Education training for instruction librarians: a shared perspective.

Nicole Katz

ET


Brecher, D., & Klipfel, M. (2014). Education training for instruction librarians: a shared perspective. Communications in Information Literacy, 8(1), 43-49. 

Overview

This 2014 article talks about the shortcomings of Library Schools in offering specific courses, as a requirement, in educational theory and pedagogy. They argue that while the rise in job descriptions calling for librarians to have experience in instruction, the same is not being seen in library school program offerings, leaving recent graduates or seasoned professionals to have to seek out additional professional development, post-graduate certifications or even second Master’s degree in Education. They also offer a less drastic approach in seeking out educational blogs by other Instructional librarians, free online seminars and MOOCs.

Review

While researching topics on process skills, I came across this article, dated 2014, “Education Training for Instruction Librarians: a shared perspective”. While I agree with the authors that the information that they feel Librarians should be learning in their graduate courses is crucial, I am standing off to the side and very happy with SJSU’s program. As of the date of this article, I had already been enrolled in the MLIS program and the requirements for the degree already set in stone. Requirements, that the authors argue that library schools do not place enough emphasis on or at all: Learning about how a demographic seeks information or learns, (a core idea in LIBR/INFO 200) and how to teach (LIBR/INFO 250), both of which are graduation requirements.  So, I raise my glass to our fearless leaders at SLIS!