This final column by Herbert White addresses his concerns with the professional objectives of librarians and how librarians are perceived and treated. Highlights include the users' need for librarians; the role of the American Library Association in supporting libraries more often than librarians; and stressing institutions rather than people.…

Explores and critiques an information paradigm that is currently being proposed in the library literature, and looks at its potential impact on research and policy issues of major concern to librarians and library educators. (CLB)

Using published studies and references, shows why the requirement that a manager of interlibrary loan be a librarian with a master's degree in Library Science may be outmoded in the modern academic library. Discusses the librarian's role, certification and professional elitism, job requirements, and user needs. (AEF)

Discusses international librarianship from two points of view: (1) library education that addresses the needs of the international library community; and (2) the participation of professional librarians in activities of library associations at the international level. Examines research in the field of librarianship and describes selected…

A literary scholar interacts with various other speakers at the Fleur Cowles "Fleur" Symposium 2000 (Austin, TX) and makes his own case for the necessity of physical materials that are always yielding new insights. He rues the apparent denigration of paper materials and the reduction of books even in research libraries and suggests that research…

This paper focuses on ethics for librarians and library science in the age of electronic information. First outlined is the "public relations nightmare" that the Internet is creating for the administrators and the library staff. It is suggested that libraries pick a common sense approach that involves the library staff and community and…

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)

The future role, scope, and nature of bibliographic instruction (BI) and reference services at academic libraries is unresolved. Both have felt internal pressures and challenges during the past decade. It is suggested that BI and reference share tasks and become a single service. (92 references) (Author/DGM)

Argues that libraries have gone through a rising and falling pattern of influence, largely in response to changes in information technology. The library of the future is described as an information support center where librarians can fill two new roles: systems analysts and knowledge engineers. (EM)

Focusing on the point of contrast between the library, whose primary role is the preservation of knowledge, and other dimensions of an information society where knowledge has become increasingly fragmented and exteriorized, this paper begins by defining leadership and reviewing various meanings assigned to the term "discourse." Several…

This assessment of the state of library and information science research in the United Kingdom, which was presented at a joint conference of two Canadian professional associations, focuses on functions of the British Library's Research and Development Department. The importance of research and dissemination of its findings are also discussed. (CDD)

This report, which considers the role of networking activities associated with the technical telecommunication links that bind libraries, services, and patrons together, begins with a historical review of libraries and automation-based systems over the last 19 years. The importance of the development and implementation of standards in interactive…

Considers librarians' preparation for research university libraries. Topics discussed include the library's role in the research university, including advances in information technology and a knowledge management environment; user-centered librarians; scholarly communication; the concept of a learning society; and the need for a more diverse…