Tracing the history of discourses on professionalism in the “sister professions” of librarianship and social work in the United States

In Whole Person Librarianship: A Social Work Approach to Patron Services (2019), Zettervall and Nienow aptly refer to librarianship and social work as ‘sister professions’, highlighting their gendered histories and similar professional values. Both librarianship and social work emerged as service-oriented, female-dominated professions in the late nineteenth century. Questions about professional identity have concerned librarians and social workers since those early days, with scholars and practitioners in both fields examining markers of professionalism, such as training, associations, and values. This article compares the historical development of professional social work and librarianship by tracing the changing discourses on professionalism, attending to the role gendered language plays in debates about professional status. The analysis focuses on the works of early pioneers in American social work and librarianship and the public debates about professionalisation in the early 1900s to provide context for collaborations between librarians and social workers and look towards the future

Valuing Librarianship: Core Values in Theory and Practice

In 2004, the American Library Association (ALA)’s Core Values of Librarianship statement identified eleven core values: access; confidentiality and privacy; democracy; diversity; education and lifelong learning; intellectual freedom; preservation; the public good; professionalism; service; social responsibility. As the ALA document explains, “the foundation of modern librarianship rests on an essential set of core values that define, inform, and guide our professional practice. These values reflect the history and ongoing development of the profession and have been advanced, expanded, and refined by numerous policy statements of the American Library Association.” While the ALA is not the only national library association to articulate their core values, this issue is an explanation of how core values have shaped, influenced, and informed libraries and librarianship in North America and around the world. Individual values such as democracy, diversity, access, and social responsibility have been the subject of inquiry by prominent scholars in library studies. There has not, however, been a coherent collection of scholarship addressing these specific, individual values in the practice of librarianship. Valuing Librarianship, a special issue of Library Trends, is an attempt to redress this absence within the context of public, school, special, and academic libraries. This special issue of Library Trends features practicing librarians and LIS scholars addressing librarianship\u27s present and future in relation to its core values. Using the ALA Core Values of Librarianship statement as a framework, Valuing Librarianship explores how these core values have informed, influenced, guided, and contextualized libraries and librarianship in the past ten years and consider how these values might guide our profession in the future

A review of professionalism within LIS

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the nature of professionalism within Library and Information Science (LIS) and in doing so draw comparisons with the education and medicine professions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper provides a review of the extant literature from the three professions and gives a brief review of the theoretical constructs of professional knowledge using the work of Eisner and Eraut to explore knowledge types. It then relates these definitions to knowledge use within LIS, education and medicine, before examining the roles that professional associations have on the knowledge development of a profession. It concludes with a reflection on the future of professionalism within LIS. Findings: The literature suggests a fragmented epistemological knowledge-base and threats to its practices from outside professions. It does, however, find opportunities to redefine its knowledge boundaries within the phronetic practices of LIS and in socio-cultural uses of knowledge. It finds strengths and weaknesses in professionalism within LIS and its practitioners. Originality/value: This review provides a contemporary update to several earlier, related, works and provides useful context to current efforts to professionalise LIS by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

A Philosophy Of Christian Librarianship

While a number of Christian librarians have explored the implications of the Christian world view for particular issues in library practice, few have attempted to develop a thoroughgoing philosophy of Christian librarians/zip. Those who have done so have generally failed to center their proposals around the Christian view of truth. The knowability, objectivity, unity, practicality, and spirituality of truth should impact the way librarians at Christian colleges carry out major library functions, including collection development, reference services, bibliographic instruction, research and publication, and management

Skating With Donovan: Thoughts on Librarianship as a Profession

James M. Donovan’s article: Skating on Thin Intermediation: Can Libraries Survive?, 27 Legal Reference Services Q. 95 (no. 2-3, 2008) argues that librarians place more emphasis than they might on providing service to library users at a time when information seekers are relying less on intermediaries, and that over-emphasizing service to the detriment of other values diminishes the status of librarianship as a profession. The article presents two contrasting models of librarianship. This article discusses Donovan’s models and comments on the continuing importance of the service model to librarianship

The emergence and impact of neoliberal ideology on UK public library policy, 1997-2010

Over the last thirty years, the globalisation of neoliberal ideology has been pervasive and all encompassing. The chapter uses a mixed methods approach by combining content and discourse analysis to examine how neoliberal discourses have impacted on public librarianship. Since New Labour’s election in 1997 public service restructuring in the United Kingdom has taken on a more oblique managerialist and consumerist approach. The impact of managerialism in the public library service has focused mainly on modernising and improving services to the individual user, and is based on scenarios where public libraries have to model themselves on the private sector, and where managers have been empowered over professionals. The wider shift away from collectivist service provision to more personalised and individualised forms of consumption are also explored, which is epitomised by the rise of the citizen consumer. The growing concern with the transformation of professional library language and the adoption of neoliberal doctrine is examined. Moreover, the rhetorical use of language and strategies to justify change and transformation are examined and also how at times there has been an “unquestioning” acceptance of neoliberalism by some public librarians (McMenemy, 2009b; Buschman, 2005)

Librarians as Teachers: A Qualitative Inquiry into Professional Identity

This study explores the development of ???teacher identity??? among academic librarians through a series of semi-structured interviews. Drawing both on the idea of teacher identity from the literature of teacher education and on existing studies of professional stereotypes and professional identity development among academic librarians, this study explores the degree to which academic librarians think of themselves as teachers, the ways in which teaching has become a feature of their professional identity, and the factors that may influence academic librarians to adopt a ???teacher identity??? as part of their personal understandings of their role on campus.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

The end of all niches: the future position of the academic librarian in a modern service industry

A (University) Library is a modern service industry which has to follow the rules of effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. Even academic librarians have to be integrated into the production process of ‘the supply of information’ in such a way that they can deliver optimal results on the basis of their qualifications. In the process, the classic occupational image of the subject indexing lone fighter has dramatically changed into that of a productive performance bearer with great skills in management, social competence and performance. This paper gives an overview of the historical development of the classic academic librarian and the current requirements for a modern information manager. The strictly contrastive approach makes clear what a quantum leap there is between the image of a classic academic librarian, and the modern requirements for an efficient academic employee in the production process of supplying information

The Master's Degree: Basic Preparation for Professional Practice

published or submitted for publicatio

Skating With Donovan: Thoughts on Librarianship as a Profession

James M. Donovan’s article: Skating on Thin Intermediation: Can Libraries Survive?, 27 Legal Reference Services Q. 95 (no. 2-3, 2008) argues that librarians place more emphasis than they might on providing service to library users at a time when information seekers are relying less on intermediaries, and that over-emphasizing service to the detriment of other values diminishes the status of librarianship as a profession. The article presents two contrasting models of librarianship. This article discusses Donovan’s models and comments on the continuing importance of the service model to librarianship