Diary 11/25

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am catching up with my school work before the evening meal. In my RFA class I came across an article entitled "Why Survival Is Not Enough" by Richard J. Cox

The article really fired me up. Maybe because I am so unhappywith the University of Pittsburgh or maybe because I am tired of my TLC group but I vented big time on the discussion board. I am sure the - very nice - professor is going to raise his eyebrows when he reads this. He responds to all of our submissions. I am eager to read his reply.

I've been told that I am very blunt in my speech. I strive daily to work on softening the edges but today I felt it these words needed to be shared.

I pasted a copy of what I posted on the DB below.
Richard J. Cox's view is that "library schools have a questionable future.” I agree but not for all of the same reasons.

“Why do most people come to library schools in the first place?” I came because like many I was “drawn by a love of books, reading, and scholarship associated with the word, including interests encompassing the Web and digital publications.”

Enrollment in MLIS schools like Pitt is thriving but not due the exceptional school or staff. The economy is driving the enrollment. Americans have been indoctrinated to believe that higher education is the only way to promotion. “The university … is no nobler than credentialing people to secure jobs”

One of the areas discussed in the article is the distance learning that is being offered to a large new audience. I am among those in the distance education audience and I am not happy. I am far from the only complainant. The effective delivery on online education goes beyond just the professor and their lesson. Effective is also the services offered to students, advisor counseling, peer networking, faculty/adminstrator response, etc. As far as many of us are concerned we are being ignored and library school has become nothing more than a frustration that begs the question of why am I here? Can this blatant lack of interest in individual students, their interests and motivations be confused for “being run like a business”? What business can thrive using this format?

“librarians have for the most part deemed distance education a grand success…the chief criterion seems to be the number of students online classes attract. Distance education tempts university administrators with its ability to generate extraordinary revenue”

I agree with Linda Pastan’s reflection, this has been about the most miserable two years of my life. I have not been completely lost but I’m pretty far gone…

“We need to commit to building a self-sustaining, quality library education program … We have an important product to sell: a quality education in an area of critical importance to society, its organizations, and its citizens. We have something we can believe in.”

Preach, Richard Cox, preach!

TTYL. I'll let you know what the professor responds...

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