Hello, I'm a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh's School of
[Library and] Information Science. The school has changed its name
since I graduated. At that time (early to mid-90's) we were given the
option to do a masters thesis or take necessary courses to fulfill the
requirements of an MLS. I'm happy to say that I'm extremely happy with
the education that I received from UPitt/SIS because all of the courses
were driven towards a nice balance of theory and research. So, in
either case I would have had to write. I was already doing scientific
research in a medical lab while taking classes, so I chose to take the
route of taking classes to fulfill requirements (remember - I still had
to do research and learn theory). I felt that there would be plenty of
opportunities to do research publishing while in my profession - and
believe me - that's come to be. I still consider myself a child with
lots to learn in this profession - as the floor is ever moving. So
there are lots of topics to be explored and exploited.
If you have a tremendous interest in what you do - the topics are there
by virtue of what librarians are doing and how rapidly things are
changing. The status of libraries and librarianship has always been the
same since I graduated - it's always changing. Get with your adviser
and find out what the realistic expectations for the paper are and work
closely with her/him. What's written on paper always seems daunting -
but once you talk it out with your adviser, I'm sure you'll get a
different take on things. Believe it or not, in library land - building
relationships with people is key to survival. Perfect opportunity to
start with your adviser. In the real world - you might be asked to
write an article for publication and be given a week to do it in
(experience speaking here) - especially if you are in a tenure track
position where you have to publish or present. I have to admit, it can
be stressful at times; however, what I'm contributing to my profession
and the fact that I am still relevant generates a level of satisfaction
that's unspeakable once all is said and done.
Just my two cents - Best of luck to you in your endeavor's Sharon..this
stream was thought provoking!
Nic.
Abisognio, Paula wrote:
> Dear Sharon, et al.,
>
> At first, I was going to reply personally to Sharon, but I decided to
> share my experience with you all.
>
> I know from my "final research project" that there is great variance
> among the schools in terms of requirements and offerings (the title of
> my project is "Cataloging Course Requirements in ALA-accredited Master's
> Programs in the U.S.", but was much more involved than the title
> implies, covering the program requirements and offerings at all the
> schools and the entire history of LIS accreditation standards and
> education, in addition to the cataloging course requirements and the
> contents of those courses). At my school (GSLIS at QC, or Graduate
> School of Library and Information Studies at Queens College in Flushing,
> NY), a "final research project" was, and I believe still is, required.
> But, just as the schools vary in their requirements and offerings, at
> QC's GSLIS, at least when I was enrolled, when it comes to the "final
> research project", there is also great variance in what is required, and
> my experience is a perfect example. My professor required me, who was
> working on the project by myself, to do a project so comprehensive and
> involved that it took me years to complete and at the end I had what was
> the equivalent of two "final research projects" plus a Ph.D. thesis, yet
> was only granted an MLS. At the same time, the general requirement was
> merely to produce the simplest of "final research projects", working in
> groups as large as six. Need I say more?
>
> As you can imagine, I still harbor anger over my experience. Had I had
> the courage to stand up to her, and had it even occurred to me to do so
> (though I do remember questioning her about it), I would have refused to
> do what my professor instructed me to do, i.e., adding the equivalent of
> a Ph. D. thesis to my "final research project". Thank you all for
> letting me vent.
>
>
> Paula Abisognio, Catalog Librarian (and Accidental Unicorn System
> Administrator)
> Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
> Cold Spring Harbor, NY
>
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Next generation catalogs for libraries
>> [mailto:NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU] On Behalf Of Sharon Foster
>> Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 7:08 AM
>> To: NGC4LIB_at_LISTSERV.ND.EDU
>> Subject: Re: [NGC4LIB] Three years of NGC4LIB - reflections?
>>
>> This is an area that definitely needs an overhaul. At my school--and
>> maybe at some others, I'm guessing--a one-semester research and
>> evaluation class takes the place of a master's thesis. At least one
>> paper gets published almost every semester, so I know it's not
>> impossible, but in general I think it's very difficult to come up with
>> a topic that is interesting, important, useful, and doable in one
>> semester. People I've spoken to who graduated 10 or more years ago
>> were not even required to take the research and evaluation class.
>>
>> Can we take a quick straw poll here? How many of you who have an MLS
>> (or variations thereon) had to write a thesis, or, if it wasn't called
>> that, do a major research project? How long did you get to complete
>> it? Rather than clutter up the list, you can reply to me and I will
>> aggregate the results.
>>
>> Sharon M. Foster, 91.7% Librarian
>> Speaker-to-Computers
>> http://www.vsa-software.com/mlsportfolio/
>>
>
>
>
--
Mr. Nicola J. Cecchino, MLS, AHIP
Assistant Librarian for Reference and Technology
George T. Harrell Library, H127
Penn State College of Medicine
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
500 University Drive, PO Box 850
Hershey, PA 17033-0850
Email: njc12 at psu dot edu
AOL/AIM: CraZLib
Phone: 717-531-8630
FAX: 717-531-8635
FACEBOOK: http://psu.facebook.com/srch.php?nm=nic+cecchino
HARRELL WEB: http://www.hmc.psu.edu/library/
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Received on Fri Mar 13 2009 - 09:36:52 EDT