Librarianship has been treated as a practice-based profession. Programs are designed around the practical applications of "doing" library work. Yet, in a world where there is increasing emphasis on information as a key to economic, social and political success, there may be a need to pull apart the issues that shape librarianship and examine them from an academic angle.
There are numerous issues related to the profession of librarianship that are worthy of examination beyond a two year Master's or Diploma program. Indeed, within those two year programs students can be titillated by the interesting problems and prospects that new technology and information use present. However, there is little time for exploration. Certainly, once one becomes a practitioner, there is little time to reflect on the broader aspects of the field. It is a common complaint among busy librarians and there is great frustration in trying to make informed decisions when there is little time to discuss and reflect on long term consquences. Greater discourse is needed and although this can occur at conferences, discussion boards, blogs, and lists, there is room for more research and debate in post secondary institutions. In turn, those forums can supply the industry with inspired, engaged and active participants that may be better positioned to move back and forth between academic study and practice.
The current situation is troubling because there is a tremendous amount of change in how people use and manage information and library workers are often the ones who observe these changes. As a result, they have some valuable opinions, experience and advice that may enhance how the broader community adopts technology and change. Those who work in information centres have first-hand knowledge of how publishing, emerging technologies, and user search behaviours intersect. There is a tremendous opportunity to share this knowledge with other disciplines and communities. As the ground shifts beneath us, it becomes clear that there is a profound interconnectedness between information and change. There is room for information studies to more actively partake in the discussions held by the academy of higher education.
In other disciplines, there is an avenue where academic discourse can occur and develop through formally recognized academic programs. Most professions enjoy a continuum of study that can begin at a certificate or diploma level and move through undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate programs. Librarianship does not enjoy this direct path of observation, exploration, discussion and reflection. There are programs that look at information management at the undergraduate level but many of these are centred around other, more specific disciplines including business and computer information systems. While there is nothing wrong with such programs, there is another outlet of study that has not been fully addressed.
