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This announcement asks: "Is there a chasm between LIS education and professional practice?"
As Yogi Berra once said, "It's like deja-vu, all over again." Isn't this question asked just about every year? And don't we wind up with one group saying "Yes, there is a chasm", and another group saying "No, there isn't a chasm"? Then there's some heated debate, and maybe a report. Then people get tired of talking about the question and it gets put on a back burner until the next round.
It sure would be nice to put this question to rest once and for all by actually answering it. I remember John Unsworth's suggestion last summer in the iSchool/iCaucus response to the ALA Library Education Task Force report:
"As deans of the iSchools, we suggest that the most efficient means of achieving the outcomes that you desire would be 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. We envision this work being conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect between those who teach and those who practice, and would willingly engage the expertise and resources of the iSchools in the achievement of such an outcome." To the best of my knowedge, no one (on either "side") ever took John up on his suggestion.
I, for one, am really tired of the "chasm" debate. It always seems to end with both sides each convincing themselves that their position is correct.
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