I was going  to bite my tongue and not respond to yet another round of this insane (or at least inane) ranting about LIS education so here goes.
The short answer is no, no one is likely to conduct the necessary research. This is a perennial subject that seems to be raised by those with either an ax to grind (as per the recent forums on library education based on a logical fallacy that was expressed as a "crisis in library education" but never documented) or a disconnect between library education and library practice. Where is the evidence? Bernie is right, do the research and then have a forum. Give those attending something to put their collective teeth into. 
Chasm is a loaded word. Of  course practice and theory are divided as they should be. Theory should guide practice and practice should advise theory in the guise of best practices that are, in turn, based on evidence- based practice that uses published research and descriptions of trial and error practice that should guide, to some extent, what we do.
I would welcome the research but I suspect that there is no one out there  in the LIS education world who is truly interested in this question, is LIS education meeting the needs of the profession of Librarianship (and please don't reply with the sociological argument about defines a profession). 
You can always find someone who denigrates one's graduate education but as a long-time employed, I would rather have an entry level librarian than one with experience in many if not most positions. As Loriene Roy commented on this subject, one's education does not end with one's degree. On the contrary, that is just the beginning. Give me fresh theory and knowledge and the enthusiasm and ambition that has defined those entry level librarians I have hired from a variety of LIS programs from both coasts and a large swath of middle of this country.
If LIS educators and practitioners insist on raising this issue, please have the decency to garner some facts first. But to paraphrase America's true poet laureate, Bob Dylan, you don't need a weather man to tell which way the wind blows. 


Thomas W. Leonhardt
Director, Scarborough-Phillips Library
St. Edward's University
3001 South Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78704-6489
512.448.8470
FAX 512.448.8737
Mobile: 512.228.0480
Home: 512.899.8718

----- Original Message -----
From: "Holly Willett" <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Friday, January 8, 2010 8:12:23 PM
Subject: Re: 2010 Forum on Library Education

Muriel,

To what "work" are you referring?  The Forum is simply a panel
discussion, as interesting as it is likely to be.  Is anyone committed
to carrying out the necessary research?

Holly Willett

Muriel Wells wrote:
> Won't our work address the issue Mr. SLoan is talking about here?
>  
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From:* B.G. Sloan <[log in to unmask]>
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Sent:* Fri, January 8, 2010 3:10:37 PM
> *Subject:* Re: 2010 Forum on Library Education
>
>  
> 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.
>  
> Bernie Sloan
>
> --- On *Thu, 1/7/10, Patricia Antrim /<[log in to unmask]>/* wrote:
>
>
>     From: Patricia Antrim <[log in to unmask]>
>     Subject: 2010 Forum on Library Education
>     To: [log in to unmask]
>     Date: Thursday, January 7, 2010, 2:55 PM
>
>     The following announcement is sent on behalf of the ALA Committee
>     on Education.
>
>     2010 Forum on Library Education
>
>     The American Library Association (ALA) Committee on Education and the
>     Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) will
>     present a forum on Library Education. The forum will be hosted by
>     ALISE
>     and held during the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Boston, (MA) at the
>     Boston
>     Park Plaza Hotel & Towers, 3:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 15,
>     2010.
>     This year's theme will be: "Learning Outcomes: Methodologies for
>     Connecting Communities"
>
>     Representatives from Library & Information Studies (LIS) education and
>     ALA divisions will discuss the following issues of learning
>     outcomes in
>     LIS education and how the professional community views LIS graduates:
>     What is a Learning Outcome? How might the new competences impact LIS
>     education? What relationship do the new competences have to
>     established
>     division competences? Is there a chasm between LIS education and
>     professional practice?
>     The forums on library education are annual events and are venues
>     for an
>     open exchange of ideas and ongoing dialogue between LIS educators and
>     library practitioners on current topics related to library education
>     matters.
>     Speakers:  Rachel A. Applegate, Indiana University -
>     Indianapolis;  Lynn
>     S. Connaway, OCLC; Sara Kelly Johns, Lake Placid Middle/High School
>     (NY); Dan O'Connor, Rutgers University and Scott Walter, University of
>     Illinois - Urbana.
>     For updates and additional information about the Forum, please
>     visit the
>     website:
>     http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/hrdr/abouthrdr/hrdrliaisoncomm/c
>     ommitteeoned/libraryeducationforum.cfm
>
>     Lorelle Swader
>
>
>
>     **Please include the history of email correspondence in your reply**
>
>     Dr. Patricia Antrim
>     Chair, Educational Leadership & Human Development
>     Lovinger 4102
>     University of Central Missouri
>     Warrensburg, MO  64093
>     Phone: 660-543-8633
>     Fax: 660-543-4164
>
>
>