The Debate at Rutgers: ShouldSchool Drop "Library" from Its Name?

-- Library Journal, 03/23/2009

Last month, the decision by faculty of Rutgers University’s School of Communication, Information and Library Studies (SCILS) to change the name of the school to the School of Communication and Information garnered significant criticism among librarians, even though library faculty at Rutgers generally supported the change.

The Executive Board of the New Jersey Library Association, for example, approved a resolution asking for the name change to be reconsidered, arguing that the deletion of the name does not clarify—as Dean Jorge Reina Schement contends—but rather obfuscates the purpose of the school.

The university’s board of governors could approve the change at its meeting April 2.

Point-counterpoint
Mary K. Chelton, professor, Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, Queens College, City University of New York, and a double alumna of Rutgers' programs, shared with LJ a letter she wrote to school administrators. She warns of denying history and denigrating the role of women. Her essay is here.

LJ asked Schement to respond to concerns raised by Chelton and other librarians. His response emphasizes that the revised name focuses on commonalities and new opportunities. His essay is here.