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Bibliographic Competencies for Education Students

Bibliographic Instruction

Students in education need an increasingly sophisticated knowledge of library resources in order to access information in the discipline. “Bibliographic Competencies for Education Students,” an ACRL committee project, identifies minimal skills in the use of education materials which should be demonstrated by students at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It is intended for use by students, teaching faculty, and librarians.

Members of the Bibliographic Instruction for Educators Committee of ACRL’s Education and Behavioral Sciences Section who developed the instrument are: George Jaramillo, Jim Olivetti, Virginia Parr, Hannelore Rader, Ilene Rockman, Harvey Soule, Charles Thurston, Thomas Tollman, and Joan Worley (chair).

1. To develop a logical approach to researching a topic.

a. Locate definitions of general and specialized educational terms. Information sources: Dictionary of Education; International Dictionary of Education; Terms in Reading. Rationale: To recognize dictionary sources specific to education.

b. Locate summary discussions of educational topics. Information sources: Encyclopedia of Education; Handbook on Contemporary Education. Rationale: To gain overview of topics of inquiry and learn secondary sources of research.

c. Locate resources using the library’s author, subject, and title catalog(s). Information sources: Card, Online, Fiche or Film Catalog. Rationale: To gain access to a library’s holdings.

d. Locate journal articles in indexes and abstracts. Information sources: Education Index; Current Index to Journals in Education (CIJE); Child Development Abstracts and Bibliography; Educational Administration Abstracts. Rationale: To access periodical literature in education.

2. To identify major reference tools in education. Information sources: Encyclopedia of Educational Research; Second Handbook of Research in Teaching; Resources in Education. Rationale: To perform basic bibliographic research in support of teaching.

3. To identify and describe standardized tests. Information sources: Mental Measurements Yearbook; Directory of Unpublished Experimental Mental Measures. Rationale: To become acquainted with the characteristics of tests in use.

4. To locate and describe print and non-print curriculum materials, instructional aid resources. Information sources: Curriculum Review; Media Review Digest; NICEM Directories; Educators Guides to Free Films, etc. Rationale: To locate critical reviews of classroom materials, to effectively access audiovisual and graphic aids in instruction.

5. To locate book reviews in education and related fields. Information sources: Book Review Digest; Current Book Review Citations. Rationale: To access critical commentary on books and authors in education.

NOTE: The following competencies may be more relevant to graduate level research.

6. To utilize state and federal government publications. Information sources: Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications; Congressional Information Service; United States Code; state codes. Rationale: To retrieve information issued by government agencies and legislatures.

7. To locate statistics relevant to the school community in government publications and other sources. Information sources: Digest of Educational Statistics; American Statistics Index; Statistical Reference Index. Rationale: To effectively utilize demographic, financial, and other types of data for school planning.

8. To make a general assessment of an author’s competence. Information sources: Directory of American Scholars; Contemporary Authors; Social Sciences Citation Index. Rationale: To gain knowledge of the author’s credibility and position in the field.

9. To distinguish characteristics of general, scholarly, and professional association journals. Information sources: Education and Education-Related Serials, A Directory; Education/Psychology Journals, A Scholar’s Guide. Rationale: To gain awareness of the variety of periodicals covering education and to understand the scope and purpose of each.

10. To understand purpose and scope of professional associations and their major publications. Information sources: Directory of Education Associations; Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Yearbook. Rationale: To acquaint student with significant research in subject-specific area.

11. To select and use computerized information services. Information sources: ERIC; Psychological Abstracts (Psyc Info). Rationale: To understand the function of computerized data bases and to appreciate the diffusion of information.

12. To identify theses and dissertations. Information sources: Dissertation Abstracts International; Comprehensive Dissertation Index; Masters Theses in Education. Rationale: To gain awareness of educational research at the graduate level.

13. To identify and locate information resources available outside the local community, using general and national bibliographies. Information sources: A Cuide to Sources of Educational Information; National Union Catalog; British Museum Catalog. Rationale: To become familiar with significant resources beyond the local library.—Submitted by Joan H. Worley, chair, EBSS Bibliographic Instruction for Educators Committee.

Editors Note:This document is available in tabular form, free to members, $1 to non-members, from ACRL/ALA, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. All orders should include a self-addressed mailing label and 30¢ in postage.

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT DEGREE

The Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago has received a grant of $250,000 from the Council on Library Resources to support a special program designed to lead to the award of a Certificate of Advanced Study in Library Management. The grant is for two years and may be renewed for a third.

Among the objectives of the program, which is geared towards academic and research libraries, are: 1) to provide students with an opportunity to study formally general management issues, problems, and techniques; 2) to broaden and deepen students’ knowledge of the problems facing large academic, research and other libraries; 3) to develop the ability of students to conceptualize, analyze, and obtain evidence for recommending solutions to management problems; 4) to help prepare students for successful occupancy of middle and ultimately upper level management positions in libraries; and 5) to increase the effectiveness of large academic, research and other libraries by strengthening their management structure, processes and personnel.

The course of study proposed will have four components: a group of courses taken in the Graduate Library School; a group of courses taken in the Graduate School of Business; an Investigative Internship to be held in one of the participating academic and research libraries; and a Management Seminar which will be conducted throughout the course of the program.

Students in the program will be known as CLR Library Management Fellows. They will already have a first professional degree, and five or more years of successful library experience. Libraries participating in the program by providing possible sites for the Investigative Internship are: the Newberry Library, Northwestern University, the John Crerar Library, the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle, the University of Chicago, and the Chicago Public Library.

The first intake of students will be in the spring term of 1982. For further information contact: W. Boyd Rayward, Dean, Graduate Library School, 1100 E. 57th St., Chicago, IL 60637.

CINCINNATI SURVEYS AUTOMATION OPTIONS

The University of Cincinnati libraries are performing a planning study which will present a set of options concerning automated record systems to its vice presidents in September, 1981. Work is now underway on a user survey of faculty, students, staff, and administrators. The goal is to find out how current manual record systems help or hinder research and instructional activities.

Simultaneously, the libraries are observing national trends in library automation. Charles B. Osburn, vice provost for university libraries, said: “We have nearly ten years of OCLC data; our job now is to find the most cost-effective options for the 80s. Having waited until this point to consider systems, there is now much to choose from.”

Cincinnati will proceed conservatively, implementing and operating one function at a time in order to maintain financial and administrative control. The university’s five independent library jurisdictions (including medical, law, and two offcampus centers) have indicated that circulation and the serial record are the highest ranked candidates for automation.

Ellen Miller, director of library systems development, is in charge of the planning study. She asks libraries to send word of operative systems (whether vendor or library created) available for acquisition by the University of Cincinnati libraries. Send information to: Ellen Miller, Room 466, Central Library, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221.