While I hesitate to speak for others, I expect that those teaching what 
used to be called reference courses direct considerable attention to the 
issues you're concerned about, Bernie.  I certainly do.  The even larger 
picture of the place of libraries and librarians in the creation, 
publication, and dissemination of information is a topic that appears in 
foundations of librarianship & info sci courses.  You might want to look 
at Richard Rubin's 3rd edition of /Foundations of Library and 
Information Science/, a widely used textbook for foundations courses.  
The first chapter is titled "The Educational, Informational, and 
Entertainment Infrastructure."

Best,

Holly Willett

B.G. Sloan wrote:
>  
> I think it would be really instructive if LIS students could take a 
> course that showed where libraries and librarians fit into the 
> overall "information-seeking food chain". Something that would give 
> future librarians a realistic idea of how libraries are used (and not 
> used) by people seeking information that they need. Something where 
> students read research reports about how people really go about 
> looking for the info they need, and then discuss how libraries might 
> better position themselves in the "big picture".
>  
> It might help future librarians design better library systems if they 
> could view the problem through a non-library-centric lens, and see the 
> role of libraries within a broader context.
>  
> I'm thinking there are probably courses like this out there. If you 
> teach a course like this I'd be interested in taking a look at your 
> syllabus.
>  
> Thanks!
>  
> Bernie Sloan
>
>