Library Education and Employer Expectations

Book excerpt: This unique new volume considers how well new librarians are being prepared for the profession. Here, in one easy-to-reference volume, are the valuable opinions, perspectives, and facts of those who influence library education, those who are responsible for it, and those who are the recipients of it. Intended for those who are considering entering the library profession, professors of library and information science, current students in library school, and for administrators of academic, school, public, and special libraries that employ library school graduates, this comprehensive volume features chapters that are both candid and philosophical. In Library Education and Employer Expectation, the question of preparation is discussed from several perspectives by individuals representing various aspects of the library profession. Potential employers of those with library degrees spell out their expectations of potential employees, voice their views on how well library education is preparing those who choose to go into the profession, and give suggestions aimed to help library educators to better meet employer expectations. Persons representing academic, school, public, law, health science, and state libraries, as well as a major network and the archival profession are among the contributors. This volume also represents the library school perspective. Deans of a public and private library school explain present library education philosophy, tell of specific objectives of their schools, indicate the type of student they like to attract, spell out constraints under which they work, and indicate expectations they have of future employers of their graduates. Another important dimension presented is that of the recent gradute who has been on the job for a few years. These authors indicate why they decided to go into the profession, detail why they chose the library school they did, tell what they expected to get out of library school education, and spell out how well library school prepared them for the profession. Another perspective represented in Library Education and Employer Expectations is that of the accreditation body. A thorough coverage of the Committee on Accreditation's role in library education is given by the Chair of the committee. An issue very much associated with the topic of library education and employer expectations is that of the value of the ALA accredited degree. A recented study undertaken by a librarian reports on how Association of Research Libraries’directors value the ALA accredited degree for potential employees. Included in the study is a summary of what appears in job ads in the professional literature about ALA accredited degree requirements.