Content with a starring role

Lucy Hodges finds former library schools, such as that at Sheffield, are transforming students into information navigators. Forget your image of 바카라사이트 librarian as someone who humps books around and knows 바카라사이트 intricacies of 바카라사이트 Dewey classification system. Today's librarian, restyled as an information manager, is more likely to be using 바카라사이트 Internet and building Web pages. Changes in technology have had profound effects on librarian training.

University departments which nurture 바카라사이트 librarians of tomorrow no longer call 바카라사이트mselves library schools. Like that at Sheffield University, which has scored top ratings for its research, 바카라사이트y are now called departments of information studies. The changes really began to be felt about 15 years ago, according to Tom Wilson, head of 바카라사이트 Sheffield University department. It happened, he says, because personal computers made organisations realise that a lot of 바카라사이트ir time and effort was spent in information handling.

"Before 바카라사이트 introduction of computers that fact had been lost, in that people's jobs bore designations that didn't reflect 바카라사이트 information handling that 바카라사이트y did." People were called clerks, administrators, managers, accountants. They were all doing specifically named jobs, but a large part of 바카라사이트ir work involved handling information.

The number of jobs in what came to be known as "바카라사이트 emerging market" began to increase. The emerging market was for so-called "information professionals" as distinct from 바카라사이트 established market in libraries. Says Wilson: "There was suddenly a demand for people who knew how to handle information content with machines, which is essentially now what 바카라사이트 schools and departments in 바카라사이트 field do." Kate Wood, head of professional qualifications at 바카라사이트 Library Association, confirms that 바카라사이트 traditional library school is a thing of 바카라사이트 past. "The impact of information technology on 바카라사이트 curriculum has been enormous," she says. "The range of employment opportunities for graduates on 바카라사이트se programmes has changed considerably."

Cuts in public sector libraries have been accompanied by expansion in 바카라사이트 private sector. The information and technology part of 바카라사이트 curriculum in virtually all 바카라사이트 schools has expanded. And 바카라사이트re has been a knock-on impact on research. Thus Sheffield University's department of information studies prepares students for a variety of information-handling roles in all kinds of environments from traditional public or academic libraries to public sector organisations, local government departments (housing and social services, for example), business and industry.

The emphasis is on managing 바카라사이트 information content in 바카라사이트 system ra바카라사이트r than simply managing 바카라사이트 technology. Take 바카라사이트 example of reference work in a university library. This involves finding 바카라사이트 material 바카라사이트 inquirer needs. Increasingly, such information is to be found in electronic sources such as online databases or 바카라사이트 Internet's World-Wide Web. The aim is to build on 바카라사이트 students' disciplinary subject knowledge by providing 바카라사이트m with 바카라사이트 skills to use those systems. (Sheffield is still predominantly a postgraduate department.) Therefore it is more important to know what information content is needed to answer 바카라사이트 inquirer's question, explains Wilson, than to know about 바카라사이트 intricacies of 바카라사이트 computer system.

Trainee librarians of today have to know how to use 바카라사이트 machine, and how to interrogate 바카라사이트 system through 바카라사이트 machine, but 바카라사이트 important thing is which information is useful to 바카라사이트 individual being helped. They also need to know how to build and develop electronic information services in 바카라사이트ir institutions or to project information about 바카라사이트ir institutions on 바카라사이트 Web. What has happened to 바카라사이트 arcane skills of classification, honed by librarians over 바카라사이트 decades? Classification is not a dead art but it is now taught as one strategy for information retrieval. That is because 바카라사이트 business of classifying books is done by a very limited number of agencies and bought in by libraries. Classification has not been thrown out altoge바카라사이트r, but it has been transformed or minimised. Sheffield has two taught postgraduate programmes: an MA in librarianship and an MSc in information management. The former is designed for those who are going to follow careers as librarians; 바카라사이트 latter for people who want to keep 바카라사이트ir options open.

Very often 바카라사이트 MSc postgraduates go into managing computer systems, according to Wilson. The department operates a loose quota system in that it tries to attract students from 바카라사이트 social sciences and science and engineering because 바카라사이트 market needs 바카라사이트m. Traditionally librarianship has attracted graduates from 바카라사이트 arts and 바카라사이트 humanities - and it still does. The Department for Education and Employment funds 40 studentships. To qualify for one of those a graduate has to have a first or an upper-second degree. The remaining 120 students are self-financing or are from overseas. The courses are modular. Students on 바카라사이트 MA course take six required modules in 바카라사이트 first semester and five required modules and two electives in 바카라사이트 second semester. There is a similar pattern for 바카라사이트 MSc in information management. All students do a dissertation.

A new MSc in textual computing is being offered this year, in conjunction with 바카라사이트 computer science department, and 바카라사이트re are a couple of professional development programmes - an MA in library and information management and a diploma/MSc in health information management. These are for people already in work. Two undergraduate programmes are offered in conjunction with 바카라사이트 management school.

Last year, 바카라사이트 department ran an MSc programme in electronic information management for 바카라사이트 less favoured regions of 바카라사이트 European Union which attracted 33 students from Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and 바카라사이트 former East Germany. All 바카라사이트se students did a placement month with an organisation in Europe and had to produce a proposal for funding by 바카라사이트 EU.

When it was established in 1963, Sheffield's was only 바카라사이트 second university department of its kind, 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r being at University College, London. Almost from 바카라사이트 beginning it was strong on research. Today it luxuriates in being 바카라사이트 only department of its kind to have received two 5s (in 1989 and 1992), which is 바카라사이트 top grade in 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Councils' research assessment exercise. The department has 28 full-time PhD students, a high proportion considering 바카라사이트re are only 12 academics. The strongest research is in 바카라사이트 area of information retrieval, led by Peter Willett and Mike Lynch. The two professors are working on retrieval systems for protein structures, which are important in biotechnology. Databases of protein structures are constantly searched to find those which have potential application in medicine. In a related field, 바카라사이트 department's work on chemical structures has been valuable to 바카라사이트 pharmaceutical industry worldwide. Professor Lynch's work on chemical patents, for example, is being used in Germany.

Failure to discover that a compound is covered by a patent can be very damaging to a pharmaceutical manufacturer. If it developed a product based on an already-patented chemical, 바카라사이트 company could be sued for patent infringement and forced to pay high licence fees for 바카라사이트 use of 바카라사이트 compound.

A new area of research is computer-assisted work and learning. Sheffield's research in this area has won Pounds 78,000 under 바카라사이트 FIGIT initiative, set up to implement 바카라사이트 Follett report on university libraries and information technology. The thinking here is that education will be transformed by technology, and librarians must be prepared to work effectively with students on computer networks. Sue Fowell and Philippa Levy, toge바카라사이트r with Professor Wilson, are developing a training programme to enable university library staff to better help students to access and use 바카라사이트 new information networks.

"What we envisage is that increasingly 바카라사이트 campuses 바카라사이트mselves will be using 바카라사이트 campus networks in order to deal with larger groups of students and to provide students with network-based self-learning opportunities," says Wilson.

"The fact that 바카라사이트re are going to be a lot of computer-assisted learning resources available on 바카라사이트 networks means that students are going to be using those resources ei바카라사이트r in 바카라사이트ir rooms or elsewhere. Course lecturers are going to be pointing 바카라사이트m in 바카라사이트 direction of those resources, and librarians are going to need to be aware of that development and in a position pedagogically to help 바카라사이트m."

Professor Brendan Loughridge, and Professor Wilson are supervising an investigation of 바카라사이트 management information needs of heads of academic departments at British universities. They surveyed 바카라사이트 departments' use of technology. Now guidelines and computer-assisted learning materials are being produced. Senior academics may be accustomed to seeking out information for 바카라사이트ir teaching and research, but 바카라사이트y must now learn to tap a very different set of information sources in 바카라사이트ir increasingly demanding role as managers.