The overarching assessment of youth services rendered by Leslie Edmonds in 1987 remains largely true today: that its most influential force remains not research, or evidence, or constant professional improvement or addressing field-based challenges, but "superstition." Research in youth services pedagogy, likewise, offers a perpetually…

As the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) celebrates sixty-five years in 2016 as a division of the American Library Association (ALA), it is wholly appropriate to examine the life of the organization contemplating what the future holds for school librarians. It is important to understand the past and abiding certainty and steadfast…

Thirty-six ethical codes from national professional associations were studied, the aim to test whether librarians have global shared values or if political and cultural contexts have significantly influenced the codes' content. Gorman's eight core values of stewardship, service, intellectual freedom, rationalism, literacy and learning, equity of…

Suggests some key distinctions to be made in looking toward a common ground of core values for guidance and meaning in the world of library leadership today. Discusses core values of the importance of words, people, and learning. (Author/LRW)

A deeply personal, religious article conveys the concerns of a librarian in Alaska. (MF)

An attempt is made to document some of the developments which affected the political role of German librarianship as seen through the involvements, activities, and correspondence of one of its leaders, George Leyh, during and after the Hitler era. The interconnections of Leyh's behavior, inner conflicts, and actions and the political and…

Discusses whether the American Library Association (ALA) should adopt a set of core values for the profession, and if so, what these core values would be. Includes background, charge, and membership; process, content, format, and explication; the draft statement; dissemination/response to input; and objections to the draft core values statement.…

Examines the role of professional standards in fostering good practice in librarianship. Discusses librarian liability theories and malpractice risk; professional conduct, including standards and an enforcement mechanism; professional knowledge; skills or competencies, including the role of library associations; and shared values. (Author/LRW)

The author argues that the profession of librarianship is in crisis. She seeks to identify the characteristics and analyse the qualities of this phenomenon in order to draw conclusions about future trends and directions for the profession. It is argued that this crisis is an outward sign of a deeper transformation which is taking place and which…

Examines factors of philosophical significance to college librarianship that provide direction for daily decisions: growth of bibliographic instruction--role of metaphysical and metaphorical; need to integrate values of liberal education; understanding of social context--humanistic roots; and understanding of librarian's role of intervenor,…

Includes reprints of four articles published in "Library Journal" from 1894-1963: (1) "The Distinctive Value of Books" (Lester Asheim); (2) "The Changing Role of the University Library" (Ralph E. Ellsworth); (3) "It Is a Mistake to Recruit Men" (Ralph Munn); and (4) "Is It Best for Libraries to Buy…

Relates the experiences of three public librarians in Alabama during the Civil Rights movement who challenged the resistance to integration. Discusses conflicts between professional and regional values; local racial customs; the ethics of librarianship; and the roles of the American Library Association and the Alabama Library Association.…

The lead article in this section argues that the profession's current focus on technology has compromised academic librarianship's scholarly values, eroded the quality of rhetoric between librarians and patrons, and contributed to the ascendancy of information over knowledge. Renewal of the teaching function and reaffirmation of traditional values…

Argues that, with the trend toward viewing reference librarians as information brokers and the reification and privatization of information, the traditional goals of libraries and librarianship are being lost, i.e., providing free and open access to books and information to promote informed democracy and the public good. (63 references) (EAM)

Presents perspectives from a library educator and three library administrators on the core values of librarianship, particularly public librarianship. The four contributors emphasize: cooperation for a shared endeavor, a passion to provide access, connecting information and people, and offering choice to individuals without restriction. (AEF)