the disparate offerings of most library school programs brought charges that whatever LIS education is preparing students for, it isn't a career in a library. ALISE President Elizabeth Aversa of the University of Tennessee said a search was about to begin for a new management firm to run the association. President-elect Peter Liebscher of Catholic University, who chaired the Philadelphia conference-planning committee, shocked many when he announced that he would resign, rather than take office in Philadelphia as scheduled. He cited health reasons, and new president-elect Louise Robbins agreed to assume the office a year sooner. Speakers at more than a dozen Special Interest Group sessions talked about diversity, archives and records management, continuing education, curriculum development, teaching methods, distance education, and other aspects of LIS education.

Discusses the various aspects of professionalism among librarians. Consideration of the status of librarians who have taken courses to receive a Master of Library and Information Science (MLS) degree; Suggestion that library schools should teach leadership and management skills; Role of librarians in the working world.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to "Squeezing Out Specialists," about library and information science (LIS) education which appeared in the May 2009 issue of "American Libraries."

This article states that the Institute of Museum and Library Services has awarded nearly $1 million to American Library Association's OFD and the University of Pittsburgh's School of Information Sciences for the new Spectrum Doctoral Fellowship that will offer tuition support and stipends to 10 full-time library and information science doctoral students for four years of study. One of the doctoral fellowships to be awarded to an applicant interested in pursuing executive-level library management will be named in honor of Elizabeth Martinez, Spectrum founder and ALA executive director from 1994-1997. Fellows will be required to attend the all-expense-paid E. J. Josey Doctoral Leadership Institute, named in honor of the University of Pittsburgh professor emeritus, to be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association for Library and Information Science Education, January 15-18, 2007, in Seattle, Washington.

Provides information on the Publishing for the Library and Information Science Profession online course which Laurie Putnam, an adjunct faculty member at San Jose State University's School of Library and Information Science in California, use to encourage student librarians to actively develop their communication skills. Diversity of the group participating in the online course; Projects published through the program; Opinion of students on the course.

Discusses the relationship between state library associations and library and information science schools. The chapter's view of library educators; Reference to the 1999 conference of the Association for Library and Information Science Education; The need for recruitment and scholarships for the profession.

States that ALA Executive Director Thomas J. Galvin accepted the position of professor and director of an interdisciplinary doctoral program in information science at Rockefeller College, University at Albany, State University of New York. Position that he leaves at ALA and highlight of his work; His comment about the doctoral program, which is linked to the Institute for the Study of Information Science and collaborates with several academic units of the university.