[Web4lib] Skillset for new librarians

[Kevil, L H.]

Just two additions from the Peanut Gallery to this nice thread:

(1) Eric Lease Morgan's list of five skills looks terrific. The point is to give students the ability to continue career-long learning on their own through the job and to weed out the technophobes. A little knowledge of PC hardware wouldn't hurt a bit. The skills need to be reinforcing or overlapping, at least to the extent that learning them will develop a positive problem-solving attitude.

(2) As John Fereira suggests, the emphasis on the MLS degree is misplaced. It should not be a union card requirement for a professional job, nor should it be used to discriminate against technical people and place them in a different category for salary, promotion, governance, and the like. There are reasons for the typical library class structure (credentialism,) none of them admirable. 


L. Hunter Kevil, Ph.D.
Collection Development Librarian
University of Missouri Libraries

kevill at missouri.edu 


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of John Fereira
Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2011 12:31 PM
To: Lin Light; Janice Christopher; Elizabeth Beers; web4lib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Skillset for new librarians

First, I'm not a librarian, systems or otherwise but I've been developing technology while working in a library for the past 14 years.  

I am not sure I would qualify the suggestion with a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" as that suggests that the suggestion might not have merit.

Turning this around,  what sort of Library skills might a Computer Science School student want to learn in order to successfully apply their technology skills in a Library.   

As Roy mentioned this is 2011.  Why do some many libraries insist that they should be staffed by those with Library School degrees and some training in technologies and not consider that someone coming out of a Computer Science program might want to work in a library as wells?  

> -----Original Message-----
> From: web4lib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib- 
> bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Lin Light
> Sent: Monday, January 03, 2011 2:55 PM
> To: Janice Christopher; Elizabeth Beers; web4lib at webjunction.org
> Subject: Re: [Web4lib] Skillset for new librarians
> 
> Your posting is very interesting but viewing the responses is leaving 
> me with only one suggestion. Read with a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge"
> 
> Have all your students enroll in the Computer Science School and then 
> offer them Library Sciences classes.
> 
> Lin
> 
> 
> Lin Light
> Head of Computer
>  & Technical Services
> Herrick District Library
> 300 South River Ave.
> Holland, MI 49423
> Voice 616-355-3727
> Fax   616-355-1426



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