Received with a technical glitch.  --gw

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Date: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:51:03 -0800 (PST)
From: B.G. Sloan <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: 2010 Forum on Library Education

Since Bill Crowley directed his response to "All and Bernie in
Particular", I thought I should probably reply.
?
I've grown very?weary of the "Is there a chasm between LIS
education and professional practice?" question. Seeing the
question once again,?posed in the context of yet another ALA
Forum on Library Education, pushed me to the tipping point. In
the process of replying I blurred the distinction between two
issues:
?
1. Is there a "chasm" or "gap" between library practitioners
and LIS educators? Well, yeah, there's?often a gap between
educators and practitioners, in many fields. There are those
who "teach" and those who "do", and never the twain shall meet
(this is an exaggeration for the sake of example). Some library
practitioners today complain that?some?LIS educators don't
really know much about libraries, which is a valid point. But
35 years ago, when I was getting my MLS, my fellow students and
I had similar complaints. The faculty may have had library
backgrounds back then, but they hadn't actually been practicing
librarians in quite a while. I'm willing to accept that there
is some sort of gap between those who teach and those who
practice. It's the nature of the beast.
?
2. Here's the point I was trying to make. Accepting the fact
that there can be natural gaps/chasms in a given field?between
those who "teach" and those who "do", what do practitioners
think of the students that educators turn out? If practitioners
are happy with the quality of students who come out of
LIS?education programs, then the gap/chasm between educators
and practitioners is not something to worry about. If
practitioners feel that newly-minted LIS?students are not well
prepared for librarianship, then the gap/chasm is a cause for
concern.

John Unsworth's suggestion was to conduct?"empirical research
leading to a genuine understanding of the needs of the
profession and to consider how those needs are, or are not,
being met by programs such as ours". He did not suggest
research into whether or not there is a "chasm between LIS
education and professional practice." And I wasn't suggesting
that either, although I probably didn't express myself clearly
enough.
?
In summation, LIS schools prepare lots of future librarians. It
seems like it would be in the best interests of?both educators
and practitioners to determine?how well?the LIS schools are
meeting the needs of the profession. At the very least, it
might put an end to the great LIS education debate. :-)
?
?It seems that a research project to determine this would be a
prime candidate for, say, IMLS funding support.
?
Bernie Sloan?