Comments on: What An Academic Librarianship Course Should Offer

By: Susan Travas

Susan Travas — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:59:00 +0000

Comment from Susan
Time: September 11th, 2008

How can you help me take a course as a Librarian ? Do you know of any correspondence course ?

By: Joan

Joan — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:48:20 +0000

Barbara, that’s a great way to frame the issue — that academic libraries are for learning. Thanks.

By: Barbara

Barbara — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:58:16 +0000

It seems to me one of the big questions any academic libraries course should ask is “what is an academic library for?”

And I’d be very surprised if “learning” weren’t the most significant answer.

Even if students take a course in instruction (and that should most definitely be something future academic librarians take) the significance of learning as a key purpose of academic libraries has significance for all kinds of library issues, including reference, collection development, space, standards, organization ….

By: Claudia Morner

Claudia Morner — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 21:13:05 +0000

I am conducting a focus group at ALA annual in Anaheim on this very subject. If you are interested in participating please read the following.

What are you expecting from MLS grads today?

As part of its ongoing assessment activities, the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at Simmons College has asked Claudia Morner of JMA Consultants Incorporated to conduct a series of focus groups to learn what employers of graduates with a master’s degree in library and information science want in new employees. The question she will ask is “what should recent MLS graduates be able to know, do, and think about?”

Opinions gathered at the focus groups on student outcomes will be presented to the faculty and dean of the school and will help ensure that the program meets the changing needs of library science employers.

One focus group will be conducted at ALA Annual in Anaheim, at the Hilton Anaheim, 777 Convention Way, on Monday, June 30, 2008 from 4-5:30.

If you are interested in sharing your thoughts, please contact Claudia Morner at mornerjones@verizon.net to sign up for the focus group. Light refreshments will be served.

By: Jim

Jim — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:47:23 +0000

Now that you know what to cover, what do you want your students to discover? The course should model active learning and top notch instructional design, both of which can be hampered by the imperative to “cover.”

By: Joan

Joan — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:19:39 +0000

I’ve been thinking more about this issue of library instruction as part of the curriculum in MLS programs and just blogged about it here: http://chattylibrarian.wordpress.com/2008/06/16/library-instruction-in-mls-programs/

By: Library instruction in MLS programs « The Chatty Librarian

Library instruction in MLS programs « The Chatty Librarian — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:15:39 +0000

[...] in MLS programs Posted on June 16, 2008 by Joan Last week at the ACRLog, StevenB shared results of a survey of what librarians might like to see in an LS Academic Libraries class. Instruction was high on the list. According to StevenB, Those items that received the highest [...]

By: Brian Gray

Brian Gray — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:27:55 +0000

Kyri Freeman listed a bunch of things that should be covered in an “academic library management”. I would suggest all of those topics should have been covered in the general library management class that Kyri took as those things are relevant to all types of libraries.

By: Elena

Elena — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:26:15 +0000

I agree with Joan. Please consider adding the presentations back into your class, if there’s time. Practice helps. Even if students will never be good public speakers, they need the practice in prepping for a meeting and making a concise argument or recommendation. (Concise is key!)

Or, there’s the ever-popular conference format – the poster session. One group brings posters and the rest visits each one and asks the presenters questions for one session, and then swap it around for the next session(s). Everyone submits feedback. It teaches them to get to the point and gets them out of their chairs to wake them up.

By: michael

michael — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:30:51 +0000

Toni said: “Many grads will start off in supervisory positions…”

And shame on the library community for supposing even for an instant that an MLS (even if it includes a management/leadership class) makes one ready to supervise or lead.

This is the single biggest problem I’ve encountered in my academic library — librarians with zero leadership skill, experience, or potential charged with leading important initiatives.