Date: Fri, 23 Nov 2012 01:28:45 -0500
From: Scott Barker <[log in to unmask]>
To: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: History: MLS, MIS, MS, etc (fwd)

No offense, but you say:

"I am asking the iSchools to stay OUT of this discussion for now.  This 
concerns library schools.  This concerns schools, both graduate and 
undergraduate, who are trying to educate librarians."

There are a very large number of iSchools (in fact I believe the vast 
majority) that are educating librarians and who have accredited library 
science masters programs.  The difference between a "library school" and 
an "information school" to me is that "library schools" focus on educating 
librarians, while information schools have a broader perspective and offer 
degree programs other than just the MLIS.

For example here at the University of Washington we have an undergraduate 
Informatics program and a Master of Science of Information Management 
program that are not focused on libraries in any way, although there are 
conceptual components of library science that are part of those programs. 
But we still do have an ALA accredited MLIS that is ranked in the top 4 in 
the country and that is still the largest program in our school (although 
our undergrad program will grow larger than it in the next couple of 
years).  Library Science education is also central and extremely important 
in many other iSchools - Syracuse, UNC, Michigan, Drexel, Pitt, Maryland, 
UTexas and on and on.

In other words, you shouldn't be suggesting that information schools 
aren't concerned with educating librarians, the vast majority of them are. 
And in fact, the vast majority of top ranked LIS programs are located 
within information schools.

Scott Barker


-----Original Message-----
From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Gretchen Whitney
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2012 6:18 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: History: MLS, MIS, MS, etc (fwd)

Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2012 21:07:32 -0500
From: "Martens, Betsy V." <[log in to unmask]>
To: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: History: MLS, MIS, MS, etc

------------------ John Richardson's entry, "History of American Library
Science: its Origins and Early Development," in the Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science, edited by Mary N. Maack and Marcia Bates (Francis and Taylor, 2010), addresses some of these questions, and is certainly a most useful reference.

Betsy Martens



Betsy Van der Veer Martens, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
School of Library and Information Studies University of Oklahoma
4502 East 41st Street, Room 1J30
Tulsa, Oklahoma  74135

(918) 660-3376
http://slis.ou.edu

________________________________________
From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Gretchen Whitney [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Thursday, November 22, 2012 7:41 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: History: MLS, MIS, MS, etc

Greetings, and Happy Holidays.

     I am looking for references to the history of library education.  I have a colleague who is interested in when the Master's degree was required for a librarian, rather than the Bachelor's degree.  I could not answer his question.  I do not know when, nor how, this transition happened. While I can remember reading this literature in the 1970s, I can't recall it nor justify the distinction now.

     Background: I ran into an interesting conversation a few days ago that was debating the need for a master's degree in library education (and I am being very specific in not saying LIS education) and the need for a master's degree as opposed to a bachelors degree for working in, and even running, a library.

     I am asking the iSchools to stay OUT of this discussion for now.  This concerns library schools.  This concerns schools, both graduate and undergraduate, who are trying to educate librarians.

     The conversation is at

http://21stcenturylibrary.com/2011/12/19/why-not-a-bachelors-in-library-science/

     I could not answer their questions about why a master's degree was required.  I could recall vague ideas about why a librarian needed to have a subject specialty because understanding library science underlaid all of the other disciplines.  And the collaboratory in a library of these subject specialties with the understanding of library sciences made the building work.

     I can't refer this colleague to a history of why librarians need a master's degree rather than an undergraduate degree.  Neither the ALISE nor ASIST website is a help. I have no idea where to send him/her

     Can someone refer me to a decent explanation of why the Master's degree is needed to be a "librarian" (and I use the quotes specifically), historically or in present terms, and why a Bachelor's degree would not suffice?

     Have a great holiday.
     --gw

PS This is a library education problem. I ask the iSchools to stay out of it for a while. IT issues will come in later.

     --ggww

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Gretchen Whitney, PhD, Retired
School of Information Sciences
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TN 37996 USA           [log in to unmask]
http://web.utk.edu/~gwhitney/
jESSE:http://web.utk.edu/~gwhitney/jesse.html
SIGMETRICS:http://web.utk.edu/~gwhitney/sigmetrics.html
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