Do ALA Accredited Library Schools Prepare Students for Careers as Systems Librarians?

Transcription

1 Do ALA Accredited Library Schools Prepare Students for Careers as Systems Librarians? Special Project Proposal, first draft (for peer review) Patricia Sutton Research in Information and Library Science ILS 580-S70 Spring 2010 Eino Sierpe, Ph.D. February 21, 2010

2 Abstract Computers have become an integral part of the lives of students and the librarians who serve them. The administration of computer systems become more and more technical as libraries struggle to integrate their systems in order to better maintain the quality of service their patrons demand. As a result, more and more jobs for systems librarians are being created. But if systems librarians are librarians as their titles suggest, library schools should be preparing them for these highly technical jobs. This study will compare the skills and competencies expected of systems librarians and how library schools are preparing students for these jobs by comparing the contents of job descriptions for systems librarian positions to library schools curricula, course offerings, and career assistance. 2

3 Table of Contents Introduction Problem Review of the Literature Definitions Methodology and Data Analysis Significance Limitations References

4 Introduction Systems librarians live a double life. Their jobs require them to work with an effective understanding of the issues of librarians such as cataloging, access and reference as well as the issues most often associated with IT professionals such as networking and computer trouble-shooting. They must communicate equally well with both library professionals and IT professionals in order to make sure the library s computer systems run smoothly and patrons have seemless access to the materials they need. With all of these requirements, one might expect for a systems librarian to have a special respected status in the library. In reality systems librarians are little understood by librarians and other staff who may only see them as the people to call when something goes wrong, thinking little about them when things run smoothly. IT professionals, on the other hand, may see the systems librarian as a smatterer in their profession, unable to dedicate sufficient time to their field to become a true expert. Problem Systems librarians must be knowledgeable in both librarianship and in information technology. Llibrary schools acknowledge the fact that the field of library science is becoming more intertwined with that of computer science and that librarians are required to have more and more technical knowledge. It is not clear, however, that these schools are adequately supporting the educational needs of systems librarians, the librarians of the future who will be needed to keep the increasingly integrated systems of libraries operating properly. How do the classes, skill sets, and career support offerings at library schools currently measure up to the skills required to perform successfully as a systems librarian? The purpose of this study will be to examine the relationship between the training offered to MLS students at ALA accredited institutions and the skills that a systems librarian job requires. 4

5 Review of the Literature Although much has been written on the evolution of libraries into more and more online entities, few studies have been done on the training of the librarians most equipted to handle these new technical responsibilities. In a recent study done to determine appropriate job description requirements for systems librarians at academic libraries in Iran, Farajpahlou and Danesh found that library managers in Iran do not think of knowledge of programming languages as an important skill for a systems librarian. They suggested that this is in part because [ ] as skills such as computer programming are not officially taught to the students of LIS in Iranian universities, it cannot be expected that within the structure of the Iranian university libraries, librarians to know such skills[ ] (2009). However, unless things have improved in the last six years, these skills are not taught in American library schools either. In a 2003 article, Michael Seadle noted that [systems librarianship] is an ecological niche that requires skills that are not taught in most library schools today[ ] He added that even if library schools were to offer a systems librarian track, it would be difficult to find instructors and a huge number of classes would be required because few library students have any significant background in computer science. Seadle did, however, suggest that many of the skills imparted by library schools offerings of digitization course could also transfer to systems librarian positions. Mathews and Pardue did a study identifying the presence of IT skill sets in library position announcements (2009). They found that as many as 72% of job posings contained at least one of the following six IT skills: programming languages, networking, web development, project management, systems development, and systems applications. According to the descriptions of systems librarianship of Patton (2008) and Morgan (2004), the systems librarians jobs include all six of these skills and more. 5

6 Definitions Systems librarian means different things to different people. To some the systems librarian is the person to call when the printers stop working or when the electronic resources become unavailable. Others think of the systems librarian as the person who communicates with the techies when the network goes down. For the purpose of this study, a systems librarian job will be defined as any job whose titles contains both the words systems and librarian. This is sure to exclude a good number of digital and electronic librarian positions which one might also consider to be systems librarian positions, but in the interest of determining what employers are currently considering to be a systems librarian position, this is an acceptable limitation. Job descriptions to be analyzed will be taken from the archive of the libjob listserv (a product of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) for the last five years. Only jobs requiring a degree from an ALA accredited institution will be considered. Training offered by ALA accredited institutions will include all courses, competencies, and career assistance that schools offer to their students that are referenced on the school s website. These may be listed in course descriptions, syllabi, curriculum descriptions, or any number of other locations on a school s website, provided that the information is freely available to the public. In special cases information from print catalogs may also be included. Training for the purpose of this study will not include continuing education classes intended librarians who have already earned an MLS degree. Methodology The study will focus on comparing skills made available to library students with the skills required in job descriptions for systems librarian jobs. 6

7 Data on job postings will be gathered from the archives of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions libjobs listserv archives and will include all qualifying posts from the last five years. Only jobs whose titles include the words systems and librarian and that require a degree from an ALA accredited institution will be considered. Duplicates and re-posts will be removed. Job descriptions will be examined for similarities in order to determine appropriate categories of job requirements. Specific skills such as knowledge of a particular programming language will be listed individually, while more general skills for which descriptions may vary from one posting to another will be grouped together under an appropriate heading to be determined by the researcher. The purpose of including postings from as many as 5 years ago rather than limiting the information to more recent posts is to examine any changes in job requirements over this time period. If the requirements vary greatly over time, schools may not have had time yet to adjust to more recent changes in job requirements. Data on ALA accredited institutions will be gathered from the websites of the individual institutions. Effort will be made to locate all available information on the schools offerings to students. It is the intention of the researcher to obtain information uniquely from the websites of the institutions in question. If it is determined that too little information is available online, it may eventually be deemed necessary to request catalogs of the schools in question in order to obtain the information. In addition to data relating to the skill sets offered by the institution, general information such as name and location will be included. If time permits, all 57 ALA accredited institutions will be examined. If necessary the number of schools included will be reduced to include a single school from each state/province/territory represented, for a total of 38 schools. In this case, the school rating highest on the U.S. News and World Report Best Graduate Schools for each geographic area will be included. The data from all sources will be gathered together in a single database in order to facilitate its organization and manipulation. Data will be analyzed to determine trends and changes in job descriptions over the 5-year period, significant areas of strengths and weaknesses for individual schools and for schools in general. Possible evidence of regional strengths and weaknesses will also be considered. 7

8 Significance This study will be of interest to library educators wishing to adjust their curricula to reflect the changing needs of the library profession, library administrators interested in the current trends of systems librarianship, and to current and future library school students who are interested in pursuing a career as a systems librarian. Limitations It is the intention of the researcher to make use only of materials freely available online. This will undoubtedly not include sufficient information on some of the library schools. When necessary, a print catalog may be requested. Examining job descriptions from a single listserv prove to be too limiting. If another source of job descriptions covering a similar period of time can be located, research will be expanded to include this data from the additional source using the previously determined criteria. Although the study will look at what library schools are doing to help their students to advance toward a career in systems librarianship, it will not provide information on where additional training that may be needed can be obtained. Further study into where current systems librarians have received their training outside of library school and what the best way of obtaining appropriate training is would be especially helpful to library students interested in pursuing a career in systems librarianship, but is beyond the scope of this project. 8

9 References Farajpahlou, A., & Danesh, F. (2009). Job description requirements for systems librarians in Iranian university libraries. Electronic Library, 27(1), Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database. Mathews, J.M. & Pardue, H. (2009, May). The Presence of IT Skill Sets in Librarian position Announcements. College & Research Libraries, 60(3), Retrieved from Morgan, E.L. (1996, updated 2004). On Being a systems librarian. Presentation given at the School of Library and Information Science, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill. Retrieved from Patton, S. (2008, Nov.). The Deliberate Systems Librarian. LISjobs.com s career development newsletter. Retrieved from Seadle, M. (2003, August). The status of systems librarians. Library Hi Tech, pp Retrieved from Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts database. 9