Full Description
This book provides overdue guidance for demonstrating and preserving library, information, knowledge, and archival professionalism in American, British, and Canadian communities and organizations.
There is no longer any way to deny or to escape the responsibility of marketing services and being an advocate for one's profession. Practitioners also need effective arguments and approaches for combating library and information deprofessionalization. This book offers the antidote for ineptitude in the fight to preserve professionalism in all major library and information environments.
Composed of 14 chapters written by contemporary practitioners and practitioners-turned-theorists, Defending Professionalism: A Resource for Librarians, Information Specialists, Knowledge Managers, and Archivists clearly justifies the employment of the professional librarian, information specialist, knowledge manager, and archivist. The contributors offer both short-term and long-term political, cultural, and other approaches for the ongoing effort to retain and expand professionalism. The book provides managers, funding authorities, educators, and practitioners with practical, political, and theoretical reasons why it is in their self-interest to employ professionally educated personnel for positions within libraries, information or knowledge management centers, and archives.
Contents
Introduction: How Did We Get into This Dilemma in the First Place?
Bill Crowley
1 Why Are We Trashing the Professionalism of Librarians, Information Specialists, Knowledge Managers, and Archivists?
Bill Crowley
2 Justifying Professional Education in a Self-Service World
Rachel Rubin and Richard Rubin
3 Youth Services in Public Libraries: A Return to Belligerence
Janice M. Del Negro
4 We Build Communities through Knowledge: Demonstrating the Value of the Professional Public Librarian
Brenda Roberts
5 Strategies and Aspirations for Defending School Library Professionalism
Don Hamerly
6 Future-Proofing the Academic Librarian
Lenora Berendt and Maria Otero-Boisvert
7 Understanding the Worth of the Professional Librarian in the Research University or Institution
Cleo Pappas
8 Valuing the Return on Investment of the Information Professional in Specialized Institutions (Corporations, Government Agencies, NGOs, etc.)
Michael E. D. Koenig
9 Defending the Professional Archivist
Cecilia Lizama Salvatore
10 A Culturally Pragmatic and Feminist-Influenced Approach to Defending Professionalism
Bill Crowley
11 The LIS Professional Commons and the Online Networked Practitioner
Kyle M. L. Jones and Michael Stephens
12 The Political Case for Supporting the Value of Professionalism
Bill Crowley
13 An Obstacle: The Difficulty of Convincing Others to Change Their Thinking and Behavior
Robert F. Moran Jr.
14 Advancing Professionalism in Library, Information, Knowledge, and Archival Services in the "New Normal World"
Bill Crowley
Index
About the Editor and Contributors
