Incendiary words

In the last few days, the library blogosphere has had a hey-day over ALA President Michael Gorman’s May column in American Libraries. (I find it amazing how many people read American Libraries, or did we all go looking for it buried in our in-basket, or online)

The most quoted paragraph is an adolescent name-calling tirade. I won’t give it yet another publication, but you can read it on several other library blogs – such as Library Crunch. Come on, Mr. President, “pseudo-librarians”, “yips”, “yawps”????

I will quote the second paragraph, in which Gorman does make valid points, if he has any readers left after the preceding words:

Here are the central issues: I believe there is a discipline called librarianship; that the core concerns of that discipline can be defined and codified into a core curriculum; that ALAs accreditation of LIS programs should depend on the faculty of those programs teaching and doing research into those central concerns; and that library educators and practitioners should work together through ALA to ensure that graduates of ALA-accredited programs receive the training that will enable them to build on their library education to become productive librarians. Moreover, I believe that those educated and trained librarians should be involved in both the practice of librarianship and in continuing education–another area in which the Association can work fruitfully with practitioners and library educators.

Several points:

  1. Gorman says: “. . . to ensure that graduates of ALA-accredited programs receive the training that will enable them to build on their library education . . .” The MLS is the beginning, the foundation. Well-prepared graduates will become “productive librarians” when they use all the appropriate tools at their disposal to accomplish the job. Tools come and go, and the “core concerns of the discipline” are much less changeable.
  2. Technology is the tool. We all know that. We pick the right tool for the right job. Some people are better at one tool, some at another.
  3. Good library organizations have a well-balanced staff, each who may have unique abilities with various tools and who all collaborate to bring the best possible service to their community.
  4. I hope the EbscoHost version of the now-famous editorial was faulty and that Mr. Gorman understands the need for a possessive – see the paragraph above “ . . . that ALAs accreditation of LIS programs . . .” (in which case, never mind)