1997 FEATHER RIVER INSTITUTE

WHAT’S FOR DINNER? CONTINUING EDUCATIONAFTER THE MLIS

ANN L. O’NEILL

Assistant Professor

College of Library and Information Science

University of South Carolina

Columbia, SC 29208

Internet: aoneill@sc.edu

Abstract—This paper examines the current status of continuing education coursesoffered by American schools of Library and Information Science. Special emphasis isgiven to offerings for librarians working in collection development and acquisitions.Alternative mechanisms for delivering continuing education courses to the professionare discussed. A survey of 47 American schools reveals that only 8.9% of the 280continuing education workshops fit the traditional definition of technical services.Suggestions are made as to how practitioners and educators can increase the con-tinuing education offerings available for technical services, collection development,and acquisitions librarians. © 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd

Keywords—Continuing education, Acquisitions, Collection development

INTRODUCTION

I believe I should begin by explaining the title of my presentation. My colleague, HeidiHoerman, is fond of telling students that the MLIS is just the beginning of their education forlibrarianship. As such, they should think of the degree as an hors d’oeuvre that whets their appetitesfor more knowledge. She and, I think, our entire faculty, try to emphasize that getting a librarydegree is not the end of a student’s education, but the beginning of lifelong learning aboutlibrarianship. So, if the MLIS is the appetizer, what’s for dinner? And who is responsible forpreparing and serving the main entree of continuing education? In this presentation, I will examine

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the role that American schools of library and information science play in continuing education,especially as it pertains to the areas of acquisitions and collection development.

THE STEP-CHILD METAPHOR

Karen Schmidt provides another appropriate metaphor when she refers to acquisitions as“ . . . astepchild of librarianship” [1]. Although schools of library and information science do offer courseson collection development and (very) occasionally acquisitions, librarians working in these areasreport that they gained most of their knowledge on the job. The stepchildren, however, continue toexpress their need for continuing education. For example, those of us gathered here are engagingin continuing education and this morning’s sessions and readings testify to the concern for formaleducation. Gay Dannelly [2] and Karen Schmidt [3], among others, have published articles thataddress the importance of continuing education in acquisitions and collection development. Asthese authors state, librarians in these areas must rely on themselves and professional organizationsto get the necessary information and knowledge. Attending conferences, reading the literature,monitoring discussion lists, and networking with colleagues are valuable, and often the only,sources of continuing education.

In preparing for this presentation, it occurred to me that continuing education at Americanschools of library and information science might be viewed in a similar way. In fact, Marilyn Millerstates in her 1985 survey of continuing education at library schools:“ . . . the formal continuingeducation program of most library schools has been the proverbial stepchild” [4]. Her resultsprovide the link between these step siblings. Based upon ALISE statistics from 1978 to 1981, shefound that only 52 of 383 continuing education courses fit the traditional definition of technicalservices: collection development, acquisitions, serials, and cataloging. If acquisitions, collectiondevelopment, and continuing education were the stepchildren of librarianship and library educationin 1980, has the situation changed in 1997? Is there any realistic hope that schools of library andinformation science will provide extensive formal continuing education for acquisitions andcollection development librarians?

METHOD AND RESULTS

To determine the extent of continuing education for acquisitions and collection developmentlibrarians at American schools of library and information science, I sent a letter requestinginformation on post-masters degrees and continuing education workshops or programs offered bythe 49 American ALA-accredited schools. The letter was sent to either the dean or the personidentified as the continuing education contact at each school. I received responses from 31 schoolsand obtained information on 16 more schools from their home pages (see Appendix A). Twenty-seven (57.4%) of the 47 schools offer a post-masters degree or certificate. These programs aregenerally targeted towards librarians who wish to retool in order to change positions or for thoseneeding a Masters plus 30 for professional or salary advancement. However, a post-masters degreerequires the librarian first to be near a school that offers this degree and, secondly, to have the timeand money to return to school for an additional 24 to 30 credit hours. Because these degrees arebased upon the school’s regular curriculum that might not include advanced or specialized coursesfor acquisitions or collection development, they are unlikely to meet the continuing education needsin these areas.

A more “traditional” view of continuing education is the half or full day workshop or conference

36 A. L. O’NEILL

on a specific topic. Fifteen of the 31 schools responding to my letter indicated that they provide thistype of continuing education. Although such workshops also require a librarian to be near and goto a library school, this type of continuing education has the advantages of being short and targetinga specific need. I must say that I stretched my definition to include any school in which the responsementioned a continuing education workshop or course for practitioners. Of the 15 schools, ten sentme detailed information on the workshops they offer [5].

I counted a total of 280 continuing education offerings based upon information provided bythese 15 schools. This number is comparable to data in the ALISE statistics for continuingeducation workshops in previous years [6]. By far, most (40.7%) of the 280 continuing educationworkshops are technology-oriented. There are a large number of workshops on web resources, htmland web page design, the Internet, new software packages, and automation concerns such as localarea networks and personal computing. The next most prevalent group of workshops (18.6%)addresses the information needs of special populations, particularly children and public librarypatrons. Schools also offer management workshops addressing topics such as TQM, staff training,leadership, and decision making. Because acquisitions and collection development librarianssupervise staff and work closely with library automation, knowledge about management andtechnology is important for their work. But, do library schools offer workshops that address thespecific needs of such librarians?

When I tallied the workshops that could be identified as traditional technical services, (collec-tion development, acquisitions, serials, and cataloging) the result was very disappointing; only 25(8.9%) of the 280 workshops fell into this category. Of these technical services workshops, 22(88%) cover cataloging, MARC records, OCLC, classification, or subject analysis. The only threethat address acquisitions and collection development were fiscal management at Indiana Univer-sity, visual resources collection fundamentals at the University of Texas-Austin, and virtualcollection development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

ANALYSIS

These results indicate that little has changed since Miller’s 1985 study of continuing educationofferings. Then, as now, workshops aimed at acquisitions and collection development librarians area small percentage of the total continuing education offerings at American schools of library andinformation science. This raises the question: what can the faculty at schools of library andinformation scienceandpractitioners do to be sure that there is a healthy and balanced continuingeducation dinner? First, I wonder if, given the geographic distribution, or non-distribution, ofAmerican schools of library and information science, it is realistic to expect the schools to assumethe primary responsibility of providing continuing education for the profession. Schools of libraryand information science average 10 full time faculty members, therefore, the schools might nothave enough people to provide extensive continuing education programs. One reason that theremay be so few workshops for collection development is the fact that only 1 or 2 faculty membersat a school might list collection development as an area of expertise. In fact, ALISE does notprovide the option to list acquisitions as an area of expertise, and I am currently the only full timefaculty member to list serials as a subject specialty [7]. If library schools do not or can not providethe basic education for acquisitions and collection development, how can we do a good, or betterjob, of providing continuing education in these areas?

Distance education is one method of overcoming geographic limitations. A number of LISschools now offer semester-long courses through various technologies: world wide web, satellite,videotape, 2-way video, and the ever-reliable drive and deliver. The viability of distance education

371997 Feather River Institute

technologies for professional development workshops is not yet fully understood, but is a possi-bility that must be explored. One exploration will begin with the 1998 Fundamentals of Acquisi-tions Institute, which is being co-sponsored by ALCTS and USC’s College of Library andInformation Science. The institute will be broadcast via satellite to sites in the Eastern and Centraltime zones. However, concerns about technology costs, support levels at the schools and theirinstitutions, and planning lead time mean that distance education will probably be only one dish inthe continuing education dinner.

Practitioners need to be proactive with faculty. We do our best to be involved with local librariesand to stay current with trends and issues, just as you do. But we are not in a position to know allof the everyday problems you face or what your continuing education needs might be. Call us, sendus e-mail, talk to us at conferences, do whatever you think it takes to get to know us andcommunicate your concerns and needs. I believe it is particularly important for practitioners tobecome more actively involved in the continuing education programming at schools of library andinformation science. Offer to conduct a workshop. Having more people to do workshops meansmore workshops can be offered. Additionally, conducting a workshop not only looks good on aresume for tenure requirements, it is also an excellent learning experience. I find I learn a great dealfrom planning a course and from the experiences of the participants and students.

Speak to the deans of the library schools and emphasize the importance of continuing educationfor all aspects of librarianship. Tell the faculty and continuing education coordinators at the schoolsthe types of workshops you want offered. Remember it is the noisy stepchild that gets fed. At USCwe believe continuing education is an important service we must provide and we do our best tomeet the needs of our constituents. I often receive phone calls or e-mail messages from librarianswith suggested topics for workshops. Support the workshops when they are offered by attendingyourself or sending staff. Yes, there is a fee, but it is quite modest when compared to the cost ofattending a conference or registering for a semester-long class. Most continuing education pro-grams must be self-funded and therefore, workshops that do not have sufficient attendance are notlikely to be offered on a regular basis. As successful as our program is, it does not generate enoughrevenue to cover the overhead costs for staff, graduate assistants, and publicity. However, we feelstrongly that this is a service we must provide and we are willing to subsidize it. This is a messagethat needs to be heard, and accepted, at more schools. You need to be the messenger.

To return to my original questions—What is for dinner? and Who are the cooks for ourcontinuing education meal?—I would like to open the floor for discussion for you to help meanswer these questions and think of alternatives to my suggestions above, so that when this topicis revisited someone will be able to say that the dinner table is laden with too many dishes.

REFERENCES

1. Schmidt, K. A. (1986). “Buying good pennyworths?” A review of the literature of acquisitions in the eighties.LibraryResources & Technical Services, 30, 333.

2. Dannelly, G. N. (1994). Continuing education for collection management and development: Professional and survivalimperatives.Recruiting, Educating, and Training Librarians for Collection Development, Johnson, P. and Intner, S. S.(Eds.) Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. pp. 199–211.

3. Schmidt, K. A. (1985). Every day is an education: Formal continuing education for acquisitions.Illinois Libraries, 67,438–440.

4. Miller, M. L. (1985). Library schools and continuing education.Continuing Education for the Library InformationProfessions. Asp, W. G. et. al. (Ed.) Hamden, CT: Library Professional Publications. pp. 214.

5. These ten schools are: University of Illinois, University of Iowa, Kent State University, Long Island University, RutgersUniversity, Simmons College, University of South Carolina, University of Texas at Austin, University of Wisconsin–Madison, and University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

38 A. L. O’NEILL

6. Library and Information Science Education Statistical Report 1996. (1996). Sineath, T. W. (Ed.) Raleigh, NC:Association for Library and Information Science Education.

7. Association for Library and Information Science Education. (1996).Directory of the Association for Library andInformation Science Education, 1996–97, 27th Ed., Ann Arbor, MI: Association for Library and Information ScienceEducation.

APPENDIX A

SchoolSource of

InformationPost-Masters

DegreeContinuing Education

Program

Alabama Letter Y NAlbany-SUNY Letter Y NArizona Web N NClark Atlanta Letter Y NBuffalo-SUNY Letter Y YBerkeley Letter N NUCLA Web N NCatholic Letter Y NClarion Letter Y NDrexel Letter Y NEmporia Web N NFlorida State Web Y NHawaii Web Y NIllinois Letter Y YIndiana Letter Y YIowa Letter N YKent State Letter Y YKentucky Letter N YLong Island Letter N YLouisiana State Letter Y YMaryland Web N NMichigan Letter N NMissouri Letter N NUNC-Chapel Hill Web Y NNorth Carolina Central Web N NUNC-Greensboro Web N NNorth Texas Web Y NOklahoma Letter Y NPittsburgh Web Y NPratt Web Y NQueens None N NRhode Island Letter N NRosary None N NRutgers Letter N YSt. Johns Letter Y NSan Jose State Letter N NSimmons Letter N YSouthern Ct. Letter Y NSouthern Miss. Letter Y NSouth Carolina Letter Y YSouth Florida Web N NSyracuse Web N NTennessee Web N N

391997 Feather River Institute

SchoolSource of

InformationPost-Masters

DegreeContinuing Education

Program

Texas-Austin Letter Y YTexas Woman’s Letter N YWashington Web N NWayne State Letter Y NWisconsin-Madison Letter Y YWisconsin-Milwaukee Letter Y Y

40 A. L. O’NEILL