"It's a recession, baby!" was the common refrain among the Library and Information Science (LIS) graduates of the class of 2008. This was a record year for the number of graduates participating in "Library Journal"'s annual Placements & Salaries survey, and they had stories to tell, providing evidence of both hard times in the job market, and some…

This article profiles Rebecca Knuth, winner of the LJ Teaching Award for 2009. The way she plans a class she's teaching illustrates why she was nominated by her students and won the award. The award, which comes with a $5000 honorarium and a celebration at the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting, is sponsored by ProQuest. For…

Two University of Arizona faculty members contend that librarians need training in practical library skills, but argue that basic instruction cannot be effectively carried out at the graduate level. Suggestions are provided for employers, the American Library Association and the schools themselves for addressing the practical skills problem. (AEF)

Discusses an alternative to abandoning the word "library" for "information" in graduate education. Recommends patient, consistent effort by library- and information-science educators to convince academic librarians that if they accept the standards of the teaching/research faculty, including the need to earn a Ph.D., it will raise the prestige of…

Presents results from the 48th annual "Library Journal" Placements and Salaries Survey (1998). Discusses job trends; increasing salaries; decrease in placements; and graduate responses. Eight tables provide results. A sidebar by Norman Oder profiles a 1998 graduate from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of…