Lynn Silipigni
Connaway
Director, Library and Information Services Department
University
College
University of Denver
Phone: 303-871-3352
Fax:
303-871-4877
E-mail:
lconnawa@du.edu
Educating Information Professionals
for a Changing
Environment
SIG 19: Teaching Methods, Wednesday, February 12, 1997, 8:00am - 9:30am
On March 23, 1995, Jim Neal of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, Johns Hopkins University, presented a paper titled, "Redefining Libraries and Librarianship: Strategies, Structures and Roles for the New Millennium," at a Library Administration and Management Association (LAMA) Institute that addressed reinventing librarianship. Neal stated, "The most effective future library will use computer and telecommunications technology, the full range of library resources, and the services of skilled library staff to meet the information needs of a diverse community. This will involve extending services into individual's homes and workplaces, reaching beyond the library's facilities to obtain information and resources, and providing powerful new ways of assembling, evaluating and using information. Libraries must respond positively to a dynamic electronic information environment that demands revolutionary thinking and experimental approaches to collection development and information services."
Are new information professionals prepared to meet the demands of this evolving and expanding professional community? How are library and information science programs meeting the needs of this new information environment? Is it sufficient to reform library education, or is time to reinvent library education?
A model for the reinvention of library education has been developed to incorporate interdisciplinary connections, practitioners within the academy, and collaborative research within the curriculum. This proposed model for a new, innovative curriculum is based on research findings and discussions on library education that have been presented in the literature for over 100 years.
The inclusion of both the theory and practice of library and information science has been discussed and debated since the establishment of Melvil Dewey's School of Library Economy. The proposed model accommodates both the theory and practice of library and information science, communications, psychology, sociology, computer science, and telecommunications. The theoretical principles that form the basis for these disciplines are incorporated into the core courses. The required and elective courses complement the core courses with the inclusion of practice-oriented skills identified by the information professions.
The courses are taught by full-time library and information science faculty, tenure track faculty from other disciplines, and practicing information professionals. Library and information science students study and learn with students from other disciplines as they work together on case studies and investigate the ideologies of the various disciplines. Collaborative research between the faculty of the different academic disciplines is nurtured and encouraged through graduate assistantships and research incentive funds.
A research component is incorporated into the curriculum by requiring students to participate in the development, design, and data collection and analysis of a research project prior to the completion of the degree. This enables faculty and practicing information professionals to work with students on both applied and theoretical research projects. The research requirement is an opportunity for graduate students to garner marketable work experience and to begin to develop personal networks of potential references, collaborators, and employers. It also links practitioners with the academy to develop solutions to problems within the profession.
The basis for the development of this new curriculum model is to incorporate interdisciplinarity through theory and practice. The structure of the curriculum exemplifies the interdisciplinary approach to teaching, research, and service for the education of information professionals who are prepared for an evolving technological environment.
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