🚀 go-pugleaf

Followup-to: poster
Summary: This is a brief document giving various kinds of information
about libraries and librarianship, including where to find resources on 
the internet.
Expires: 04/16/96

Archive-name: libraries
Posting-Frequency: bimonthly
Last-modified: 02/16/96




=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-LIBRARIES FAQ V.1.1=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Contents

1.0 General
1.1 What is a FAQ?
1.2 Where can I find this FAQ?
1.3 Who has contributed to this FAQ?
1.4 What is a library?
1.5 What types of libraries are there?
2.0 History
2.1 How long have libraries been around?
2.2 How old is librarianship?
3.0 Training
3.1 Where can I earn a degree in librarianship?
3.2 Where can I earn a library technician diploma?
3.3 What conferences can I attend in 1996 to keep my knowledge and skills 
up to date?
4.0 Work
4.1 What distinguishes the work of shelvers, library assistants, library 
technicians and librarians?
4.2 Who decides the attitudes, policies and actions of libraries?
5.0 Classification
5.1 How does the Dewey decimal Classification (DDC) work?
5.2 What are the ten major classifications of the DDC?
5.3 What are the twenty major classifications of Library of Congress 
(LCSH)?
5.4 What are the major Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)?
5.5 What other classification systems are there?
6.0 Organizations
6.1 What organizations can I join to network with fellow professionals?
7.0 Culture
7.1 How did the "Marian the Librarian" stereotype start?
7.2 How can I get a list of sources of librarians in comics?
8.0 The Cyberstacks
8.1 Can I get/give answers to difficult reference questions through the 
internet?
8.2 What other internet library resources are available?
8.3 Who are the internet librarians/cybrarians/cyberlibrarians?
9.0 Miscellanea
9.1 Where can I read more about librarianship?


1.0 General
 
1.1 What is a FAQ

FAQ is an acronym for Frequently Asked Questions, a type of document found 
throughout the internet, which gives brief information about specific 
topics. A collection of them can be found at 
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/top.html

1.2 Where can I find this FAQ?

The libraries FAQ is posted on the 16th of every other month to the 
usenet newsgroups bit.listserv.medlib-l, bit.listserv.autocat, 
news.answers, soc.answers and soc.libraries.talk. It is also e-mailed to 
the hasafran and lis-l listservs. An HTML version is being put on Nick K. 
Chang's homepage at http://www.seed.net.tw/~nkchang/LIBFAQ/LIBFAQ_E.html 
He is also translating it to Chinese (readable with Big 5 Chinese 
software) at http://www.seed.net.tw/~nkchang/LIBFAQ/LIBFAQ_C . 

1.3 Who has contributed to this FAQ?

In addition to the authors cited and myself, Abdul Salau gave the info on 
University of Hawaii, Nick Chang is putting the FAQ on the Web, Brig C. 
McCoy (brigc@world.std.com) will be the new maintainer (as of this writing), 
Bruce Hamilton provided important URLs and Barbara (byleff@aol.com) provided 
info on Elazar classification.

1.4 What is a library?

The traditional definition is "a collection of books." The _ALA Glossary 
of Library and Information Science_ defines library as "A collection of 
material organized to provide physical, bibliographical, and intellectual 
access to a target group with a staff that is trained to provide services and 
programs related to the information needs of the target group." Will Manley 
adds, in his _Manley Art of Librarianship_ (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1993), 
"An unused collection of books is simply that - an unused collection of books.
It is not a library."

1.5 What is library science?

The _ALA Glosssary..._ defines it as "the knowledge, demands and skills 
by which recorded information is selected, acquired, organized and 
utilized in meeting the information needs of a community of users." 
(pg. 132) However, Will Manley writes, "library science is an oxymoron. 
There is absolutely nothing scientific about librarianship." (pg. 175) 

1.6 What types of libraries are there?

There are four types of libraries - (1) public libraries, (2) school 
libraries, (3) academic and university/college libraries and (4) special 
(including corporate) libraries. Here, in Toronto, we have three excellent 
examples of special collections - all are world-famous. 

The Osborne Collection of Children's Books
The Merrill Collection of Science-Fiction, Fantasy and Speculative Fiction
both at:
239 College St.
Toronto, Ont.
M5T 1R5

The Arthur Conan Doyle Collection
Metro Toronto Reference Library
789 Yonge St.
Toronto, ON, CANADA

2.0 History

2.1 How long have libraries been around?

Libraries have existed for thousands of years. One of the greatest 
libraries of the ancient world was the one at Alexandria (290 BCE).

2.2 How old is librarianship?

Much younger, but difficult to pinpoint. The _ALA Glossary..._ defines 
librarianship as "the profession concerned with the application of 
knowledge of media and those priniciples, theories, techniques and 
technologies which contribute to the establishment, preservation, 
organization, and utilization of collections of library materials and to 
the dissemination of information through media." (pg. 130) Barbara 
Ehrenreich writes, in her _Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class_ 
(Pantheon: New York, 1989) that professionalization occurred between 1870 and 
1920 (pg. 133). I don't know if a concensus has been reached on a specific year
for this development. Certain milestones are noteworthy, though. 

1876 - Melville Dewey established the first standardized classification 
       system for libraries (DDC)
     - the American Library Association was founded
     - _Library Journal_ began publication
1882 - first ALA library conference held
1887 - Dewey established the first library school at Columbia University 
       (which has since closed down)
1965 - MAchine Readable Coding (MARC) coding was introduced

3.0 Training

3.1 Where can I earn a degree in librarianship?

Will Manley wrote in _Manley Art..._, "while there are [in the U.S.] 121 
AMA accredited medical schools and 175 ABA accredited law schools, there 
are only 50 ALA accredited library schools...Philip Thistlewaits 
calculates that there are 137,456,321 Americans who do not live within 
commuting distance of a library school." If someone sends me a current 
American (or other) list of schools  that offer professional degrees, I 
will add it here. 

The only American school I have confirmed so far is:
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, HI     96822
E-mail the dean at mailto:jackson@uhunix.uhcc.hawaii.edu

An old (1988 _Library Journal_) list of American 
schools lists the following:

Alabama, Albany, Arizona, Atlanta, Brigham Young, Buffalo, California 
(Berk. and L.A.), Catholic, Chicago, Clarion, Drexel, Emporia, Florida 
State, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kent State, Kentucky, Long Island, 
Louisiana State, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, NC Central, 
NC Greensboro, Northern Illinois, North Texas State, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, 
Queens, Rhode Island, Rosary, Rutgers, St. Johns, Simmons, South Carolina, 
S. Connecticut, South Florida, Syracuse, Texas (Austin), Texas Women's, 
Washington, Wayne State and Wisconsin (Mad. & Milw.).

Below is a list of Canadian library schools (most of which require a 
4-year Bachelor's degree with an A average):

Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto, 140 St. George St., 
 Toronto, ON, M5S 1A1  FAQ: http://www.fis.utoronto.ca/fis-faq.htm
 e-mail: mailto:dodd@fis.utoronto.ca
Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, Dalhousie University, 
 Halifax, NS, B3H 4H6  
Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, McGill University,  
 3459 McTavish St., Montreal, PQ, H3A 1Y1   
 http://www.gslis.mcgill.ca/homepage.html
School of Library and Information Science, University of Western Ontario, 
 Elborn College, London, ON, N6G 1H1 e-mail: mailto:morrison@julian.uwo.ca
School of Library and Information Science, University of Alberta, 3-20  
 Rutherford South T6G 2J4  
 http://www.ualberta.ca/dept/slis/homepage/apply.htm  
 or mailto:userlis@mts.ucs.ualberta.ca
School of Library, Archival & Information Studies, University of British  
 Columbia, 831-1956 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1   
 http://edziza.arts.ubc.ca/slais/slaisa.html

3.2 Where can I earn a library technician diploma?

Again, I will include entries/lists if they are sent to me. In Canada, 
programs are offered at:

Grant Macewan Community College, Library and Information Management 
 Program, City Centre Campus, 10700 104th Ave., Edmonton, AB T5J 4S2
Sothern Alberta Institute of Technology. Library and Information 
 Technology Programme, 1301 16th Ave. NW, Calgary, AB, T2M 0L4
University College of the Fraser Valley, Library and Information 
 Technology Programme, 33844 King Rd. RR 2, Abbotsford, BC, V2S 4N2
Vancouver Community College, Langara Campus, 100 W. 49th Ave., Vancouver, 
 BC, V5Y 2Z6
Red River Community College, Library and Information Technology Programme, 
 Bldg D-101 2055 Notre Dame Ave., Winnipeg, MB, R3H 0J9
Nova Scotia Community College - Institute of Technology, Halifax Campus, 
 Library Technician Programme, 1825 Bell Rd., Halifax, NS, B3H 2Z4
Nova Scotia Community College - Institute of Technology, Kingstec Campus, 
 Library Technician Programme, PO Box 487, Kentville, NS, B4N 3X3
Algonquin College, Library and Information Technician Programme, 1385 
 Woodroffe Ave., Nepean, ON, K2G 1V8
Cite Collegiale, Techniques de la documentation, 2465 boul St-Laurent, 
 Ottawa, ON, K1G 5H8
Fanshawe College of Applied Arts and Technology, Library and Information 
 Technician Programme, PO Box 4005, London, ON, N5W 5H1
Mohawk College of Applied Arts and Technology, Library and Information 
 Technician Program (1972), Fennell Ave & W 5th St., PO Box 2034, 
 Hamilton, ON, L8N 3T2
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology, Library and Information 
 Technician Programme, 43 Sheppard Ave. E., North York, ON, M2N 2Z8
Sheridan College, Library and Information Techniques Programme, 1430 
 Trafalgar Rd., Oakville, ON, L6H 2L1  mailto:wilburn@it.sheridanc.on.ca 
CEGEP de Jonquiere, Techniques de la documentation, 2505 rue St-Hubert 
 bureau 105.7, CP 340, Jonquiere, PQ, G7X 7W2                           
CEGEP de Trois-Rivieres, Techniques de la documentation, 3500 rue de 
 Courval, Trois-Rivieres, PQ, G9A 5E6                                     
CEGEP Francois-Xavier Garneau, Techniques de la documentation, 1660 boul 
 de l'Entente, Quebec, PQ, G1S 4S3
CEGEP John Abbott College, Documentation and Library Systems, PO Box 2000, 
 Ste Anne de Bellevue, PQ, H9X 3L9
College de l'Outaouais, Techniques de la documentation, 333 boul Cite des 
 Jeunes, CP 5220, Succ A, Hull, PQ, J8Y 6M5
College de Maisonneuve, Techniques de la documentation, 3800 rue 
 Sherbrooke E., Montreal, PQ, H1X 2A2
College Lionel-Groulx, Techniques de la documentation, 100 rue Duquet, 
 Ste-Therese, PQ, J7E 3G6
Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology, Library 
 Technician Programme, Kelsey Campus, PO Box 1520, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 3R5

3.3 What conferences can I attend in 1996 to keep my knowledge and 
skills up to date?

There is a conferences page at http://rodent.lib.rochester.edu/ssp/events.htm

The major ones are:

American Library Association (ALA)  Annual: New York Jul. 4-10
  For info: American Library Association, Conference Registration, 50 E.  
           Huron St., Chicago, IL, 60611-2729
Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL): Park Plaza Hotel, Toronto, ON, 
                                       CANADA Jun. 16-19
  For info: Edmond Lipsitz, 58 Glen Park Ave., Toronto, ON, M6B 2C2 or 
  phone (416)785-7941 or e-mail mailto:75567.3155@compuserve.com
Canadian Library Association (CLA): Halifax, NS Jun. 6-9
  e-mail mailto:ai077@freenet.carleton.ca
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA): Beijing Aug.     
                                                     19-24
Medical Library Association (MLA): Kansas City, Mo. May 31-Jun. 5
Public Library Association (PLA): Portland, Oregon Mar. 26-30
Special Libraries Association (SLA): Boston Jun. 8-13

4.0 Work

4.1 What distinguishes the work of shelvers, library assistants, library 
technicians and librarians?

In 1927, "The Report of the Bureau of Public Personnel Administration 
submitted to the Committee on the Classification of Library Personnel of 
the American Library Association proposed 'a separation of clerical from 
non-clerical duties.'" [Baker, P. (1986) _What About the Workers?: A Study 
of Non-professional Staff in Library Work_. London: Association of Library 
Assistants, pg.2]. Shelvers are the minimum wage teenagers (usually) who 
shelve the materials after they have been returned. Library assistants or 
technicians might do any of the following: shelving (in the absence of 
shelvers), circulation duties (check in, check out, supervision), derived 
cataloguing, programming, ordering, answering ready reference questions or 
materials processing. Librarians might do any of the following 
professional tasks: book selection, original cataloguing, making library 
policy, evaluating performance of others, answering more complex reference 
questions, or dealing with the complaints and concers of patrons. 
Librarians may do nonprofessional tasks in the abscence of technicians and 
shelvers. Library technicians and assistants may do professional tasks in 
the absence of professional staff. There is a "Staff Support Issues" page 
on the WWW at the URL http://rodent.lib.rochester.edu/ssp

4.2 Who decides the attitudes, policies and actions of libraries?

It depends on who you ask. Librarians will proudly tell you that, being 
professionals, they make independent judgements based on sound, ethical 
principles. They will flaunt the infamous Library Bill of Rights (adopted 
1948; revised 1961, 1967 and 1980) to prove it. The sad truth is that 
librarians have often been caught between their professional principles 
and nonprofessional antagonists. One type of antagonist is is the library 
board member/politician seeking to gain easy publicity or to win votes at 
the expense of the library, its staff or its patrons.The other type of 
antagonist is the the narrow-minded patron who insists that his/her 
opinion (on policy, book selection, hiring, etc.) is decisive because it 
is his/her library (this particularly is a problem in tax-supported and 
public libraries). Recently a large group of anti-library antagonists met 
to discuss ways to fight/control library policy at the "Family-Friendly 
Libraries" conference held during the summer.

5.0 Classification

5.1 How does the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) work?

There are ten main categories in DDC. These are divided into ten 
subcategories, which in turn are divided into further subcategories. The 
more specific the subject of the item is, the longer the number assigned 
to it is. Today the classifications are the responsibility of Forest 
Press.

5.2 What are the ten major classifications of the DDC?

000-099: General works (encyclopedias and similar works)
100-199: Philosophy and Psychology
200-299: Religion
300-399: Social Sciences
400-499: Languages (including dictionaries)
500-599: Natural science
600-699: Applied science
700-799: Arts
800-899: Literature
900-999: History, Geography and Biography

For a further breakdown, go to the 3 summaries site on the WWW at 
  http://www.oclc.org/oclc/fp/ddc/ddcsumm/ddcsm1.htm

5.3 What are the twenty major classifications of Library of Congress 
(LCSH)?

A: General works B: Philosophy and religion C: History - auxiliary 
sciences D: History and topography (except America) E-F: American history 
G: Geography, anthropology, folklore, recreation H: Social sciences       
J: Political science K: U.S. law L: Education M: Music N: Fine arts      
P: Language and literature Q: Science R: Medicine S: Agriculture          
T: Technology U: Military science V: Naval science Z: Bibliography and 
library science

5.4 What are the major Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)?

QS: Human Anatomy QT: Physiology QU: Biochemistry QV: Pharmacology       
QW: Bacteriology & Immunology QX: Parasitology QY: Clinical Pathology     
QZ: Pathology W: Medical Profession WA: Public Health WB: Practice of 
Medicine WC: Infectious Diseases WD 100: Deficiency Diseases             
WD 200: Metabolic Diseases WD 300: Diseases of Allergy WD 400: Animal 
Poisoning WD 500: Plant Poisoning WD 600: Diseases Caused by Physical 
Agents WE: Musculoskeletal System WF: Respiratory System                
WG: Cardiovascular System WH: Hemic & Lymphatic Systems                 
WI: Gastrointestinal System WJ: Urogenital System WK: Endocrine System  
WL: Nervous System WM: Psychiatry WN: Radiology WO: Surgery WP: Gynecology 
WQ: Obstetrics WR: Dermatology WS: Pediatrics WT: Geriatrics. Chronic 
Disease WU: Dentistry. Oral Surgery WV: Otorhinolaryngology             
WW: Opthalmology WX: Hospitals WY: Nursing WZ: History of Medicine

5.5 What other classification systems are there?

In Canada, _Canadian Subject Headings_ is often used. Sears is another 
classification, but I am unfamiliar with it. Randall W. Scott at Michigan 
State University Libraries has developed a schedule (which he uses in 
conjunction with LCSH) for sequential art material (i.e. comic books and 
strips). This appeared in his _Comics Librarianship: A Handbook_ 
(Jefferson: McFarland, 1990). For more information on it, e-mail Peter Coogan
at mailto:cooganpe@pilot.msu.edu . Sanford Berman has 
written lists of politically-correct subject headings to 
supplement/replace traditional LCSH. They appeared in his _Subject 
Cataloguing: Critiques and Innovations_ (New York: Haworth, 1984). He is 
currently working at Hennepin Public Library, which puts out the 
bimonthly _Hennepin County Library Cataloguing Bulletin_. There is a Wiene 
Classification and Elazar Classification for Jewish libraries that are 
available from the Association of Jewish Libraries.

6.0 Organizations

6.1 What organizations can I join to network with fellow professionals?

There is an excellent list of library organizations on the WWW at 
   http://witloof.sjsu.edu/organizations.html
(Thanks to Bruce Hamilton <bhami@netcom.com> for pointing me to it.)
Major organizations are:
Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) 
  http://aleph.lib.ohio-state.edu/www/ajl.html
American Library Association (ALA)  http://www.ala.org                    
Association of Research Libraries (ARL)  http://arl.cni.org   
Canadian Library Association (CLA)    
  http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/freeport/prof.assoc/cla/menu
International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA)    
  http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/ifla/home.htm                                     
Medical Libraries Association (MLA)  http://www.kumc.edu:80/MLA/        
Ontario Association of Library Technicians (OALT)   
  mailto:brahm_gilman@yr.com
Ontario Library Association (OLA)
Public Library Association (PLA)  http://pla.org
Special Library Association (SLA)  http://ruby.ils.unc.edu/SLA 
Toronto Association of Law Libraries (TALL)
Toronto Area Library Technicians Association (TALTA)    
  mailto:acaritox@reach.com

7.0 Culture

7.1 How did the "Marian the Librarian" stereotype start?

"Marian [Paroo] the Librarian" is a song and a character from the musical 
_Music Man_ (which was made into a film in 1962). In it, Marian is a shy, 
conservatively-dressed, bespectacled, hair-in-a-bun woman who shushes 
anyone who makes the slightest noise in the library. Someone added the 
charactersitic of being elderly and the image was complete. The stereotype 
has been used and copied in various media time and again. During the past 
summer, a Saturn commercial became a noticeable, recent example, which 
caused quite a discussion on news:bit.listserv.medlib-l ["You mean they 
designed a car for noise reduction and didn't consult you?"]. The 
periodical _American Libraries_ occasionally runs an "AL Aside - Image" 
column to keep us all up-to-date.

7.2 How can I get a list of sources of librarian images in comics?

E-mail me at mailto:ziwolke@ibm.net or mailto:yu121249@yorku.ca for the 
list.

8.0 The Cyberstacks

8.1 Can I get/give answers to difficult reference questions through the 
internet?

Absolutely! There are three methods I know of. One way is to use the 
STUMPERS-L archive and listserv (mailing list). The archive is located at 
gopher://crf.cuis.edu:70/11gopher_root2%3a%5bstumpers-l%5d . To subscribe 
to the listserv, send the message "SUBSCRIBE STUMPERS-L" to the e-mail 
address mailto:mailserv@crf.cuis.edu . Another method is to post it to 
the newsgroup news:bit.listserv.libref-l. Yet another method is to use the 
real-time online reference at the Internet Public Library (IPL) reference 
desk. For more information, visit the IPL at http://ipl.sils.umich.edu or 
telnet to their MOO (Multi-user Object-Oriented) at 
telnet://ipl.sils.umich.edu [logon as iplmoo and, when prompted, type 
"connect guest".

8.2 What other internet library resources are available?

WWW Libraries  http://www.albany.net/~ms0669/cra/libs/libs.html
Internet Public Library  http://ipl.sils.umich.edu
Library-Oriented Lists and Electronic Resources  
  http://info.lib.uh.edu/liblists/home.htm or mailto:sbonario@uh.edu
Librarians' Home Pages Directory
  http://www.he.net/%7Elibdir
Librarians' Professional Resources  
  http://www.cfcsc.dnd.ca/links/lib/index.html
Plethora of Web Sites: The Librarians' Meta-List  
  http://ainet.com/scfl/plethora.htm

Newsgroups

news:soc.libraries.talk

A list of listservs that are converted to newsgroup format (such as 
news:bit.listserv.medlib-l [a medical libraries discussion group]) is 
available on the WWW at the URL http://info.lib.uh.edu/liblists/newsgrp.htm

8.3 Who are some internet librarians/cybrarians/cyberlibrarians?

_American Libraries_  Karen G. Scheider http://www.intac.com:80/~kgs   
                                        or mailto:kgs@intac.com
_Library Journal_  Steve Cisler  mailto:sac@apple.com
_Internet World_  Cynthia N. James-Catalano  mailto:jamcat@gate.net

9.0 Miscellanea

9.1 Where can I read more about librarianship?

_Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science_ / editors: Allen Kent & 
  Harold Lancour. New York: M. Dekker, 1968-
_Encyclopedia of Library History_ / edited by Wayne A. Wiegard & Donald G. 
  Davis, Jr. New York: Garland, 1994.



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

This FAQ is copyright (C) 1996 by Steven M. Bergson. This 
work, in whole or in part, may not be sold in any medium, including but 
not limited to, electronic, CD-ROM, or print, without the explicit written 
permission of Steven M. Bergson.

Permission is hereby granted to quote reasonable extracts from this work, 
provided that proper attribution is given. You may also distribute this 
work (subject to the conditions above) in its entirety via e-mail, file 
transfer protocol (FTP), and the world-wide web (WWW), provided that the 
work is distributed in its entirety (including header information) and 
remains unaltered. Please let me know if you are making the FAQ available 
through FTP or on the WWW.

Address any comments, questions or suggestions about this FAQ to Steve at 
mailto:yu121249@yorku.ca or mailto:ziwolke@ibm.net .

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