Preparing Students for the Workplace: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21900/j.alise.2024.1671Keywords:
Professional preparation; Workplace experience; Professionals and educators dialogueAbstract
Curriculum for master’s level education in library and information science is an historically popular subject of discussion in the disciplinary literature. Specific topic areas are interrogated (Saunders & Bajjaly, 2022), opinions are solicited about courses or topics which ought to be required of all students (Saunders, 2019) or required of students in particular sub-areas of the profession (Davis & Saunders, 2020; Saunders, 2020; Williams & Saunders, 2020), changes over time are analyzed (EunKyung Chung, Schalk, & JungWon Yoon, 2022), and external standards are developed to articulate the breadth and depth of curricula which “should” be included (ALA, 2023). Similarly, the literature promotes a range of pedagogical approaches (Ely, 2023), and conference programs (such as the ALISE conference) and webinar series (such as those sponsored by ALISE, including the “LIS Pedagogy Chat” series) also address pedagogy.
One aspect of professional practice that has received less consideration is the way students are prepared to hold realistic expectations for the workplace. Those expectations may relate to organizational cultures, practices, and challenges, all of which may be minimally addressed during students’ pre-professional education or ignored completely.
The panel highlights specific aspects of workplace experience as revealed through research projects delving into the lived experiences of library workers. These research findings will be considered in terms of the ways in which they may inform the curricula of master’s programs in the field. The panel will open with a very short introduction by the moderator, Dr. Heidi Julien. Then each panelist will have 15 minutes to summarize results of their recent studies, and individually will suggest their implications for preparing master’s students for the realities of professional practice. The remaining 40 minutes will be devoted to audience discussion about possible ways students may be exposed to these realities. Prompting questions for the audience include:
- Are there other workplace realities not addressed by the panel that would be relevant to students?
- Who is best positioned to discuss these realities with students – e.g., practitioners? Adjunct instructors? Regular faculty members? Alumni?
- Are there existing opportunities in master’s curricula to include these discussions, or would extra-curricular opportunities be more effective?
Ideas generated by the panelists and the audience will be captured and shared with attendees orally at the close of the session.
References
American Library Association (2023). 2023 Standards for Accreditation of Master's Programs in Library and Information Studies. https://www.ala.org/educationcareers/accreditedprograms/standards/
Davis, R., & Saunders, L. (2020). Essential Skills for Corporate and Special Librarians. Journal of Library Administration, 60(7), 762–783. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2020.1786984
Ely, E. (2023). Cultural competence in libraries: Utilizing the critical incident technique and reflective journaling to encourage reflective practice. Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 64(4), 458–475. https://doi.org/10.3138/jelis-2022-0059
EunKyung Chung, Schalk, J., & JungWon Yoon. (2022). How have LIS school curricula evolved over the past twenty years? Canadian Journal of Information & Library Sciences, 45(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjilsrcsib.v45i1.14192
Saunders, L. (2019). Core and More: Examining Foundational and Specialized Content in Library and Information Science. Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 60(1), 3–34. https://doi.org/10.3138/jelis.60.1.2018-0034
Saunders, L. (2020). Core Knowledge and Specialized Skills in Academic Libraries. College & Research Libraries, 81(2), 288–311. https://doi.org/10.5860/crl.81.2.288
Saunders, L., & Bajjaly, S. (2022). The Importance of Soft Skills to LIS Education. Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 63(2), 187–215. https://doi.org/10.3138/jelis-2020-0053
Williams, R. D., & Saunders, L. (2020). What the Field Needs: Core Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities for Public Librarianship. Library Quarterly, 90(3), 283–297. https://doi.org/10.1086/708958
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Copyright (c) 2024 Heidi Julien, Amy VanScoy, Melissa Gross, Don Latham, Brittany Baum, Lauren Crabtree, Monica Colón-Aguirre

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