Blatant Berry: Don't Dis the LIS "Crisis"

You can always depend on the deans to defend library education as it exists against any who dare to suggest that it ought to change. Dismissive responses were fired off again recently on JESSE, the electronic discussion list for library educators. The target this time was Michael Gorman, the great library cataloging guru, president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA), and current dean of library services at Cal State–Fresno. Gorman had the temerity to tell ALA members and Council that he would focus his presidential year on "the crisis" in library education. The defending salvo denied that there is a "crisis." I think Gorman had it right.

The two fastest guns in LIS returned a hail of fire at Gorman. Quick-draw artists Mike Eisenberg, dean of what they call the "I School" at the University of Washington, and Ray von Dran, dean of the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, NY, shot from their hips again to JESSE. The crisis was "interesting news" to Eisenberg. "Our schools and programs are thriving, there are more students in LIS education than ever before, we are reaching new audiences through distance learning, and we are all working hard on the diversity front…."

After a quick "Ditto Mike on the lack of crisis," von Dran told of his visits to "a score of schools" and how "effective" they all looked. His parting shot in JESSE was a pip: "Labeling something a crisis either is a serious misjudgment or an attempt to influence action by trying to create a crisis about a 'crisis.' Why not just say library schools are concealing Weapons of Mass Destruction and are going to harm our libraries because they hate freedom of access loving Americans."

Gorman was disheartened by the attacks and surprised that "the 'I' people are so defensive." He still hopes for "a positive dialog" with LIS educators, even the I boys. He asserts that traditional courses in librarianship are being eliminated from curricula. "They are not training Ph.D.'s in librarianship to teach library courses," he said. "Retiring professors are regularly replaced by information science Ph.D.'s."

"This penchant we seem to have for burying our heads in the sand when it comes to serious issues (yes, even crises) baffles me," wrote doctoral candidate and LJ Mover & Shaker Sharon McQueen (Univ. of Wisconsin–Madison), echoing those who agree with Gorman.

The debate among the educators provides little evidence that Gorman is wrong. ALA accredits LIS programs and ought to be, if it is not, deeply concerned about the erosion of library courses in their curricula. At every school I've visited in the past three years, students complain about the lack of courses and choices in traditional library areas. The other very common grievance comes from recent graduates about the courses they were mandated to take, either because they were the only ones available or because they were required technology courses. Many found their studies of little use on their first jobs. Many also found that they were required to study technological apparatus and software with which they were more familiar than their instructors.

Students report that LIS programs are happy to tout the coming retirement of thousands of working librarians, but few programs mention the current lack of jobs for new graduates. Mentoring and guidance in job seeking and career development is dismal or simply not available in most LIS programs.

ALA and its Committee on Accreditation owe the profession a close, deep examination of distance offerings, with their burgeoning enrollments. Most carry only the ALA accreditation of their on-campus parent program. Many distance programs don't require even a visit to the campus, and most don't expect any resident study. We don't know whether the standards for distance degrees, including access to library service, are equal to those for on-campus students.

The defensive dismissal of these issues by so many leaders in library education is crisis enough to make Gorman's case.

jberry@reedbusiness.com