Never Neutral, Never Alone

Abstract

Library science is getting harder to teach. The variety in libraries of all types is increasing as more and more mold themselves to their communities rather than field-wide norms. How can library science education change to meet the new variety, and the variety in a post-neutrality world? The author proposes new metrics for evaluating the effectiveness of LIS programs: Agility—What ongoing methods are in place to identify, evaluate, and prepare students for developments in a rapidly changing profession? Connectedness—Who are the partners networked with the program and its faculty to ensure direct connection of the classroom to the field? Embeddedness—What is the program’s ability to deliver authentic field experiences to students that allow them to contextualize theory and research methods? Resilience—How prepared are librarians to face, understand (i.e., analyze), and solve the problems in a community in line with the professional mission and values of librarianship?

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