One Size No Longer Fits Everyone Judy Field Senior Lecturer, Library and Information Science Program Wayne State University

Even in the United States

Before there were Library Schools  Librarians learned by Trial and Error Apprentice-style training in an established library and imitating what was observed Taking some form of classes, personal instruction or formal training often in a university library or very large municipal library

The Birth of Our Profession

The First Library School  In 1887 Dewey established the School of Library Economy at Columbia Represented the first steps toward professionalism Developed a curriculum that was a blend of instruction and practical experience Library professional associations and library education began to work together

The early graduates  Were responsible for starting: Pratt Institute (1890) Drexel Institute (1891) Armour Institute (1897)  Others took leadership positions in public and academic libraries

For the next 3 decades  Saw the creation of additional library schools.  This included several of the Institutes becoming full-fledged library schools  Library schools started creating a curriculum based on theory and skills  Library schools and library associations began their close association

Williamson Reports (1921,1923)  Surveyed the library schools and concluded There was a lack of minimally uniform satisfactory levels of education Wanted clearer separation between clerical and professional work Recommended a bachelor’s degree for admission to a library school program

The library schools were to be affiliated with degree-granting institutions An accreditation process was deemed necessary to guarantee quality

Accreditation  In 1925 the Board of Education for Librarianship set minimum standards for accreditation  This was the beginning of establishing quality standards for professional library education

University of Chicago (1926)  The founding of this school included scholars from a variety of disciplines who were grounded in academia.  This brought academic study and scientific research to the profession Colloquia A scholarly publication A doctoral program

1940-early 70’s  Many changes occurred during this period: Efforts continued to develop graduate level scholarship for the profession Accreditation standards were rewritten in 1951, 1972 and 1992; Total enrollment has varied widely More schools developed PhD programs Research and scholarly writing was done.

 In the early 70’s there were 70 accredited programs.  Stand alone Bachelor programs had been phased out.  Some Schools of Education continued to offer a minor in library work for those wanting to be a media specialists

Mid 70’s-early 90’s  Technology became a larger part of the curriculum  Schools started to add the word “Information” into the titles of their programs and degrees  The 1992 Accreditation Standards were written to accommodate these changes

 Discussion in our professional journals and at conferences became more strident as the Internet and the Web became more prevalent in newly created courses  Libraries began to demand that new hires be technically competent

 The schism between the library and information science faculties became more pronounced  Questions were already being raised as to whether the new accreditation standards adequately dealt with strongly focused information science

 Libraries were not the only employers asking for more technically adept employees  Bachelor degree programs focusing on developing technology expertise were added to many curriculums.  Initially computer science or business schools developed these programs

 By this time accredited library programs had decreased from 70 to 56. many programs had been merged with other campus programs such as communications or journalism.  Soon some LS programs decided to develop bachelor programs in technology; others partnered with other schools to jointly develop such programs

 Libraries were also demanding clerical employees with core professional library skills  Several new programs were developed or resurrected.  The increase adoption of technology meant libraries needed to hire full-time technicians.

While all of this was happening…  The demand for information workers or knowledge managers was increasing in areas beyond libraries  A tidal wave of digitizing collections was occurring everywhere.  The USA government has rapidly move into a digital world and paper document collections are rapidly disappearing

 Special Librarians no longer have physical libraries but provide their services virtually  Academic libraries are rapidly decreasing their paper periodical collections  Public libraries are becoming computer training centers and a major provider of  E-books

A response to these changes  The “I” school movement which is now ten years old is a model that must be further integrated into all curriculums  Their vision has shown us new ways to be information providers far beyond or library walls,  BUT a holistic, not divisive path needs to be followed

This is no longer the world of leather covered books Our old friends the books are disappearing inside our computers

This is no longer the world of leather covered books Our old friends the books are disappearing inside our computers

Our rapidly evolving vocabulary includes from  Internet  Search Engines  Web  Blogs  Podcasts Audio Video  RSS feeds  Social Networking site Second life YouTube  Nextgen  Wikis  Library 2.0  Library 3.0

What does Tomorrow mean for Library Education?  Distance education will be a quality product that will foster networking beyond national boundaries and take full advantage of expertise from everywhere  Library Education must be at the forefront of providing new and innovate ways to provide access and delivery of quality information seamlessly

 Library Education is going to need new standards which are more encompassing  More LS programs will join WISE which will establish administrative and technology benchmarks which may help in developing new standards for the profession  The profession needs to help establish competencies that they want from all of their employees

The Bottom Line  The information profession will no longer be defined as those who hold Master’s  But will reflect the Information Team comprised of the Master’s degreed professionals working closely with clerical staff and technicians

 We will be the standard bearers for creating quality information sources  We will set the standards for quality customer service.