Karen M. Drabenstott
Associate Professor
School of Information
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1092 USA
Voice: (734) 763-3581
Fax: (734) 764-2475
karen.drabenstott@umich.edu
New topic -- "Open Discussion"
Many thanks to David Austen for suggesting the topic, "Paying Homage to Library Science," and leading the discussion.
Since early January, we have had an interrupted program of new topics and guest editors. It is now time to get to work at identifying new topics and scheduling them for spring and summer. We have only two new topics scheduled between now and Labor Day -- Paul S. Piper will host "Damn the Information, Pass the Knowledge" from May 10 to May 23, and Ann Abate will host "Generation-Next Students Voice Library Issues of the Future" from July 19 to August 1.
Perhaps our topical program between January and today has generated ideas in your minds that would make for interesting one- or two-week discussions. Maybe you are struggling with ideas of your own that have reared their ugly heads in the classroom or workplace. Consider CRISTAL-ED as a forum for discussion of topics, ideas, threads, issues, and so on that excite, bother, dismay, confuse, or challenge you.
Volunteering to lead a topical discussion can be rewarding. New topics start on Sunday and end one or two weeks later on a Saturday. Guest editing involves introducing the topic, posing some provocative questions, monitoring the conversation, stimulating it with a summary and/or additional questions, and summarizing the discussion. Some guest editors have even invited colleagues, experts, competitors, and adversaries who have a particular interest in their topic to join CRISTAL-ED and take part in their discussion. Of course, technical editor Steve Woodridge and I can always be contacted to answer your questions during the discussion. Guest editors add their service to their resumes; I have even written their supervisors to confirm their service and note its importance to the field.
I have a FAQ on guest editing and will gladly forward it to members curious about guest editor duties. You can volunteer to lead a topic that especially interests you or one that another member suggests. I am especially interested in scheduling topics for one- and two-week periods between May 24 and Labor Day, but we can always schedule for fall and beyond. (With spring hardly in place here in the north, it almost hurts to think about fall already!)
Let's now open up the discussion to suggestions for new topics. Since we haven't had a new topics discussion since last December, I am anxious to hear what ideas have come to mind. Please join in the new topics discussion and make suggestions.
Margaret Blue
Special Projects Librarian
North Dakota State University Libraries
Fargo, ND 58105-5599 USA
Voice: (701) 231-7390
Fax: (701) 231-7138
mblue@prairie.nodak.edu
Recently a senior library staff member reminded us that academic libraries used to claim to provide all the necessary resources for undergraduates at their universities; hence, academic libraries refused to provide interlibrary loan services to undergraduates. This reminder was followed with the nostalgic wish to go back to those good days when interlibrary loan service experienced lower demand -- if you exclude the majority of your community, service demand will naturally be lower.
Discussion then moved to the increasing cost of ILL service. Who should carry the cost? If undergraduates were charged for each loan, how much money can the library demand? Should charges cover costs or should charges be set to discourage "frivolous" usage? Should charges discriminate among faculty, graduate students, undergraduates or others?
My basic question is: Should interlibrary loan service endeavor to fill every request by every constituent, or should service be limited in some way; for example, limit by budget?
Dan Lester
3577 East Pecan
Boise, ID 83716-7115 USA
Voice: (208) 383-0165
dan@84.com
This library, the Albertsons Library of Boise State University (Idaho, USA) charges a Request Fee of $1 for each ILL request. This is charged to ALL borrowers, whether faculty, staff, or students. We implemented this fee in 1991 or 1992 and it has done what it is supposed to do: greatly reduce the number of inappropriate or frivolous requests. We had previously tried a "quota system" of only accepting a small number per day per patron. However, that was easily circumvented by having friends submit them for those who wanted to order many. There are very few complaints about the fee. We emphasize that it is a Request Fee, so that there is no refund if we're unsuccessful in getting the item "in time" or at all. We also explain that it only covers a SMALL part of the cost of obtaining the item.
We collect the fee by having the circulation desk sell for $1 each Notification Cards that are attached to each request form. These are also filled out by the patron and are mailed to him/her when the item comes in. This way all money is handled by circulation and none by reference staff.
Some departments buy lots of 50 or 100 or more at a time and distribute them to faculty in some manner. They're welcome to do so, of course, and we remind any complaining faculty of that option if their department wishes to order a stack of cards. They're apparently distributed in many different ways in the departments; most frequently the secretary is the keeper of the cards. Fortunately, none of that is our problem.
I first implemented this system at the Reed Library at Fort Lewis College (Durango CO, USA) in the middle '80s, and they still were using it in 1990 when I moved to Idaho. I'm not sure if they still are. It accomplished the same moderation of requests in that smaller library.
I see the benefit as the small fee being enough to keep the abusers from overloading the system, but not enough to hinder anyone with a legitimate need. A dime would be too little, 10 dollars too much. The patrons also like knowing that that is the ONLY fee they'll pay. The library absorbs any other costs charged by the lending library.
I don't know if other libraries have adopted this system, or a similar one, but it has worked in the last two places I've worked. I can't claim the idea to be totally original, but I also had not heard of it before trying it the first time.
Reactions? Suggestions? Criticisms?
Karen M. Drabenstott
Associate Professor
School of Information
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1092 USA
Voice: (734) 763-3581
Fax: (734) 764-2475
karen.drabenstott@umich.edu
Yes, ILL charging is a possibility for a new topics discussion. Perhaps we could expand this topic to involve charging for electronic resources. Is there a "volunteer in the house" who is especially interested in ILL and would like to host this discussion as a guest editor. Please message me directly (karen.drabenstott@umich.edu) and we'll get this discussion scheduled in the near future.
What other topics are on your minds? Let's keep the ideas pouring in.
Diane M. Lewis
Serial Records and Exchange Librarian
U.S. Geological Survey Library
National Center - MS 950
Reston, Virginia 20192
Voice: (703) 648-4399
Fax: (703) 648-6373
DILEWIS@IGSRGLIB01.ER.USGS.GOV
LIBREF-L has been the site of an interesting discussion on librarian salaries. Related to this is the topic of low library budgets in academia compared to the amounts spent on administration/sports, etc. For instance, UC Berkeley's library's status has been bumped from No. 2 to No. 5 on the ARL listing because of the deterioration of their collection.
These topics may be too controversial for the list. Just thinking out loud.
Boyd Holmes
University of Western Ontario
bholmes@julian.uwo.ca
One of the most interesting aspects of library science education in the last five years is that the Era of Library School Closings (1978-1993) seems to have ceased. It might be interesting to debate why the closings have stopped. One question: Are we now doing something right we were not doing before the closings started? We could also ponder if the post-1993 period is, in fact, really a cessation -- perhaps we are instead experiencing a lull?
Keith V. Trickey
Liverpool Business School
k.v.trickey@livjm.ac.uk
I have just been sent a copy of Michael Gorman's new book, Our Singular Strengths: Meditations for Librarians (Chicago: American Library Association, 1998), to review. I find it completely fascinating and as a book of meditations should be -- inspiring (yes, that does have to do with breath). How about taking a real challenge and opening the frame for professional-hearted meditations? It would be/could be liberating for both the writers and the readers. We could learn more about what is really important to individual professionals and discover that despite back-biting or fighting on details, the conceptual space we occupy is broadly similar. I guess it could sound like a light-hearted suggestion -- but bringing light and your heart into the work you do might by helpful to you as well as the clients you serve.
Just a thought.
Karen M. Drabenstott
Associate Professor
School of Information
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1092 USA
Voice: (734) 763-3581
Fax: (734) 764-2475
karen.drabenstott@umich.edu
We have so far five possibilities for new topics:
Are there volunteers to serve as guest editors for these topics? Please contact me directly (karen.drabenstott@umich.edu) and we'll discuss the topic in more depth and your guest editorship.
Now that the weekend is almost upon us, let's not let the discussion on new topics wane. Let's plow full speed ahead and identify more topics.
D. Heenan
CTO
PIX, LLC
danh6000@aol.com
I wonder if a discussion of the e-commerce (electronic storefronts) developments on the Web for their applicability to libraries would have any value in the light of the increasing number of electronic publications of all kinds and/or in light of the increasing sales of books and other materials from electronic bookstores.
Judith Segal
jsegal@cms.wwu.edu
Another topic: Evolving roles for staff in academic libraries and their relationship with librarians, with or without faculty rank/status. How interchangeable or role-bound are they?
Paul B. Wiener
SUNY at Stony Brook
pwiener@ccmail.sunysb.edu
Here's another suggested topic:
Title: Librarian Tenure and the Myth of Librarian Research
Resolved: that librarians seeking tenure and/or promotion should no longer be required to publish research because research into librarianship is no longer possible.
Quite simply, this is because (1) there is no evidence that prior research by librarians has led to any significant development or change in library administration, and (2) because whatever information and conclusions are gathered in such an effort are always outdated by the time they are published, since implementation of library policy always follows a timetable completely independent of the verifiability of new knowledge.
Mark Bay
School of Library and Information Science
Indiana University-Bloomington
mbay@indiana.edu
Here's a topic suggestion for the student subscribers to the list: how about a discussion on locating employment in the library and info. science field, with an emphasis on jobs in non-traditional sectors?
Any feedback?
D. Heenan
CTO
PIX, LLC
danh6000@aol.com
I don't know if the list had this topic, but I wonder how libraries plan to cope with the year 2000 problem. Have organizations adopted a plan for their systems like migration or upgrade or recode and is there another good solution to the problem, or is it just "I'm OK, Y2K"?
Don Lanier
Library of Health Sciences-Rockford
UIC-Chicago/Rockford
1601 Parkview Ave.
Rockford, IL 61107
Voice: (815) 395-5658
Fax: (815) 395-5655
dlanier@uic.edu
I realize that CRISTAL-ED has focused, topical discussions but did want to respond briefly to Paul Wiener's posting. Regarding point one, I think Paul has overlooked a few reviews of research by librarians and library educators in which the practical applications of research findings are readily apparent. Regarding point two, the same can be attributed to all disciplines that claim research as a part of their domain. I admit that definitions of "research" and "out-dated" are essential if any meaningful discussion of Paul's two points proceed.
Robert Ballard
rballard@bambi.acc.nccu.edu
I agree with Mr. Lanier entirely. One of the amazing things about the introduction of new technology into libraries has been that we librarians have discovered that we are not so much behind the times as we think. In fact, as many writers in previous discussions have indicated, we appear to have the ability to communicate with computer scientists, information scientists, or whomever. But we do love self-criticism. Maybe what Mr. Wiener is referring to is the tendancy of some administrators to make decisions not based on research, but on local practice. We tend to forget that most libraries are either in the public sector or even if academic libraries at private institutions, they operate as if they are. Local practice simply means the "status quo." Yet even here, there are many innovative lIbrary directors and administrators.
Karen M. Drabenstott
Associate Professor
School of Information
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1092 USA
Voice: (734) 763-3581
Fax: (734) 764-2475
karen.drabenstott@umich.edu
We have so far seven possibilities for new topics:
We have lots of suggested topics but few guest editors. Are there volunteers to serve as guest editors for these topics? Please contact me directly (karen.drabenstott@umich.edu) and we'll discuss the topic in more depth and your guest editorship. You don't have to be an expert on the topic to lead a discussion. We need you to give a little background and discussion on the topic. Pose some thought-provoking questions. Or take an unpopular stand on a topic. Pose questions from several perspectives. Monitor the daily posts, summarize, and develop an understanding of where our membership stands on certain issues.
I have a much longer FAQ that I can send prospective volunteers who want to know more about guest editing. We really need your help to volunteer for guest editing to ensure CRISTAL-ED's future. So please message me and tell me what interests you. You don't have to choose a topic from the above list. You can suggest some topic that interests you also. Please consider volunteering for guest editing soon!
P.B. Wiener
pwiener@ccmail.sunysb.edu
I would like to put in my vote AGAINST the topics of librarian salary, library budgets, and library school closings. I think they've all been done to death. There's nothing we can do about salaries, never was. If you're in it for the money, you've lost your way. The school closings speak for themselves, need no interpretation. The wonder is that they ever existed. Budgets are almost all we ever discuss, and there are loads of other lists for it. Anyone suggesting a tithe on our salaries?
I would be more than happy to have information regarding survey articles on effective practical applications of library research. Of course, by research I do not refer to surveys of library preferences and behavior, budgeting and policy practices, or user studies where the samples are only a few dozen or a few hundred. I'm talking about real research -- investigating the unknown, trying to prove speculation or hypothesis, etc.
Yes, the same can be and has been said about research in most fields -- that publication in non-electronic formats cannot keep up with research. That only supports my argument. Much research in other areas serves few people and purposes, is filler, is tenure-driven, is politically motivated or is simply whimsical. Let's get's real!
Boyd Holmes
Ph.D. Student in Library and Information Science
Faculty of Information and Media Studies
Middlesex College
University of Western Ontario
London, Ontario, Canada N6A 5B7
Voice: (519) 679-2111, ext. 8481
Fax: (519) 661-3506
bholmes@julian.uwo.ca
Paul Wiener wrote:
"The school closings speak for themselves, need no interpretation. The wonder is that they ever existed."
Would you say that about Columbia? Case Western? Chicago?
In any case, my interest is not why the closings happened, but why it is they have stopped (if indeed they have).
Helen Kula
Faculty of Information Studies
University of Toronto
kula@fis.utoronto.ca
I would like to voice my support for Mark Bay's suggestion on locating employment in nontraditional sectors.
As a Master of Information Studies student, one hears a great deal of talk about the need to think creatively about one's career as an information professional but very little seems to be said on how one can actually position oneself to take advantage of opportunities outside the traditional library market and just how these opportunities can be identified and accessed.
Chris Andrews
A.V. Director/Language Lab Coordinator
New London High School
New London, CT
WoollyWks@aol.com
Interesting. The elementary schools are still subject to underfunding, using teachers to staff library settings, but most importantly in Connecticut, is the fact that high school libraries are staffed by professional librarians and this is mandated by the State Department of Education. This has a filter-down effect. Our middle school library is, in fact, far more impressive than the high school. This is due to a variety of demographic anomalies, but it speaks favorably to the future of reinstatement of elementary school librarians, who may well be the most important element of the library system in an inner-city environment.
Craig A. Summerhill
Systems Coordinator and Program Officer
Coalition for Networked Information
21 Dupont Circle, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
Voice: (202) 296-5098
craig@cni.org
Paul Wiener wrote:
"I would be more than happy to have information regarding survey articles on effective practical applications of library research. Of course, by research I do not refer to surveys of library preferences and behavior, budgeting and policy practices, or user studies where the samples are only a few dozen or a few hundred. I'm talking about real research - investigating the unknown, trying to prove speculation or hypothesis, etc.
"Yes, the same can be and has been said about research in most fields - that publication in non-electronic formats cannot keep up with research. That only supports my argument. Much research in other areas serves few people and purposes, is filler, is tenure-driven, is politically-motivated or is simply whimsical. Let's get's real!"
Paul,
I have to say, I don't really agree with your characterization of research in our profession. I have served on the LITA research committee for several years and was LITA Board advisor to the same committee for three more, have served as a reviewer in several grant programs, as well as working in several different ARL libraries where I was employed in tenure-track positions. There is plenty of good research out there, but very few people do anything with it.
I'll be the first to admit there is a lot of "stuff" in print within the library literature that gets passed around under the auspices of "research." There are clearly a shortage of people in our profession who know how to do legitimate research, especially when it comes to conducting social science research. But most of your criticisms of library research are much more a damnation of academy and the tenure process in general.
As to why so little if any research in the field gets incorporated into the profession. Economics have much more to do with it than a total lack of valid research -- especially when you look at research that is conducted in the aspects of the profession that are traditionally under the leadership of the systems people. So many companies in the library "industry" and publishing communities are operated on negligible margin compared to other market sectors, there is a lot of economic disincentive toward the corporation in adding new features into products. New features mean higher development costs, and higher operating costs for the institutions that deploy those features.
These economic issues are much bigger issues than people not being aware of the research, in my experience.
BTW, I've heard your arguments (or very similar ones before) from people in the profession who want to do away with research and/or tenure track positions for librarians. We should all be academic professionals? Glorified file clerks, if you ask me. Personally, I think the issue of library research has been talked to death, and I rarely find merit in the arguments coming from professionals who seem to propose we do less in order to get more. I for one firmly believe if we want better salaries, we have to provide professionals who have better and more relevant skill sets. Abandoning research requirements within the profession doesn't do that.
Pat Clemson
PITT Data Administration
pac1@lis.pitt.edu
I, too, am interested in a discussion of nontraditional careers for graduates of programs in library and information science. I have been successful "plying my skills" in various areas of computing, data base design and data administration for almost seventeen years. I started out as a monographic original cataloger "a few years earlier."
I hope there are other subscribers to this list who have traveled similar paths. I'm sure they have some interesting tales to tell about marketing themselves and then dealing with coworkers' discoveries of "innovations" that come directly from library and information science theory and practice.
Keith Swigger
a_swigger@twu.edu
School closings stopped because:
Robert Bauchspies
Export-Import Bank of the United States
Washington, D.C.
robert.bauchspies@exim.gov
Leave it to sweeping statements to bring out the lurkers or those formerly more active CRISTAL-ED participants. Karen's suggestion that we better pony up or risk demise as a list with substance is well taken.
While some of the commentary attached to recent topic suggestions I could/can/will take issue with, I must reserve this brief time and space for an additional discussion theme offering.
I would be willing to lead in a discussion of what some refer to as "information culture" where information behavior is seen in the collective rather than individual. Drawing from work by Professor Wilson of Sheffield, as well as Professors Hoglund and Ginman and others, we would leap into the void of group aggregates of information use where valuation and technology sit side by side with more traditional ethnological definitions of culture. Assuming a definition of information as entity and process, inseparable from cognitive faculties, conscious and unconscious, might we attempt a deconstruction of Peter Drucker's "knowledge worker" with ambitions of repositioning the inflation of information value as well as what it means to live in the 'information age'?
Preliminary "yays" or "nays" are welcome.
Robert S. Helfer
Texas State Library and Archives Commission
Talking Book Program
1201 Brazos Street
Box 12927
Austin, Texas 78711-2927
Voice: (512) 463-5402
Fax: (512) 463-5436
robert@tsl.state.tx.us
With increasing availability of information and literary texts on the Internet and online access to many library services to people who never actually come into the library, is there a continuing need for specialized library services for people with disabilities? Can we assume that improvements in technology will automatically result in improved access to information for all, or should librarians feel responsible for making sure that such improvements are effective for everyone? If so, what role should librarians play in guiding the development of information technology?
P.B. Wiener
pwiener@ccmail.sunysb.edu
I usually think of myself as a good thinker and reader. However, with all due respect I find I need a translation of Mr. Bauchspies' last post suggesting a new topic. Or is he putting us on?
P.B. Wiener
pwiener@ccmail.sunysb.edu
Craig Summerhill wrote: (rest of quoted material interspersed throughout the text is from an earlier post of Craig Summerhill):
"There is plenty of good research out there, but very few people do anything with it."
Craig, how about naming a few articles, books, or programs you feel are excellent research efforts? They may exist but they're surely unknown to, and unsought by, most librarians.
"I'll be the first to admit there is a lot of 'stuff' in print within the library literature that gets passed around under the auspices of 'research.' There are clearly a shortage of people in our profession who know how to do legitimate research, especially when it comes to conducting social science research. But most of your criticisms of library research are much more a damnation of academy and the tenure process in general."
If you are the first to admit this, how did you avoid playing any part in furthering this "stuff" as a LITA research administrator? I don't see any evidence that our profession is or will be getting more responsible researchers in the future. If anything, the opposite is happening, though good library-relevant research is now being done by non-librarian "information specialists." And yes, I am damning the academy as well.
"As to why so little if any research in the field gets incorporated into the profession. Economics have much more to do with it than a total lack of valid research -- especially when you look at research that is conducted in the aspects of the profession that are traditionally under the leadership of the systems people. So many companies in the library 'industry' and publishing communities are operated on negligible margin compared to other market sectors, there is a lot of economic disincentive toward the corporation in adding new features into products. New features mean higher development costs, and higher operating costs for the institutions that deploy those features."
Again, this situation will only get worse. But it's not only economics that hinders us; that doesn't hold back the implementation of true "scientific" research as much. What slows things is also the place and library issues, especially library economics, have among teaching faculty; the poor management skills of many directors; the political nature of academic fund management; and the ancient role libraries have as archival rather than communications institutions and the difficulty of breaking away from that, given the billions invested over the past century and the mediocre education of many librarians.
"These economic issues are much bigger issues than people not being aware of the research, in my experience."
True, despite the research done about these economic issues.
"BTW, I've heard your arguments (or very similar ones before) from people in the profession who want to do away with research and/or tenure track positions for librarians. We should all be academic professionals? Glorified file clerks, if you ask me."
And what are we now? If status is your main concern, you're in the wrong field. How many teaching faculty or non-academic professionals and workers think of us (if they ever do) as anything but glorified file clerks, regardless of our self-promotion? Most of our "research" is, if not totally ignored, laughed away by serious scholars.
"Personally, I think the issue of library research has been talked to death."
What hasn't been?
"... and I rarely find merit in the arguments coming from professionals who seem to propose we do less in order to get more."
I never proposed that. In fact, many librarians are seething because it is their NON-research efforts that go unrewarded and unrecognized -- there are dozens of complex, challenging tasks that merit reward far more than publication in an unread journal. An argument can be made that seeking publication for "research" is "doing less to get more."
"I for one firmly believe if we want better salaries, we have to provide professionals who have better and more relevant skill sets. Abandoning research requirements within the profession doesn't do that."
What does acquiring skills have to do with research? Thanks for helping to make my argument stronger.
Robert Bauchspies
Export-Import Bank of the United States
Washington, D.C.
robert.bauchspies@exim.gov
Paul Wiener wrote:
"I usually think of myself as a good thinker and reader. However, with all due respect I find I need a translation of Mr. Bauschspeis' last post suggesting a new topic. Or is he putting us on?"
Greetings Paul and the rest of CRISTAL-ED:
Of course I am not "putting (you) on" with regard to my topic suggestion. I have been participating in this list for a while now and have always made contributions (albeit not always accepted, agreed to, and perhaps understood by everyone) with the utmost in sincerity.
Likewise I take your need for a translation as legitimate hence I will try to briefly oblige you.
"Information culture" as an expression in the LIS literature was initially proposed by Professor Ginman of the Abo Academy in Finland back in 1987. Her effort then was both a definition of this concept as well as a framework by which business performance could then be studied. Subsequent work has occurred on several fronts. For an online collaborative effort by some of her colleagues, and for your edification, you can point your browser to:
http://www.shef.ac.uk/uni/academic/I-M/is/lecturer/paper5.html
There is undoubtedly much written on "culture" with many adjectives preceding the term which attempt to give either a focus or emphasis to a particular theme within working (i.e., ethnological) definitions of "culture." Information culture is just one more example. And as you'll note, I did include a definition of information in my suggestion.
The Smithsonian Institution published a book entitled InfoCulture but this had more to do with our "artifacts": (i.e., technological devices) than actual cultural traits but much was implied through their presentation and was meant for popular audiences.
(Cf. Lubar, Steven D. InfoCulture: The Smithsonian Book of Information Age Inventions, Steven Lubar. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993.)
Part of what my aim is to examine, as I stated, the notion of information value and how this relates to culture. Moreover, in the buzz of knowledge management, especially as so promoted through business schools and enterprises, the idea of information value cannot be downplayed as an important concept. Professors Saracevic and Kantor recently penned a substantive two part study on information value in service context which for those with the appetite, presents a helpful taxonomy in considering the issues involved. Information value, it should be mentioned, has cultural antecedents as well.
(Cf. Saracevic,Tefko and Paul B. Kantor. "Studying the Value of Library Information Services. Part I and II. Establishing a Theoretical Framework and Methodology and Taxonomy." Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 48, No. 6, June 1997.)
Hence my reference to the "knowledge worker" which Peter Drucker brought to the fore with his Post-Capitalist Society publication a few years back. My ambition is to examine what a knowledge worker actually is in light of cultural definitions of information value. For practicing librarians and info discipline related academics, I would argue that it is an important dialogue.
(Cf. Drucker, Peter Ferdinand, 1909- Post-Capitalist Society. Peter F. Drucker. New York, NY: HarperBusiness, c 1993.)
Yesterday the Journal of Commerce reported a Delphi Group/Georgetown University event examining employment trends in the "information revolution." Information "distributors, erasers, and bundlers" were defined and forecasts made. Not a mention of librarians -- much perhaps, to our own dismay. Some of our own have written about trends in "information disciplines" where LIS studies seem to be potentially marginalized. The recent topic suggestion discussing a cessation of LIS school closures is an important topic and I hope it goes forward with someone to moderate it.
Perhaps you, Paul, could contribute substantively. For one who has such a critical assessment of LIS scholarship (granted there is room for this [e.g., Cronin, et al]), it would be helpful to discuss rather than write off issues of serious and sincere intent in this forum.
Further I have never claimed to either being a good thinker or a good reader/writer. History has taught me that the "self" can be a very isolating place indeed.
P.S.: And another link to consider:
Davenport, Thomas. "Saving IT's Soul: Human-Centered Information Management." Harvard Business Review. March-April, 1994. (Abstract only)
You may join the discussion and look over the list of past and future topics.
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