LIS 610 Weekly Group Discussions on Required Readings

The syllabus shows the readings required for each week. At the beginning of the semester students will be formed into discussion groups of 3-4 members. You will meet with the same discussion group for the first part of the semester, then move to a different group. Some articles are required reading for every member of the group, while some may be assigned to particular members to cover. You will need to read more than what is assigned in the discussion groups to write your papers.

The discussion groups will:

• Assign readings to each member so that the required readings for the group are read by at least two people. Assigning more than one person to each article provides more than one understanding of its content, and in case someone is absent the content can still be discussed.
• Each member is responsible for preparing and presenting the questions relating to their assigned articles. This means that no one should be consulting the readings in class to find the "answer." The questions are designed to promote critical thinking and professional discussion.
• Those responsible for each article will lead the discussion and involve the other members in it. When you present your material to your discussion group, avoid lecturing or reading your notes to them at length. Reaction and discussion are essential. These discussions help prepare you for job interviews, committee and task force meetings, professional presentations, communicating to the rest of the world what librarians and information specialists do, etc.
• Make every effort to involve each member equally in the discussions, promote participation and critical thinking about issues raised. Discussion is most important.
• Study all of the material in advance and be prepared to discuss questions using your notes.
• Your notes should be made on a separate sheet of paper rather than on the article itself as the notes may be collected occasionally by the instructor.

Where to find the readings:

Many of the readings are available through the University of Hawai'i Library electronic reserves. Instructions for retrieving such readings are on the course syllabus. Other readings are available either on the Web or on an ICS server. Links to these readings have been provided in the online version of the course syllabus.

Preparation for Session 2 (January 16, 2007)

Required for all: Informal Library Use Survey Results; Rubin, Chapter 1; Jorgensen et al.

Required reading for group: Scheppke

Discussion questions:

1. Rubin notes that with modern-day electronic information networks there may be less reliance on libraries.  From your own experiences, do you expect that the importance of libraries and librarians to decrease in the future? Or will our roles be changing? If the latter, in what ways do you see our roles changing in the near future?
2. What does the survey by Jorgensen et al. tell us about the amount and types of present-day use of public libraries?
   What user characteristics correlate most closely with library use? What factors, apart from demographics, tend to affect library use?
   Should the focus group comments, taken with the Internet use data, be taken as a wake-up call for librarians?
3. What do you think of the assertion that American libraries must work harder to serve the underclass? What can be done to extend services to the underserved?
4. How do the results in the readings compare to your own survey findings?

Preparation for Session 3 (January 23, 2007)

Required for all: video (view in class)

Required reading for group: Rubin, pp. 19-34; Dervin

Discussion questions:

Video

1. The 60 minute video From Information to Wisdom presents a societal context for the application and use of information technology that show people in a variety of occupations using the technology. What struck you as the most positive and exciting aspect of the influx of information technology in society?
2. What are some of the disadvantages of the spread of technology in society? How can these be dealt with in libraries?
3. What is meant by the statement made in the video, "Learning is the new form of labor."? What implications do you see for libraries and their communities?
4. How exactly does a person progress "from information to wisdom"? What are the actual steps in this process? Use your own experience as an example. How do these steps relate to library use, information needs, and information seeking?
5. What role can librarians play in introducing people to information technology, and ensuring that they can access it effectively themselves to address information needs?

Rubin

1. Rubin defines the goal of information science as the resolution of human problems. In the library or other setting in which you intend to work what types of human problems do you expect you will be asked to help resolve?
2. How does Rubin see the relationship between information science and libraries?
3. How does Rubin distinguish between an information want and an information need? What implication does this distinction have for the reference interview?
4. Rubin suggests that "if people really prefer human rather than institutional sources of information, emphasizing the librarians rather than the library might increas individual use of the library. In other words, 'humanizing' the library may well reduce resistance to its use." How would you suggest doing this?
5. Publc libraries have been an equalizing force in our society, providing access to information resources for those who could not otherwise afford them. However, as Rubin notes, when librarians encounter decreasing budgets and increasing operating costs they sometimes resort to charging fees for certain materials or services? Is this an appropriate way to deal with a budget crisis? Why or why not?

Dervin

1. In Dervin's article, she finds that information use studies pretty much confirm that people do not fully utilize information available to them. What reasons for this situation does she infer?
2. What is the issue described by the bricks and buckets metaphor?
3. Dervin notes that neither personality nor demographic variables entirely explain information rejection, so she opts for what kind of approach?

Wilson (optional)

1. Wilson proposes a "nested fields" model to organize the research that has been done on information behavior. Describe that model.
2. In what ways can the models summarized by Wilson help librarians to assist patrons in their quest for information?

Preparation for Session 4 (January 30, 2007)

Required Readings: Nahl

Discussion questions:

Nahl (Available at: http://www.utpjournals.com/simile/issue2/nahl1.html)

1. Nahl states that "to be effective, user-assistance efforts ought to be organized to accommodate user-categories such as the following..." Among the items she lists are:
   • What constraints are operating on the user?
   • Does the user have a fixed purpose or an exploratory one?
   • Which stage of the information loop is the user in at this precise moment?
   • Is the user interested in data or opinions?
   • What advice is the user open to?

   Compose a set of questions you could ask a patron that could be used to elicit the above information.

2. The author also asks the following questions for the system:

   • How can the user's fears be mitigated and laid to rest?
   • How can the system anticipate and facilitate specific tasks that the user is attempting?

   Imagine a computerized information retrieval system of the future that would incorporate the questions you have composed as well as mitigate the fears and anticipate and facilitate the user's specific tasks. What would it look like?

   Give your creative imagination free reign here. You can utilize the technology already available or technology that is likely to appear in the next decade. If you wish, you can incorporate experimental technology such as the Emotion Mouse, a mouse developed at IBM that monitors skin temperature, heart rate, and sweat to gauge the user's frustration. You can incorporate Web cams or even projected holographic images. Be sure to include a description of the user interface and an explanation of how your system addresses the concerns expressed in the reading.

   During your class-time meeting, the discussion group can either merge the individual designs to create a single system and present this to the rest of the class or present the different designs envisioned by the individuals within the group.

   Have fun!

Preparation for Session 5 (February 6, 2007)

Required Readings: Rubin, pp. 361-392

Discussion questions:

1. Rubin delineates the distinction between public service units and support service units in a medium- to large-size library. Sometimes there is tension between public service and technical service personnel. Members of the technical services staff feel that reference staff members don't understand the amount of work and expertise it takes to acquire a book, catalog it, sometimes re-bind it, mark it, and get it to the shelves. Members of the reference staff get impatient with the backlog of materials waiting to be processed and feel that technical services staff members don't understand the pressures and needs of those who deal with the public on a daily basis.

   What type of activities or programs might be used to ameliorate the tension and promote understanding between public services and technical services personnel?

2. Discuss the relationship between bureaucratic, professional, and informal authority. In the type of library where you intend to work, how do you see the authority structure of the library? If it is part of a larger institution, how does the library relate to the mission of the institution as a whole?

3. Scenario:
   An academic library at a public university faced major budget cuts. Acquisitions were reduced. Serials were cancelled. Vacant positions could not be filled, resulting in a shortage of personnel. In response, the head of the library started shifting positions throughout the library. Support staff members were shifted from long-held positions to other departments without consulting department heads and with little thought to individual worker aptitudes and attitudes. Staff members who had toiled for years behind the scenes suddenly found themselves dealing with the public. Individuals with little physical strength were moved into positions that required moving heavy items. Morale plummeted. People were angry. Librarians actually picketed a meeting where the director spoke.

   Analyze the above scenario in terms of bureaucratic, professional, and informal authority. How could the situation have been handled better?

Optional:

• Hafner and Sterling-Folker state that commercial media "overemphasize the accepted" and thus promote conformity. Communication scholars such as Majid Tehranian have also expressed this view but have suggested that the Internet has the potential to be a medium that allows for greater expression of minority views. However, the popular Google and Teoma WWW search engines incorporate linkage structure in determining the order in which search results are presented. Web sites with higher counts of Web pages that link to them are presented higher on the results list than those with fewer links, thus in effect pointing users toward the more popular sites.

  Describe a non-competitive model for the relationship between libraries and the Internet that would have the potential to fulfill the traditional democratizing role of public libraries.

Preparation for Session 6 (February 13, 2007)

Required reading for group: Rubin, pp. 392-430

Discussion questions:

1. Now that you have read about public libraries, school library media centers, academic libraries, and special libraries and information centers, compare the organizational objectives and major issues confronting these different types of libraries. Are there any common threads? If so, what are they?
2. Rubin notes that certain ethnic and racial groups are underrepresented in the library profession. What types of programs or activities could be used to address this disparity?

Preparation for Session 7 (February 20, 2007)

Required reading for group: Rubin, pp. 259-298; MacLeish

Discussion questions:

Rubin:

1. In reading Rubin's discussion of the history of the library, which aspects of the library have remained relatively constant over the centuries? Which aspects have changed?
2. Select a type of library. Delineate some of the changes in societal needs, attitudes, and teaching methodologies over the past several centuries that led to the advent or increased importance of the type of library you have chosen.

MacLeish:

1. MacLeish tells us that the keepers of the intellectual book inhabit a very different kind of profession from that of keepers of the physical book. How so? In your opinion, are we one, the other, or somehow both? Elaborate.
2. This essay was originally published in 1940. Do you see any parallels between the present situation and the world at the time MacLeish was writing? Which of his concerns, if any, might be similar to concerns of librarians today?

Preparation for Session 8 (February 27, 2007)

Required reading for group: Budd (2003); Finks; M. Gorman

Discussion questions:

Budd:

1. How does Budd distinguish between "praxis" and "practice"?
2. Budd states that "libraries, to an extent, contribute to the legitimacy of a cultural orthodoxy." Considering the activities you will undertake as a librarian or other information professional, in what ways can you see that your actions—whether at the reference desk, doing collection development, or even providing links on your institution's Web portal—might contribute to the legitimacy of a cultural orthodoxy?
3. Budd characterizes Nancy Kranich's statement concerning the issue of filtering software as an effort in cultural production. How have other groups attempted to utilize linguistic/symbolic power to define this issue in different terms?
4. Has Budd's article changed your view of librarianship? If so, how?

Finks

• Who was Ranganathan? Describe and amplify the meanings of his five laws.

M. Gorman

• Compare Gorman's "new" laws to the original ones. Are both sets useful? What are their differences?

Additional questions:

How do you describe yourself as a librarian or information professional? Discuss and develop practical, informative, and interesting responses to the following conversational prompts:

• I'm studying to be a librarian (or other title) because ...
• These days librarians (or other title) are involved in ...
• As an information specialist (or other title) I will ...
• My role as a medial specialist (or other title) includes ...

Note:

doxa [dóxa]

"Greek term for opinion, belief, or judgment, as opposed to systematic knowledge {Gk. episthmh [epistêmê]}. According to Plato, this limited awareness of the sensible world encompasses the lower portion of the divided line. In Aristotle's works on logic, the same terms are used to distinguish contingent from necessary truths about the world."

Source: A Dictionary of Philosophical Terms and Names. Online at http://www.philosophypages.com/dy/d9.htm#doxa.

Preparation for Session 9 (March 6, 2007)

Required reading for group: Bliss; Knuth

Discussion questions:

Bliss

1. Bliss cites a definition for international librarianship adopted by the International and Comparative Librarianship Group of the Library Association of the United Kingdom. Through which venues can you envision yourself participating in international librarianship?
What do you see as the benefits for both sides in the dialog between librarians of highly technologically developed and developing nations?
3. Visit the site of the International Federal of Library Associations and Institutions at http://www.ifla.org. Report back to your group about some of the recent programs, activities, or documents produced by the organization.

Knuth

1. Based on the article, develop three questions to ask Dr. Knuth following her presentation.

Preparation for Session 10 (March 13, 2007)

Required reading for group: Mason, Virgo

Discussion questions:

1. How does Mason define the purpose of the information professional?
2. Mason analyzes seven information professions and finds a key ingredient in all to be—what? How do we achieve it?
3. Virgo describes the nature of an association and enumerates ways in which an association can raise the level of competence of its members. What are these ways?

Preparation for Session 11 (March 20, 2007)

Required reading for group: J. Robbins, L. Buttlar & R. DuMont, Zyroff, Tees

Discussion questions:

1. How does Robbins define the function of a professional school?
2. What does she include in the typical core curriculum? What elements added today?
3. What examples of "first professional degrees" does she offer, and what are they generally characterized by?
4. So, according to Robbins, our profession's educational requirement is a license to practice? subject to challenge? valid? lacking attention to full range of employees?
5. What are the two issues she sees as exacerbating this last matter?
6. Generally, what does she recommend?
7. What competencies do Buttlar & DuMont report as most important to graduates of LIS programs?
8. How is this program supporting these competencies? What could be changed or added now?
9. Why, according to Zyroff should library schools retain cataloging as a core competency? Where do you stand on this issue? Would Robbins agree?
10. What seems to be the basic difference between accreditation and certification? What purpose do they have in common? (Tees)
11. What, briefly, is the history of accreditation for library and information science education programs?
12. Study several current, entry-level job descriptions for your area of interest in library and information work. (Use periodicals, listservs, or online job lists.) What are the duties expected for this type of position? What skills and knowledge are expected? How are you preparing yourself for these skills?
13. Review some typical LIS job interview questions below. Select one of the challenging questions and create a group answer.

Typical Job Interview Questions

Before you interview, prepare these questions in advance. Research the library or organization before the interview and show that you know about their history, clientele, and services.

• How did you prepare for this interview?
• How do you approach a new job?
• Why do you want this position?
• What attracts you to this position in particular?
• How do you see your role as a librarian/information specialist here?
• Where do you intend to take this job? This library? What is your vision for the future?
• What strengths do you bring to this position?
• What trends do you see in [academic] libraries today?
• What is the role of a community college?
• If you were at a university or college campus and the administration told you they planned to close the undergraduate library, what arguments would you present against that decision?
• What do you think of affirmative action in hiring?
• How do you feel about working in a culturally diverse environment?
• If you could buy something for $5.00 that would make your job easier, would you buy it yourself?
• Tell us about your present/last job.
• What did you like best about your last position?
• Tell us about your experiences working in other library departments/units/types of libraries.
• Where do you see yourself five years from now?
• What plans do you have for publishing/getting a second Master's degree?
• What in your [teaching] profession prepared you for this job?
• In your MLISc program, which course impressed you most and why?
• What is your personal theory of supervising? Give examples.
• How would you create a collection development policy?
• What experience do you have with online cataloging?
• How long does it take to get a book on the shelf after ordering?
• Can you name some prominent children's authors?
• Do you think there is too much emphasis on electronic resources today?
• What database searching/Internet/Web site creation experience have you had?
• How would you approach bibliographic instruction?
• What personal qualities make you a good instructor?
• Is there any additional information you would like to share with us?
• Are there any questions you have for us?

Be prepared to ask questions of prospective employers, including:

• How will the person who takes this position be evaluated or promoted?
• Are you planning to offer any new services in the near future?

Questionable Questions

• How many sick days have you been out?
• How are you going to manage this job with your kids?
• Will your spouse/partner be joining you here?

What to Expect

Some employers ask for your responses in advance in writing, some conduct telephone interviews, while others ask you to perform demonstrations of your knowledge and skills (e.g., take a cataloging test, prepare and present a mini-library instruction session that includes an automation demonstration and hands-on exercises), and some ask for proof of the quality of your writing (e.g., you write on a topic on demand during the interview process; submit past course papers, published articles, or internal technical reports, sometimes requiring that no co-authored material be submitted). It is a good idea to prepare a e-portfolio including your resume and your accomplishments from internships, courses, and other evidence of your professionalism so that it can be examined remotely by prospective employers. This also demonstrates some of the new technical skills employers value in their efforts to develop Web-based information services. Hence the e-portfolio assignment for this class.

Your References

Because employers are most interested in the quality of your work habits, they value references from librarians you have worked with and for as employee, intern, and volunteer, and from your other employers. References from professors are important, but a strong resume includes professional, employment, as well as academic references. Always include a one-page cover letter tailored to that particular position and institution.

Preparation for Session 12 (April 3, 2007)

Required reading for group: Rubin, pp. 323-331; RUSA guidelines; Gremmels; R. Stichler; Mason, Mason, & Culnan

Discussion questions:

1. Use the RUSA guidelines to create a draft of a plan to evaluate reference services in a particular information setting. How do you define quality reference service and how do you measure it? Be specific about what data you would collect and how, and how the results would be used to make service decisions.
2. What does Stichler propose that ALA do to reform the Code of Ethics? What has changed in the 1995 revision?
3. As an information professional, what would your response have been in the Hauptman and Dowd experiments that Gremmels describes?
4. Is the objectivist-subjectivist continuum (Morgan and Smircich in Gremmels) compatible with T.D. Wilson's and Dervin's conceptions? What does this imply about librarians' roles: "In an information context, the librarian is not an uninvolved giver of information, nor the client a passive recipient"?
5. Do you understand the distinctions between the classic liberal position (as described by Gremmels) and communitarian theory?
6. What are the implications of the communitarian ethic for reference work? How would it tend to reinforce the conceptions of professionalism?
7. Read the ALA Code of Ethics and the Access to Electronic Information and discuss the rights of users and equity of access as primary values of the profession. What difficulties do you see in implementing these goals in light of the liberal and communitarian theories?
8. Mason outlines the ethical responsibilities of information professionals. Do you feel comfortable adopting all of them? Discuss barriers and problems that may occur. Where does he see libraries in the information age? What will become of us in this rapidly changing scene?

I. We provide the highest level of service to all library users through appropriate and usefully organized resources; equitable service policies; equitable access; and accurate, unbiased, and courteous responses to all requests.

II. We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.

III. We protect each library user's right to privacy and confidentiality with respect to information sought or received and resources consulted, borrowed, acquired or transmitted.

IV. We recognize and respect intellectual property rights.

V. We treat co-workers and other colleagues with respect, fairness and good faith, and advocate conditions of employment that safeguard the rights and welfare of all employees of our institutions.

VI. We do not advance private interests at the expense of library users, colleagues, or our employing institutions.

VII. We distinguish between our personal convictions and professional duties and do not allow our personal beliefs to interfere with fair representations of the aims of our institutions or the provision of access to their information resources.

VIII. We strive for excellence in the profession by maintaining and enhancing our own knowledge and skills, by encouraging the professional development of co-workers, and by fostering the aspirations of potential members of the profession.

Introduction

Freedom of expression is an inalienable human right and the foundation for self-government. Freedom of expression encompasses the freedom of speech and the corollary right to receive information.1 Libraries and librarians protect and promote these rights by selecting, producing, providing access to, identifying, retrieving, organizing, providing instruction in the use of, and preserving recorded expression regardless of the format or technology.

The American Library Association expresses these basic principles of librarianship in its Code of Ethics and in the Library Bill of Rights and its Interpretations. These serve to guide librarians and library governing bodies in addressing issues of intellectual freedom that arise when the library provides access to electronic information, services, and networks.

Libraries empower users by providing access to the broadest range of information. Electronic resources, including information available via the Internet, allow libraries to fulfill this responsibility better than ever before.

Issues arising from digital generation, distribution, and retrieval of information need to be approached and regularly reviewed from a context of constitutional principles and ALA policies so that fundamental and traditional tenets of librarianship are not swept away.

Electronic information flows across boundaries and barriers despite attempts by individuals, governments, and private entities to channel or control it. Even so, many people lack access or capability to use electronic information effectively.

In making decisions about how to offer access to electronic information, each library should consider its mission, goals, objectives, cooperative agreements, and the needs of the entire community it serves.

The Rights of Users

All library system and network policies, procedures, or regulations relating to electronic information and services should be scrutinized for potential violation of user rights.

User policies should be developed according to the policies and guidelines established by the American Library Association, including Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Policies, Regulations and Procedures Affecting Access to Library Materials, Services and Facilities.

Users' access should not be restricted or denied for expressing or receiving constitutionally protected speech. If access is restricted or denied for behavioral or other reasons, users should be provided due process, including, but not limited to, formal notice and a means of appeal.

Information retrieved or utilized electronically is constitutionally protected unless determined otherwise by a court of law with appropriate jurisdiction. These rights extend to minors as well as adults (Free Access to Libraries for Minors; Access to Resources and Services in the School Library Media Program; Access for Children and Young Adults to Nonprint Materials).2

Libraries should use technology to enhance, not deny, access to information. Users have the right to be free of unreasonable limitations or conditions set by libraries, librarians, system administrators, vendors, network service providers, or others. Contracts, agreements, and licenses entered into by libraries on behalf of their users should not violate this right. Libraries should provide library users the training and assistance necessary to find, evaluate, and use information effectively.

Users have both the right of confidentiality and the right of privacy. The library should uphold these rights by policy, procedure, and practice in accordance with Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.

Equity of Access

The Internet provides expanding opportunities for everyone to participate in the information society, but too many individuals face serious barriers to access. Libraries play a critical role in bridging information access gaps for these individuals. Libraries also ensure that the public can find content of interest and learn the necessary skills to use information successfully.

Electronic information, services, and networks provided directly or indirectly by the library should be equally, readily and equitably accessible to all library users. American Library Association policies oppose the charging of user fees for the provision of information services by libraries that receive their major support from public funds (50.3 Free Access to Information; 53.1.14 Economic Barriers to Information Access; 60.1.1 Minority Concerns Policy Objectives; 61.1 Library Services for the Poor Policy Objectives). All libraries should develop policies concerning access to electronic information that are consistent with ALA's policy statements, including Economic Barriers to Information Access: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Policies, Regulations and Procedures Affecting Access to Library Materials, Services and Facilities, and Resolution on Access to the Use of Libraries and Information by Individuals with Physical or Mental Impairment.

Information Resources and Access

Providing connections to global information, services, and networks is not the same as selecting and purchasing materials for a library collection. Determining the accuracy or authenticity of electronic information may present special problems. Some information accessed electronically may not meet a library's selection or collection development policy. It is, therefore, left to each user to determine what is appropriate. Parents and legal guardians who are concerned about their children's use of electronic resources should provide guidance to their own children.

Libraries, acting within their mission and objectives, must support access to information on all subjects that serve the needs or interests of each user, regardless of the user's age or the content of the material. In order to preserve the cultural record and to prevent the loss of information, libraries may need to expand their selection or collection development policies to ensure preservation, in appropriate formats, of information obtained electronically. Libraries have an obligation to provide access to government information available in electronic format.

Libraries and librarians should not deny or limit access to electronic information because of its allegedly controversial content or because of the librarian's personal beliefs or fear of confrontation. Furthermore, libraries and librarians should not deny access to electronic information solely on the grounds that it is perceived to lack value.

Publicly funded libraries have a legal obligation to provide access to constitutionally protected information. Federal, state, county, municipal, local, or library governing bodies sometimes require the use of Internet filters or other technological measures that block access to constitutionally protected information, contrary to the Library Bill of Rights (ALA Policy Manual, 53.1.17, Resolution on the Use of Filtering Software in Libraries). If a library uses a technological measure that blocks access to information, it should be set at the least restrictive level in order to minimize the blocking of constitutionally protected speech. Adults retain the right to access all constitutionally protected information and to ask for the technological measure to be disabled in a timely manner. Minors also retain the right to access constitutionally protected information and, at the minimum, have the right to ask the library or librarian to provide access to erroneously blocked information in a timely manner. Libraries and librarians have an obligation to inform users of these rights and to provide the means to exercise these rights.3

Electronic resources provide unprecedented opportunities to expand the scope of information available to users. Libraries and librarians should provide access to information presenting all points of view. The provision of access does not imply sponsorship or endorsement. These principles pertain to electronic resources no less than they do to the more traditional sources of information in libraries (Diversity in Collection Development).

1 Martin v. Struthers, 319 U.S. 141 (1943); Lamont v. Postmaster General, 381 U.S. 301 (1965); Susan Nevelow Mart, The Right to Receive Information (PDF), 95 Law Library Journal 2 (2003).

2 Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, 393 U.S. 503 (1969); Board of Education, Island Trees Union Free School District No. 26 v. Pico, 457 U.S. 853, (1982); American Amusement Machine Association v. Teri Kendrick, 244 F.3d 954 (7th Cir. 2001); cert.denied, 534 U.S. 994 (2001)

3 "If some libraries do not have the capacity to unblock specific Web sites or to disable the filter or if it is shown that an adult user's election to view constitutionally protected Internet material is burdened in some other substantial way, that would be the subject for an as-applied challenge, not the facial challenge made in this case." United States, et al. v. American Library Association (PDF), 539 U.S. 194 (2003) (Justice Kennedy, concurring).

See Also: Questions and Answers on Access to Electronic Information, Services and Networks: an Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.

_________________

Adopted January 24, 1996, by the ALA Council; amended January 19, 2005.

Preparation for Session 13 (April 10, 2007)

Required reading for group: Rubin, pp. 331-357; Symons & Stoffle; ALA Freedom Manual (2002 ed., pp. 232-254; Gorman; Wirth; Ang; scenarios

Discussion questions:

1. Discuss the difference between a "continuum of values" and a "hierarchy of values" as presented in Symons and Stoffle. WHich do you think would be most useful for the profession? Why? What will you do on the job when value conflicts arise?
2. Why is maintaining the confidentiality of patron records important?
3. In your opinion, what is the relationship between literacy as Audrey Gorman defines it and the ability to fully participate in the democratic process?
4. What does Wirth's survey tell us about patterns of censorship in U.S. public libraries? Discuss how these trends affect access. How do you explain the variation in librarians' attitudes toward defending and supporting intellectual freedom?
5. Discuss whether the 1997 ALA guidelines for Internet access represent a communitarian or a liberal stance.
6. Suppose that you are the head librarian in public library. A group calling itself "Citizens for the Protection of Children" demands that the library install Internet filtering software on its public terminals. A meeting of the Board of Education, which has control over the public library system in your community, is scheduled to discuss the group's demands. Outline your presentation to the Board.
7. What do you suppose Ranganathan and MacLeish would each think about Internet filtering?

SAFE SURFING GUIDELINES FROM ALA

The American Library Association has drafted a set of guidelines for librarians, suggesting ways to assist patrons in using online searches without incurring liability for ones that turn up potentially offensive or "indecent" material. The guidelines offer "some easy things that a library can do at this point rather than trying to block access to the Internet or put up filters or do something that is so restrictive to their patrons' access to the Internet," says the assistant director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. The recommendations include: educating staff, library board, governing bodies, community leaders, parents, children, etc. about the Internet and what it offers; establishing and implementing written policies on Internet use; reminding parents that they are responsible for their children's Internet use; creating and promoting Web pages with recommended sites for parents and children; and placing terminals away from public view so that others are not offended by any particular user's choice of viewing material.

(Chronicle of Higher Education 23 May 97)

Preparation for Session 14 (April 17, 2007)

Required reading for group: Apostle & Raymond; Cleveland; P. Wilson

Discussion questions:

1. What do we mean by 'The Post-Industrial Society'? What does Cleveland think of this term?
2. In this session, we want to come to a common understanding of what we mean by some key terms: Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom. How does Cleveland define these terms? Is there a hierarchy involved here?
3. Apostle and Raymond identify our profession's most important function as "the acquisition, storage, organization, and retrieval of information." In what ways, in this connection, is "information" defined and used?
4. What are Pauline Wilson's views about the distinctions in these terms (information, knowledge, etc.)? What does she say about 'information science'?
5. What evidence does Cleveland offer that the information society, or as he calls it, the "informatization of society," is more than the mere fabrication of academic theorists?
6. What qualities does Cleveland attribute to information as a resource?
7. Do you see any connection between Cleveland's stated premises and recent world events?
8. Consult your notes on the video From Information To Wisdom? How does the videotape relate to the material you read for this unit?
9. How do Apostle and Raymond describe the ideal information professional, in contrast to the "old-fashioned" librarian, in the so-called information paradigm?
10. What do Apostle and Raymond perceive to be missing in this new conception of librarianship? What is wrong with the paradigm, as a construct representing contemporary librarianship?

Preparation for Session 15 (April 24, 2007)

Required reading for group: Nasri; Copyright basics; Fair use; L. Gasaway; T. Mann; Line; Sorkin & Farley

Discussion questions:

1. Nasri notes that copyright is intellectual property. What else is? How do these forms of intellectual property differ from one another?
2. How does Nasri describe the origins of copyright?
3. This question on copyright has several parts. Please cite sections of the law that apply to your answers:
   • Is a librarian or teacher allowed to copy software? What problems exist?
   • Under what circumstances is it allowable to broadcast radio programs over the school PA system and show a video of a CNN broadcast? What guidelines apply?
   • What part of the Act allows the copying and use of portions of published and unpublished materials? What guidelines are to be followed? What problems exist in applying these guidelines?
   • Is it permissible to copy government material and sell it for profit?
4. What recommendations did the Clinton administration propose for protecting intellectual property in the digital environment?
5. What are the potential consequences? (Gasaway)
6. What is Mann's solution to copyright problems in the digital age? How does preserving the sense of place libraries enjoy impact copyright protection as well as free access?

Preparation for Session 16 (May 1, 2007)

Required reading for group: Rubin, pp. 298-317; Rettig; Stoffle, Renaud, Veldof & responses; Miksa; Benton report; R. Cox; W. Crawford & M. Gorman

Video: Into the future…

Discussion questions:

1. According to Rettig, what has been re-thought in reference services? What does the past have to do with the future?
2. Do we have to act fast and change radically? What and how must we change? How do you align yourself at this time? (Stoffle et al.)
3. How does Miksa (http://fiat.gslis.utexas.edu/faculty/Miksa/modlib.html) see the future of libraries? What challenges you in his article?
4. How does Miksa alter Ranganathan's Laws? What do you think of this change in focus? Is it congruent with the evolution of the LIS field? Can you envision yourself doing that as a professional?
5. According to the Benton Report survey, which library services are most important to users? How do these compare to your survey and others?
6. In what ways did the Americans in the Benton survey support the library as a physical institution in the digital age?
7. What do you agree with in the way Cox characterizes the future of the book?
8. Crawford & Gorman debunk the popular urban legend that libraries are now unnecessary because "everything is online." Discuss the criteria they present and the points in the arguments they use. Are you convinced?
9. What are the concerns of digital preservation (video)?

Click here to return to the assignments page.