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Completing the doctorate also will require faculty currently in LIS doctoral
programs interested and willing to support such students with research
interests in cataloging / metadata / broader knowledge organization areas.
 Drexel is fortunate to have good faculty working int these research areas
however at many LIS programs in the US, finding senior faculty to work with
in cataloging research, this has become a great challenge in itself I
fear...but I hope that this will also change.  I share the concerns also
Mary M. has expressed in terms of pushing it back further in the curriculum
today.  Many graduates continue to obtain high counts of positions in
cataloging related positions per the annual LJ surveys and should remain a
part of our teaching and research for simply the benefit of other research
agendas.

 Thank you both-Mary Miller & Lorna Peterson, for your insights on an
interesting thread,
   Karen

Karen Weaver, MLS, Adjunct Faculty, Cataloging & Classification, The iSchool
at Drexel University, College of Information Science & Technology,
Philadelphia PA email: [log in to unmask] / Electronic
Resources Statistician, Duquesne University, Gumberg Library, Pittsburgh PA
email: [log in to unmask]

On Mon, Dec 7, 2009 at 3:51 PM, Lorna Peterson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>  On Mon, 7 Dec 2009, Mary Miller wrote:
>
>  "Christine Schwartz's query about online PhDs led to an interesting
>>
> conversation about whether one should earn a PhD if one is interested in
> teaching cataloging ...."
>
>
> I have been reading these posts with great interest. I am on a faculty of
> Library and Information Studies where our MLS program requires cataloging
> for graduation-- of all students. I do not teach cataloging-- but I have
> chaired our search committees for Knowledge Organization aka "cataloging."
>
> The future of the profession depends upon research. A doctoral degree is a
> research degree. And LIS programs need faculty members who can teach
> cataloging and conduct research. The University at Buffalo MLS program is
> one such program (although we are currently not hiring).
>
> Full time faculty tenure track positions require that a faculty member does
> three things: research, teach, and service. Yes the joke is research,
> research, research but most of us have to teach--even at the AAU, Research
> Intensive, doctoral granting institutions, we teach and we do research.
>
> Advancing cataloging in the academy will require full time tenure track
> faculty who are engaged in research, teaching, and service. Mary Miller
> makes an excellent point about the status of cataloging. LIS faculties need
> doctoral candidates who can teach cataloging and conduct research in
> cataloging or conduct research in some other library and information science
> (including archives) area.
>
> For those who want to be adjuncts and teach at that level, then the
> doctorate is generally not needed. For those who want to be part of a degree
> granting faculty, a doctorate is needed. It is also important to remember
> that there are LIS programs that are not ALA accredited. If a job search is
> extended to include those schools, especially the NCATE recognized programs,
> the scope of opportunity broadens.
>
> lp
>
> Lorna Peterson, PhD
> Associate Professor University at Buffalo
>
>
>  On Mon, 7 Dec 2009, Mary Miller wrote:
>
>  Christine Schwartz's query about online PhDs led to an interesting
>> conversation about whether one should earn a PhD if one is interested in
>> teaching cataloging.  Several folks commented that PhD programs in LIS are
>> research-oriented and that someone interested in teaching might do better to
>> explore options for teaching as an adjunct, rather than obtaining a PhD.
>>
>>
>>
>> This seems like good, practical advice, but I have some questions/concerns
>> related to that approach. I've been reading a lot about education for
>> catalogers,
>>
>  and one concern raised by many folks is that reliance on adjunct
> instructors could diminish the place of cataloging even farther in the
> curriculum.
>  This is not because adjuncts wouldn't be good teachers, but because they
> wouldn't have the status of full-time faculty when it comes to curriculum
> development for the LIS program, advocating for more cataloging courses, and
> so on. Thoughts?
>
>>
>> Mary Miller, C. A.
>> Peabody Awards Collection Archivist
>> [log in to unmask]   (706) 542-4789
>> "A Peabody is like an Oscar wrapped in an Emmy
>> inside a Pulitzer.  It's the turducken of awards."
>> --Stephen Colbert, 2007 Peabody Award winner.
>>
>>
>>
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