During the last three decades, the librarian has come a long way from the stereotype who cataloged, shelved and checked out books-and sometimes put a judicious finger to lips to demand silence.
While the essence of the job-storing and retrieving information-remains the same, technology and new perceptions of the librarian`s role have changed the way universities are teaching it.
Advances in technology have put enormous pressures on library science schools to teach skills that are relevant in today`s job market. Aside from instruction in practical computer usage, skills involving evaluation methods of system formats as well as financial analysis of information costs are among the subjects being taught.
Integration of those skills with those of other professions present additional challenges to schools` curriculums.
”There`s a shift in the perception of librarianship from being a not-for-profit service profession to that of an entrepreneurial one,” said Michael Koenig, dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Rosary College in River Forest. ”We`ve started joint-appointment programs wherein a professor can teach in both the library and business schools with half his salary paid by each.
”Our curriculum is constantly being re-evaluated to give our graduates skills needed to market themselves. Businesses are beginning to look at librarians more as information specialists and as vital components to the company`s profit-generating objectives.”
For example, librarians no longer are relegated to behind-the-scenes support but are being placed on the front lines. At many advertising agencies, librarians are asked to accompany the creative team to client presentations. After preparing all the product and marketing research that may be needed for the meetings, they supply data and statistical information and help interpret of it for the clients.
Rosary is one of three Illinois schools that offer master`s degrees in library science and are accredited by the Chicago-based American Library Association. The other two are the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and Northern Illinois University in De Kalb. There are 52 schools nationwide with the credentials.
Over the last 30 years, the move in library schools has been predominantly in the direction of understanding the technology of information retrieval. But today that is decreasing, to allow for a broader base of knowledge.
Although many schools do continue to emphasize this technical side of their curriculum, Deanna Marcum, dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Catholic University of America in Washington is attempting to give students a more balanced course offering. Faculty and administrators have developed a Books-Arts Program, in which courses take an in-depth look at books as artifacts and transmitters of culture. This program has been able to accommodate those students interested in more scholarly pursuits.
”It`s been very well-received by our students as well as our faculty,”
Marcum said. ”Its success is in its responsiveness to student needs, which makes our program as a whole much more credible and responsible.”
At the U. of I., for example, a master`s student in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science has devoted many years to cataloging Mongolian and Tibetan literature.
As part of an internship program, he is using the skills he has learned to index information that has never been recorded so that it someday may be of use to people all over the world.
”He has never gotten onto the computer. He has typed everything himself,” said Leigh Estabrook, dean of the graduate school, adding that the student never wanted to put his work on computer.
”He`s a brilliant linguist with superb cataloging skills and is doing something extremely unusual and esoteric. He has a unique kind of talent and knowledge for something very few people know anything about. We`d never want to abandon this kind of research.”
She cited this as an example of how non-technical work and obscure research still have a place within a curriculum that focuses on building technical expertise and job skills.
For most universities, curriculum revision is a continuing process.
”Our policy is to keep as flexible as possible,” said Cosette Kies, chairwoman of the department of library and information studies at NIU. ”We are currently instituting two new courses. One is titled Library Marketing and explores libraries as institutions for the public at large. The other is Reading Interests of Adults, which instructs librarians on how to advise people regarding book selection.”
The U. of I.`s curriculum is constantly changing, although some courses remain staples. Storytelling, originally offered in 1955, is still listed, along with Interactive Systems Design, which was added to the curriculum in 1988. The latter course deals with ”user-friendliness” and the human factors in the design of software systems.
Estabrook sees her program focusing more on people-management skills. She says the change occurred over the last 10 years. As managerial problems become more complex and financial cost decisions begin to involve higher stakes, courses in quantitative and qualitative analyses are more in demand, she said. ”This is important to students in helping them determine what information is being sought by users,” she said. ”We have an excellent computer lab that teaches general computer literacy, on-line searching, cataloging and data base design. All this is very important but simply is not enough.
”A librarian`s function is to be the bridge between information accessibility and computer technology. We`ve come to realize that technology is not the panacea-just having the computer and a scanner won`t find us what we`re looking for.”
Ilse Moon, executive secretary for the Association for Library and Information Science Education, a professional organization based in Sarasota, Fla., said she believes that librarians are becoming more aware of their role in a larger political system, be it business, government or the public.
”Library schools are requiring more management courses these days than ever before,” she said. ”Political know-how is critical in every field of life, and librarianship is no exception.”
One of the most controversial topics in the library field today is the issue of information as a commodity, many educators agree. They note that most economics systems are based on conventional economic products, but that information is part of the current shift from the production of goods to services-many service goods are informational goods.
Traditionalists in the field feel uncomfortable with the increasing movement in this direction, the educators also agree. The question of who should control the flow of information and if, in fact, information should be controlled at all, is continually open to debate.
”There are good arguments on both sides,” Koenig said. ”There should be free public libraries, but you obviously can`t maintain that all information should be free or you`d destroy the whole patent and copyright system as it exists today. Information is a commodity people spend a lot of time and energy to create. It is an economic resource just like land or any other economic resource.
”But we don`t really know a lot of what the economics of it are. There are all sorts of public policy questions regarding this, and we`re just beginning to wrestle with this issue. One thing is for sure: It`s an issue that`s not about to go away.”
At the Graduate School in Library and Information Studies of the University of California at Berkeley, students are encouraged to take The Economies of Information course, which was introduced last year.
The traditional idea of free public access to information, with the notion of information as an important economic benefit, is discussed and debated.
Most masters programs require 30 to 40 credit hours and take one to three years to complete. The majority of students are part time and have bachelor`s degrees in the arts. Women compose about 75 percent of library schools`
enrollment, although the number of men continues to grow, according to recent library association figures. This ratio, however, does not hold true at the faculty level, where 38 library schools are headed by male deans and 14 by female deans.
Library school graduates tend to find employment in one of four areas:
public libraries, elementary and high school libraries, university and research libraries, and specialized libraries, such as those of law firms and advertising agencies.
The specialized librarian is a rapidly growing field. From 25 to 30 percent of last year`s graduates with a master`s degree found employment within the more commercial-related fields and outside of the more traditional ones, recent library association figures show.
Despite the general growth and increased job opportunities in the profession, 12 accredited library schools-or about one-fifth of the total-closed from 1978 to 1988. Enrollment peaked in 1976 and began to drop during the recession that occurred in the late 1970s, when federal funds began shrinking and universities began deciding to close their library schools.
It was announced last year that the nation`s oldest library school, at Columbia University in New York City, would close its doors in June 1992 after its last class graduates.
”I think the closing of library science schools is very much an issue of concern,” Estabrook said. ”Library schools thought they were secure if both quality and demand remained high. But we need to pay more attention to centrality-to the importance of making connections with other disciplines, such as business, in becoming a more integral part of the university.
”Library science allows you to develop broadly, to make connections both with people and ideas,” Estabrook said. ”It still is a generalist job. At a time when so many people are being forced into little boxes, it allows you to be good at what you do by making broad connections, as opposed to many professions where you become better only by becoming narrower.
”As a librarian, you succeed by exploring a lot of different ideas and possibilities. There`s a need for both the `techie` and the humanist. There`s even a place for the Mongolian cataloger, where he can feel prized for what he does.”
