Michel Foucault (1926-84) is a primary thinker informing the construction of a critical theory of library and information science (LIS), or librarianship. He is widely cited and is adapted in various ways that focus on LIS forms of power, discourse, and so on. Others have addressed Foucault's topics, but he remains central. Librarianship has taken…

This essay on library terminology and jargon highlights the names of files encountered in one library, expressions used during presentations at the most recent American Library Association Annual Conference, job titles, journal abstracts, and other genera of double-talk that can profitably be used to reduce comprehension. Twelve references are…

Provides an overview of audiovisual materials about librarianship and information science, names some titles in various categories, and suggests sources of such materials. A bibliography of selection aids, producers, and distributors is included. (Author/JD)

Examines German academic librarianship through interviews with German library journals and German librarians. Discusses the German concern with "Bibliothekspolitik," the internal politics of librarianship. Describes a set of initiatives intended to make German professional journals more readily available to American librarians.…

Examination of the confrontation between patrons and technology in the library focuses on two questions evident when addressing the instruction librarian's role in humanizing technology: whether the library profession can afford to humanize interaction between client and technology, and how instruction librarians can humanize the confrontation.…

Discusses funding for library research (1964-84), including previous findings; problems in analyses of funding; activities of major research funding agencies (Higher Education Act of 1965 Title II-B, National Science Foundation, National Library of Medicine, Council on Library Resources); and funding by professional organizations. Problems and…

This article reviews research about the indexes and abstracts, surveys the major secondary services in librarianship, and relates weaknesses in the services to problems in the profession itself. It recommends that the present system be retained until further research explores information needs and usage. (Author/RAA)

This guest editorial discusses the underrepresentation of community colleges in the literature on academic libraries/librarianship. Highlights include the roots of the problem, why this research is important, overcoming barriers, and sources of support. (Contains 6 references.) (MES)

Reviews the literature to identify forms of field experience, reasons for including field experiences in library school curricula, and issues that need discussion and research. Also explored are learning theory, weaknesses and administrative problems of current programs, and program alternatives. The attached bibliography includes more than 50…

Discusses ideas and concerns about educating people for information field of future, covering change pressures in United States (developments in information technology), response to pressure by library schools, and library school role in information age (user/organizational information needs assessment, organization and retrieval of information,…

Reviews literature on the counselor librarian and discusses problem areas accounting for resistance to concept--trend toward return to basic library services, advice and advocacy, resistance to accepting behavioral sciences, learning and teaching "helping" concepts, public acceptance, work environment, management support, staff development, and…

Discusses training of specialized personnel for libraries in USSR, highlighting principles of librarianship, unified curricula approved by USSR Ministry of Culture and USSR Ministry of Higher and Secondary Special Education, training librarians for work at public libraries serving rural populations, continuous education of library workers, and…

Reviews the literature on computer simulation modeling for library management and examines whether simulation is underutilized because the models are too complex and mathematical. Other problems with implementation are considered, including incomplete problem definition, lack of a conceptual framework, system constraints, lack of interaction…

Discussion of problems in library reference services focuses on the influence of gender roles. A historical overview of gender roles in the development of American librarianship is presented that highlights stereotyped views of and attitudes toward women, which the author suggests still have influences on librarianship today. (17 references) (LRW)

Examines physical deterioration of library collections as result of acidic content of books published since mid-nineteenth century. Dimensions of problem, solutions being developed by libraries, and professional challenges posed by preservation (collection management, organizational structures, technical processes, educational programs) are…