 |
 |
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 > >