COURSE DESCRIPTIONThis seminar examines the intellectual foundations for librarianship as a discipline, the development of a broadened understanding of pervasive theories and research issues and the identification and exploration of the research literature in librarianship and pertinent allied fields.
GOALS OF THE COURSEThis seminar will offer students:
READINGSMany of the readings listed below are "classic" texts in librarianship with which you should be familiar. They are, however, only starting points from which to consider the role of libraries in society from an historical context to today. Using these works as a base, extrapolate major issues, ideas, theories, principles, assumptions, and approaches to practice as well as key people who have influenced the profession over the years. In order to place these books in perspective, go back to examine early issues of professional journals such as Library Journal-1876-[note that School Library Journal became a separate journal in 1975] and, for more recent times, look at what was included in the various years of publication of Library Literature: The Best of ---- (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press. As you examine these sources, consider whether gender, culture, age, type of library or other emphases or biases can be detected. BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Role of Libraries in Society This section will explore the "raison d'être" of libraries in the historical and the contemporary context. Classic theoretical works will be supplemented by historical readings. Special emphasis will be placed on theoretical scholarship and research.
Buckland, Michael Keeble. Library Services in Theory and Context. 2nd. Edition. New York: Pergamon Press, 1988. Bundy, Mary Lee and Frederick J. Stielow, Eds. Activism in American Librarianship, 1962-1973. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1987. Butler, Pierce. An Introduction to Library Science. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1933. Henne, Frances, Ed. Youth, Communication and Libraries. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1949. Kahin, Brian, Ed. Building Information Infrastructure: Issues in the development of the National Research and Education Network. New York: McGraw Hill, 1992. Klapp, Orrin Edgar. Opening and Closing: Strategies of Information Adaptation in Society. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1978. Intellectual Freedom Manual. Comp. By Office for Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association. 5th ed. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1996. McClure, Charles and Others., Eds. United States Government Information Policies: Views and Perspectives. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing, 1989. Ortega y Gasset, Jose. The Mission of the Librarian. Trans. By James Lewis and Ray Carpenter. Boston, MA: G.K.Hall, 1961. [Reprinted from Antioch Review Volume 21 #2 (Summer 1961): 133-154.] In relation to this, read Asheim, Lester. "Ortega Revisited," The Library Quarterly Volume 52 #3 (July 1982): 215-226. Rawski, Conrad H. Ed. Toward a Theory of Librarianship: Papers in Honor of Jesse Hauk Shera. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1973. Richardson, John V. The Gospel of Scholarship: Pierce Butler and A Critique of American Librarianship. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1992. Shera, Jesse Hauk. Introduction to Library Science: Basic Elements of Library Service. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1976. Smith, Karen Patricia, Ed. " Imagination and Scholarship: The Contributions of Women to American Children's and Young Adult Literature and Services" Library Trends. Volume 44 No. 4 (Spring 1996): 683-718. White, Herbert S. At the Crossroads: Librarians on the Information Superhighway. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1995. Wiegand, Wayne A. Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1996.
Reading in Our Society
This section offers overview readings on libraries and reading and more specifically, the adult learner/reader. The nature of literacy and library responses will be explored.
Arnove, Robert F. and Harvey J. Graff, Eds. National Literacy Campaigns: Historical and Comparative Perspectives. New York: Plenum Press, 1987. Boyarin, Jonathan, Ed. The Ethnography of Reading. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1993. Crawford, Walt and Michael Gorman. Future Libraries: Dream, Madness and Reality. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1995. Davidson, Cathy N., Ed. Reading in America: Literature and Social History. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. Davidson, Cathy N. Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Karetzky, Stephen. Reading Research and Librarianship: A History and Analysis. Westport, CA: Greenwood Press, 1982. Manguel, Alberto. A History of Reading. New York: Viking, 1996. Numberg, Geoffrey, Ed. The Future of the Book. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1996. Radway, Janice A. Feeling for Books: Book of the Month Club, Literary Taste and Middle-Class Desire. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. Stoll, Clifford. Silicon Snake Oil: Second Thoughts on the Information Highway. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Toth, Susan Allen and John Coughlan. Reading Rooms: America's Foremost Writers Celebrate Our Public Libraries with Stories, Memoirs, Essays, and Poems. New York: Doubleday, 1991.
Principles of Bibliographic Control
From a discussion of the different concepts of bibliographic control, the seminar will address major issues in universal, national and subject bibliography. Critical contemporary questions raised by automated bibliographic library systems and networks will be reviewed, as well as the relationship to information science.
Brenni,Vito J. Essays on Bibliography. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1975. Buckland, Michael Keeble and Michael Gorman. Redesigning Library Services: A Manifesto. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1992. Wilson, Patrick. Two Kinds of Power: An Essay on Bibliographical Control. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1968.
Collection Based Services
This section will deal with theories and models of collection development and management. Specific topics will include selection criteria and methodology, inventory control and document delivery, national issues in resource sharing and preservation.
Danton, J.P. Book Selection and Collection: A Comparison of German and American University Libraries. 1963. Fussler, Herman Howe. Patterns in the Use of Books in Large Research Libraries. 2nd Ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1969. Haines, Helen Elizabeth. Living With Books. 2nd Ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 1950. Merrill-Oldham, Jan and Merrily Smith. Library Preservation Program: Models, Priorities, Possibilities: Proceedings of a Conference, April 29, 1983, Washington, D.C. sponsored by Resources and Technical Services Division, American Library Association with the Cooperation of the Library of Congress, National Preservation Program. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1985. Merritt, LeRoy Charles. Book Selection and Intellectual Freedom. New York: Wilson, 1970. Merritt, LeRoy Charles. Reviews in Library Book Selection. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1958. Reeling, Patricia and Others. "Use of Government Publications in An Academic Setting," Government Publications Review. Volume 18 (1991): 489-515. Vandergrift, Kay E. "A Feminist Agenda for Research in Youth Literature," Wilson Library Bulleting. Volume 68 (October 1993): 23-27.
International Librarianship
The global context of our society requires our understanding international issues and concerns in librarianship. This section will explore some of the dimensions of these issues.
Danton, J.P. The Dimensions of Comparative Librarianship. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1973. Harvey, John Frederick. Internationalizing Library and Information Science Education. New York: Greenwood Press, 1987. Jackson, Miles. International Handbook of Contemporary Development in Librarianship. 1981. Krzys, Richard and Others. World Librarianship: A Comparative Study. New York: Decker, 1983. Line, Maurice, Ed. Librarianship and Information Work Worldwide: An Annual Survey London: Bowker-Saur, 1991. Price, Joseph and Mary Price, Comps. International Librarianship Today and Tomorrow: A Festschrift for William J. Welsh. New York: K.G. Saur, 1985. Richards, Pamela Spence. "'Aryan Librarianship': Academic and Research Libraries Under Hitler," Journal of Library History. (Summer 1984): 231-258. Richards, Pamela Spence. "Information for the Allies: Office of War Information Libraries in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa," Library Quarterly Volume 52 #4 325-347.
Management and Organization of Libraries
Drawing on the research experience in management and organizational behavior, this section will focus on several major issues in library management, such as funding and resource allocation, technology and personpower and public accountability.
Buckland, Michael Keeble. Information and Information Systems. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991. Cummings, M.N. The Economics of Research Libraries. Washington, DC: ARL, 1986. Estabrook, Leigh Stewart, Ed. Applying Research to Practice: How to Use Data Collection and Research to Improve Library Management Decision Making. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1992. Fergusson, Kathy E. The Feminist Case Against Bureaucracy. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1984. Heim, Kathleen M. The Status of Women in Librarianship: Historical, Sociological, and Economic Issues. New York: Neal-Schuman, 1983. McCombs, Gillian M., Ed. Access Services: The Convergence of Reference and Technical Services. Haworth Press, 1992. Martin, Lowell. Organizational Structure of Libraries. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1984. Stueart, Robert and Barbara Moran. Library Management. 3rd Ed. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1987.
Librarianship As a Profession
In this section attention will be paid to the professional aspects of librarianship and the role librarians play in the delivery of services. Special topics will include the role of professional organizations, the economic reward systems, research activity and professional education.
Hannigan, Jane Anne. "Visions to Purpose To Power: A Quest for Excellence in the Education of Library and Information Science Professionals," in Libraries and the Learning Society. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1984, pp. 22-62. Intner, Sheila S. and Kay E. Vandergrift, Eds. Library Education and Leadership: Essays in Honor of Jane Anne Hannigan. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1990. Prentice, Ann and Jonathan Lindsey. Professional Ethics for Librarians. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. 1985. Wilson, Pauline. Stereotype and Status: Librarians in the United States. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982.
User Centered Services
During this segment of the seminar, students will become familiar with the research in services directed to specific groups of users, such as students, researchers, children, elderly, etc. Special attention will be paid to reference and information services as well as to the role of the library as an educational agent.
Bone, Larry, Ed. Community Analysis and Libraries. Urbana, IL: School of Library Science, University of Illinois, 1976. (See Library Trends Volume 24 #3 January 1976.) Hannigan, Jane Anne and Hilary Crew. "A Feminist Paradigm for Library and Information Science," Wilson Library Bulletin. Volume 68 #2 (October 1993): 28-32. Joeckel, Carleton B. and Amy Winslow. A National Plan for Public Library Service. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1948. Kuhlthau, Carol C. Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and Information Services. NJ: Ablex, 1993. Lyman, Helen. Literacy and the Nation's Libraries. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1977. Wilson, Patrick. Second-Hand Knowledge: An Inquiry into Cognitive Authority. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1983.
ASSIGNMENTSYour task is to design a map of the intellectual territory you have explored. Do not think of this as a formal paper, but rather as an actual map, design, chart, web, hypertext, time-line, etc. Whatever the form of your presentation, it should include both theory and practice (including library education), key people, research, and factors that have influenced the profession (standards, licensing, certification, technology, outreach, etc.). In essence, you will be tracing ideas and events that have shaped the library profession. As you map the territory, include a segment on the 21st century in relation to libraries and library users. A key element of your work will be the identification of the kinds of questions that shape library theory and practice both now and for the future. You may work collaboratively in formulating these questions and in responding to them. In order to facilitate this process, email is essential. You are expected to explore these topics in email exchanges with copies to the Professor (kvander@scils.rutgers.edu) who will interact with you throughout the semester. Finally, you will enter your work on a webpage. (Directions will be available for this aspect.)
Updated September 15, 1997 and is continuously revisedSCILS, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey |