Prior to retiring from full-time librarianship to concentrate on readers' advisory (RA) consulting, teaching, and book and media discussions, Ted Balcom, longtime administrator of the Villa Park Public Library (VPPL), Illinois, repeatedly demonstrated a particularly effective approach to shoring up essential library support. Balcom, 1996 winner of…

For two professions so committed to meeting the needs of readers, publishers and librarians have distinct cultures. Put simply, one culture is all about developing and selling books; the other is about sharing them and fostering a culture of reading. But there is another basic difference, too. Publishers work closely with authors and use sales…

There's a lot of focus on the "Next Gen" librarians out there bringing a youth perspective that's supposed to shake things up and introducing new ideas and practices into a profession that sometimes moves forward at a glacial pace. But the ideas of the new generation do not invalidate the work done by those who came before. In fact, change in…

While some professions maintain strong professional boundaries, public librarianship remains a field in which a significant number of those delivering service do not have library degrees. In this article, the author discusses the results of a new hiring practices survey from "Library Journal" ("LJ"). The survey, coupled with…

This article profiles Rick J. Block, the recipient of the 2008 "LJ Teaching Award." Despite his "day job" and a heavy schedule of classroom teaching, Block finds time and intense energy to be the mentor, internship supervisor, and individual advisor to the students who fill every available seat in his classes at two LIS…

Last fall, at the Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science in New York, Barbara Genco, collection development director at the Brooklyn Public Library, taught a course on collection development principles, theory, and practice. "Library Journal" asked her to distill her curriculum down to 20 talking points that address…

Summarizes events at the 1988 American Library Association (ALA) annual conference, which addressed such issues as professional recruiting, national politics, leadership, copyright problems, support for the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, accreditation, and intellectual freedom. A listing of ALA officers and awards is…

Discusses the concept of information literacy and its target audience of library users. Topics discussed include the relationship of information literacy to bibliographic instruction (BI) and other library instruction; the role of librarians; terminology problems in librarianship; and the effects of information literacy on the value of information…

She is still in the wings, but once Sharon (Sherri) McQueen arrives on the stage of library education, innovation will surely follow. McQueen comes across like a fast-forward version of Katharine Hepburn's Bunny Watson without the fear of technology. Funny and clever, she seamlessly trades her comedy mask for tragedy when she turns to the future…

Argues that if librarianship is to change its outside perceptions, it must first change its self-perceptions. Three areas in which true professions that demand recognition and respect have established clearly visible ground rules are highlighted: (1) credentials and librarianship as a profession or trade, (2) research, and (3) continuing…

In this article, the author discusses his immediate concerns about working at Butler Library at Columbia University. He discusses the structure of the library system and voices his concerns about the structure. The structure is best described as a stratified pyramid. The librarians hired into the "upper base" are either specialists without an MLS…

In this survey, librarians were asked to list leaders in librarianship and their reasons for selecting them to investigate (1) where leadership is perceived in librarianship; (2) how well integrated the field is; (3) whether there is a fieldwide definition of leadership; and (4) similarities among perceived leaders. Sixteen finalists are listed.…

When the author ran into other recent graduates at the American Library Association (ALA) annual conference in New Orleans in 2006, several told her they were not happy with their jobs. After months of searching, they settled for positions in isolated rural libraries, have jobs with little responsibility, or are expected to manage their staff…

This discussion of the place of research in the field of library science notes empirical and scientific research; testing, analysis, and research design; theories and methodologies from other disciplines; the dilemma of quantification; library research needs; and the search for an audience. Twenty-six references are cited. (EJS)

In 2003, during the Biennial migration of academic librarians to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) conference, several of the programs in Charlotte, NC, discussed the recruitment and retention of the next generation but with an obvious lack of input from newly recruited librarians. In response, with Liza Posas, a library…