Head Tale

If you haven't come across the book, “Revolting Librarians Redux” yet, you really owe it to yourself to pick up a copy.  It's got a huge range of essays (plus poems, cartoons and more) on all manner of library-related topics.  If nothing else, the Appendix linking different types of librarians to their star signs is hilarious/useful, depending on your take on astrology.  (For example, Cancers like myself, are very common in both academic and special libraries but are near the bottom for public libraries.  Er, luckily I'm in the “Astrology is bunk” camp.)

Shea got me the book for Christmas (I still contend her main reason was to see people's reactions when they saw the title!) and it was a great first read to get me up to speed on a whole range of current issues that someone, especially those without direct library experience, might not be familiar with. 

One of my favourite essays is “What Library Schools Still Aren't Teaching Us” (some would argue that 90% of this blog is on that theme so you can see why it would appeal.) 

I'm going to reprint Jess Nevin's main points here (with comments specific to my experience following) but again, would heavily recommend that you pick up the book to read the whole essay. 

Little Things
Office skills
– yes, fixing photocopiers is something all librarians will be called upon to do.  They don't formally teach this at FIMS but the amount of photocopying we end up doing means that you will inevitably be faced with a paper jam or have to convert single sided regular sheets into double-sided legal sized stapled booklet.  It's probably worth spending some time trying to figure it yourself before running to the GRC staff.

Secondary Librarian Skills
– Nevins includes a range of things here including how to use a variety of ILS's, evaluating web sites and databases, writing pathfinders, reader's advisory skills, programming for children and collection development.  I'm happy to report that all of these skills are ones that are taught, either as part of the required courses or available via electives (except working with ILS's which I can't believe they don't include in 505! That was one of the main reasons I stayed in that course rather than getting an exemption and which has in turn, become one of my biggest regrets about my time here.  Speaking of which, a full post on the topic of “my biggest regrets of library school” will be forthcoming sometime this semester, I'm sure.)  I think you can also make a pretty strong argument that a collection development class should be part of the required courses.  

Dress and Hygiene
– it's funny now but I remember having an hour-long conversation with a FIMS alumnus when I was accepted and the final question I asked her, rather meekly, was “Is there a dress code for library school?”  I had no idea – I knew grad students at U of R who dressed like, well, like students.  But I knew this was a professional program and even though most of the librarians I knew in the real world dressed in a style you might call “business casual”, I also knew a few who wore suits everyday.  Meanwhile, my own closet tended towards jeans and t-shirts but I figured if I could hold off buying a brand new wardrobe until I actually had a paying job, that had some appeal.  But yeah, there's a complete range of dress and hygiene among the students here but I don't think there's anybody that you'd have to take aside if you were working with them in the real world and say “uhm, maybe it's time to lay off the ripped metal t-shirts?” (which was an actual concern I had in a previous workplace.)

Big Things
Sensitivity Training
– I'd argue that for the most part, librarians tend to be as aware of diversity issues as pretty much any profession you can name (outside of diversity training consultants, I guess.)  But everybody has their underlying biases and prejudices and it helps to be not only aware but understanding of them – where they come from, how to deal with them.  (True story – one gay student was talking about GLBT literature in one of his classes and the prof actually said “Well, it can't be that big of a body of a literature.  There probably aren't more than 30-40 titles out there.”)  Two months later, the groundbreaking Pride Library, with 5000+ volumes  opened here at UWO.)  I'm not sure if we need a full class on sensitivity (more because of issues of time/cost than necessity) but offering a workshop early each term might be useful.  One student asked about a course in Information Ethics during the Q&A with the Acting Associate Dean over the summer but I don't see why a course like this, if implemented, couldn't be expanded or shifted slightly to be a course in “social justice and community issues” which could encompass sensitivity training as well.

Teaching
– the book makes a good point that a large part of any librarian's job these days is teaching. We do get a lot of opportunities to teach via presentations in our required and optional classes but my main complaint is that we aren't given any training on how to teach before being thrown in front of a classroom.  Public speaking is the biggest fear people have, PowerPoint is evil and yet, students are expected to lead 30 minute presentations with no background or experience.  Worse, bad habits end up getting reinforced via this method instead of being corrected before they start. 

Book Purchasing
– if Collections Development were required, this would definitely be a big part of the course. . It's ridiculous that any student leaves here not knowing about vendors or library discounts or standing orders or other issues.  For those who choose one of the two Collections Development courses as an elective (and I suspect most do), they should get at least some exposure to book purchasing. 

Professional Writing
– I hate to say it but even though librarians all have undergrad and Masters degrees, the quality of the writing sometimes leaves something to be desired.  I know not everyone's degree is in English with work experience as a columnist and editor but the value of clear, concise writing can't be understated.  (Disclaimer: this blog is meant as no reflection of my professional writing capabilities! You start paying me to keep this blog, the typos and spelling errors will go way down! ) 

A personal example of the lack of emphasis on professional writing:  I wrote a paper once where, during the editing process, I forgot to finish a thought.  The sentence was something like: “The advantages of online databases are accessibility, ease-of-sharing and…” and it literally ended with the third point not being made.  Instead of taking marks off (I know because I got 10/10), the prof simply stuck a question mark at the end of that line.  I'm a big fan of the saying some school teachers use: “spelling and grammar are used in every subject so they should count in every subject.”  The same should apply for grad level writing. 

Public Relations
– like it or lump it, this is a big part of the library world now too. We get a brief overview in the management course but I think a lot more could be done.  I'm not sure how other 506 courses are taught but I know I really wanted ours to be a lot more balanced in mixing the theoretical with the practical. 

Managerial Skills
– we have a required class in management but, again, at least for me, it was extremely unfulfiling.  Is this a condition of trying to teach “management” which may be one of those things in life, like driving or cooking, you can only learn by doing, not by reading about it in a book? 

Interviewing Skills
– not how to interview new employees (though that's important too.  A friend talked to me recently about hiring being a million dollar decision – if you hire the right person and they stay with your organization for thirty years, you see that the interview process is more than just a couple hours in a board room.)  But what Nevins is getting at is that, in some ways, the librarian's day is a constant series of interviews – with patrons, with co-workers and supervisors, with vendors – and so effective interviewing skills are vital.  We do get some training on this in 503.

Paradigm Shifts
Outreach
– the author makes a good point that this idea should be embedded in everything we do in library school.  Why not do a joint session with the MBA's up in Ivey to show them what librarians can do for them?  Why not have us go out into the community to meet with staff at local non-profits?  Why not have us attend board meetings of the local public library (er, we do that in Public Libraries but maybe everybody should have some exposure to these meetings – they're open to the public anyhow – as part of say, the required Management course?)

Bridging The Digital Divide
– I get pretty frustrated with professors and fellow students who don't recognize technology as something that can be a very good thing for all library patrons and instead, frame those of us who are techno-evangelists as elitist or mis-directed.  Like pretty much anything, the “10% really good, 90% crap” rule applies but it's that 10% that's really good in the world of technology that can be incredibly useful to people.  One easy example: online job hunting sites open up a whole range of options (locally and beyond) that the city newspaper doesn't cover.  And for those who don't have access to technology in their homes due to costs or whatever, the library is the place that gives them access to all types of information that's increasingly being provided via online services. 

Keeping Up With the Times
–
this point really means just knowing what's going on out there in the real world.  The co-op program is excellent for giving students an awareness of what's happening but for those of us who choose not to do co-op, you might not be aware that the issues of the ivory tower aren't necessarily the issues on the street.  For me, following a variety of librarian blogs has been extremely helpful in helping me to find out (and keep up with) ongoing trends and issues.  Name the topic or issue and somebody probably has a blog devoted to it.  I'm probably never going to be a cataloguer but the Dewey Decimal Blog is a personal favourite which gives me useful, relevant information that is the type of stuff I should at least have an awareness of if I want to work in public libraries. 

In Conclusion
(Man, this turned out way longer than my initial plan to reprint Nevins' list with a few of my own brief comments!)

I think FIMS could really improve itself by offering a week-long series of optional seminars during the first week of classes each semester or even just once per year. 

(Hmm, if only I knew someone responsible for academic-related matters on student council. Yeah, I'll add it to my short longlist of things to do!)

Ideas for FIMS Week One Seminars
Monday – interviewing
Tuesday – public speaking
Wednesday – professional writing
Thursday – assertiveness training
Friday – diversity training

Useless Trivia of the Day: October 4-6 is the 130th Anniversary of the ALA.  (via Shifted Librarian)