LISNews: Librarian News

Is the research paper still justifiable as a means of grading a college student's performance?

Critics of the form say it is outdated because the Internet has made sources so readily accessible. In addition, argues an article published recently by the John William Pope Center for Higher Education, research papers promote deference to conventional opinions. Thomas Bertonneau, the author of the article, "Down With Research Papers!" argued that students should instead be assigned essays, focusing on concise arguments staking out a point of view rather than long, informative surveys of a subject.

Room for Debate piece at NYT.com

Contrary to normal practice, a text copy of this episode's essay is presented below the “Read More” fold. A PDF file will also follow in the podcast feed.

LISTen: An LISNews.org Program -- Episode #164 by The Air Staff of Erie Looking Productions is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. -- Read More

I loved Michael Stephens' Office Hours column this week, "Seek a Challenge:"

Coasting, in library school and in our jobs, is not an option. Sending students who have coasted through their LIS program to your library to coast perpetuates this problem. I can tell which students are merely sailing through their program, just as I can tell when a professor has “checked out” of his or her own job.

Students—are you doing the bare minimum in your LIS program? Are you turning in “good enough” papers that show no excitement, curiosity, or passion for librarianship? Or are you going above and beyond the expectations of your teachers? You get what you bring to your program.

The onus for change lies with both students and LIS faculty. Students should provide constructive evaluations of their learning experience. Faculty should respond with curricular changes and updated course offerings as quickly as possible. Library school administration should enable these conversations about change in an open, transparent process. LIS programs must be nimble and quick if they are to survive in the current economy. -- Read More

I believe all publicity is good publicity - a podcaster friend always reminds me "haters still count as a download."  But, San Diego's KPBS gave a clear example of pure bad publicity this week, in a piece profiling "librarian/stand up comedian" Meredith Myers timed to coincide with the ALA Midwinter Meeting hosted in their city this past week:

Young, Hip Librarians Take Over (January 10, 2011)

Reaction towards what was probably intended to give younger library professionals a larger voice and break down traditional librarian stereotypes was swift and negative. Public librarian Janie offered the following:

I am no longer "young and emerging", but I am very open-minded, always seeking change and tech savvy. -- Read More