November 3, 2003
Dear Colleague,
I am pleased to welcome you to Chapel Hill on November 10-11 for a working meeting about training and education for careers in special collections. You will be part of a group of library directors, special collections professionals, archivists, and library and information science educators who have expressed a strong interest in this issue. We are delighted to have such a diversity of perspectives and experiences. Our discussions will further the work of the Task Force on Special Collections of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) and will, we hope, lead to some concrete projects which can be undertaken without delay.
This letter provides context for our meeting and greater detail about the agenda, which is attached. We will make every attempt to provide all of the referenced background documents before the 10th. I would also like to make two special requests of you so that our introductory discussion will be as productive as possible:
If you have or know of any current job descriptions or recent vacancy announcements for special collections or archives, please forward them in advance of the meeting (to Judy Panitch: panitch@email.unc.edu) or bring copies with you. Educators are invited to share relevant brochures, course descriptions, and syllabi.
Please also take a few moments to reflect on what you consider to be the most important qualifications for working in special collections. These can also be forwarded to Judy or brought with you as notes.
History
From the beginning of ARL's recent engagement with special collections, the need to develop a new generation of special collections professionals has been a recurring theme. Directors and special collections librarians have repeatedly spoken about the difficulty of finding qualified candidates for both line and management vacancies, even though many applicants are interested in special collections positions. This difficulty occurs at a time when the need for special collections personnel is acute. According to Special Collections in ARL Libraries: Results of the 1998 Survey Sponsored by the ARL Research Collections Committee (ARL, 2001), 94 respondents anticipated filling on average 1.7 professional positions in special collections in the five years following the survey, even as the skill set required for these positions is expanding. Also in ARL libraries, more than a third of senior managers in the field of rare books and special collections will reach retirement age by 2010 (Stanley Wilder, Demographic Change in Academic Librarianship . ARL: 2003), prompting concern among task force members about future leadership. We do not believe these conditions are unique to ARL libraries.
Meeting agenda
The purpose of our meeting is to better assess and understand the environment and to consider potential responses, particularly those where ARL may be able to play a role. The Task Force has identified several areas of particular concern, although we certainly remain open to the surfacing of additional issues during the course of our discussions. Following a background discussion informed by the two assignments described above, we plan to consider the following questions:
- Role of Schools of Library and Information Science. Few U.S. schools of library and information science today offer a comprehensive specialization in rare books or special collections in the context of the MLS program. It is further the impression of the members of the Task Force that course offerings related to rare books and special collections have been greatly reduced as these schools have shifted faculty resources to information science and digital technologies. At this meeting we would like to develop ideas about how schools of library and information science can strengthen programs to prepare degree candidates for careers in special collections. We must also discuss whether stronger commitment to special collections on the part of all or even most schools of information and library science is in fact a realistic expectation and, if not, what alternative options offer the most promise for the field. A possible outcome of the discussions may be a decision to write a "Dear Colleague" letter to deans describing the competencies the task force identifies as most important and inviting their interest in working with us to develop programs that better prepare degree candidates to work in special collections.
Background document
- Survey of library school programs (Deirdre Stam--forthcoming)
- Brochures, syllabi, and other information supplied by educators
- Rare Book School. The University of Virginia Rare Books School is the leading program in the country for training new rare books librarians and furthering the continuing education of experienced practitioners. Rare Book School is not associated with a school of information and library science and depends on special arrangements for support from the University of Virginia. Many research library directors who have sent staff to the School consider it an essential resource for maintaining the high-quality of their special collections personnel and are concerned about the School's long-term viability. Terry Belanger, University Professor and Honorary Curator of Special Collections, will prepare a white paper that will describe the School's programs, current status, support arrangements, and future prospects as background for discussion on how the ARL community might help to ensure the continuation of the School.
Background documents
- White paper (Terry Belanger--forthcoming)
- Special Training Programs for Careers in Special Collections. A number of organizations are developing initiatives to promote non-traditional paths of entry into the field of librarianship. These include ARL, which is partnering with ALISE to write a grant proposal for an "Executive MLS" programs, and CLIR , which is developing an immersion program in library practice for graduate students close to completing the PhD in other fields. We are also aware of efforts to develop intensive programs that familiarize students and library practitioners with the field of special collections. The Special Collections Task Force has, in previous discussions, envisioned an immersion program focused on preparation for careers in special collections and, prior to the announcement of the ARL/ALISE and CLIR projects, had begun to draft a program proposal. We need to discuss the programs currently under development by others and consider whether they might be a means to develop a new generation of special collections librarians. Is there a cooperative role for ARL and/or the Task Force with these initiatives? Is there a role for a distinct or parallel program yet to be developed?
Background documents
Outcomes
As a result of these discussions, we hope to achieve the following:
- A better understanding of the extent of the market "need" for special collections professionals, articulation of the highest priority competencies for qualified candidates, and identification of those competencies that seem to be missing from current applicant pools.
- A clearer picture of the educational opportunities currently available, both within graduate library school programs and independent of these program, and a sense of their current and potential roles in addressing these needs.
- Clarification of the several initiatives within ARL and CLIR that may address some aspect of these needs.
- Guidance in development of an agenda for the Special Collections Task Force, including the specific action items suggested above, and assessment of interest in furthering these issues.
I realize that this is an ambitious agenda and that our time is limited. I am nevertheless pleased that so much interest has already been shown in these issues and I look forward to a lively and productive discussion with all of you. If you have any questions or suggestions about the agenda, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Joe Hewitt
Chair, ARL Task Force on Special Collections