The future of cataloguing education and training: input from surveys of the profession. Part 2. Philip Hider / Stuart Ferguson School of Information Studies Charles Sturt University

neXus census 1,337 out of 2,346 respondents engaged in information organisation activities – 57% 707 of 2,346 (30%) often or very often created and/or maintained bibliographic records (aka cataloguing) many in special and school sectors – lack of in-house training respondents keen to take up relevant external PD opportunities

IO education & PD First professional qualification courses cannot teach everything But what should they teach? And what should be offered as PD? And how should it be offered?

Other recent surveys Harvey and Reynolds (2005) – surveyed Australian IO educators in 2002 Hider (2006a) – surveyed Australian & US cataloguers/metadata specialists in 2004 Hider (2006b) – surveyed Australian library managers in 2005 US surveys of library schools (discussed on Educat, etc.)

Harvey & Reynolds Characterisation of contentNumber of subjects (n=25) Percen tage Primarily library practice1248 Primarily metadata / wider information context 832 Both 312 Not clear / insufficient information available 2 8

Towards a broader treatment Not enough room in a crowded curriculum Most courses have only one compulsory IO subject TAFE courses still focus on libraries, but on particular facets of cataloguing North American library schools also offer broad IO subjects… BUT still offer a lot of ‘traditional’ subjects, particularly as electives

Way forward for Oz library schools? If only one core subject, ensure intro to basic library cataloguing as part of broader intro Try to offer deeper electives wherever possible Try to develop additional PD opportunities Don’t rely on TAFE

ACOC’s draft position statement Presently available for public review at: /documents/positionstatement.doc.

Hider’s surveys Sep-Oct 2004, Autocat, catlibs, etc. What PD activities do cataloguers do/would like to do more of? 213 responses, mostly US & Australian American/Oz responses similar

PD activities PD activity % Professional reading 93 Short courses 82 Presentations and papers 39 Work-based research projects 32 Others 26 Publications 25 Personal study projects 24 Tertiary courses 6 Secondments 2

Subject/skills area covered % Metadata formats (e.g. MARC, Dublin Core) 81 Descriptive standards (e.g. AACR2) 78 Subject standards (e.g. LCSH, DDC) 66 Authority control 55 Internet cataloging 51 AV cataloging 48 Serials cataloging 46 Cataloging of other item types 40 Management and supervisory skills 33 Mark-up languages (e.g. XML) 30 Communication skills 29 Web authoring and design 27 Digital library development 24 Knowledge management 23 Other information management skills 21 Other generic skills 21 Thesaurus construction 16 Indexing and abstracting 15 Taxonomies and ontologies 10 Other ICT skills 9

Subject/skills area in demand % Metadata formats (e.g. MARC, Dublin Core) 63 Authority control 52 Mark-up language (e.g. XML) 52 Internet cataloging 43 Digital library development 41 Descriptive standards (e.g. AACR2) 37 Subject standards (e.g. LCSH, DDC) 35 Cataloging of other item types 35 Web authoring and design 35 Thesaurus construction 31 Knowledge management 30 AV cataloging 28 Taxonomies and ontologies 27 Serials cataloging 25 Indexing and abstracting 22 Management and supervisory skills 21 Other ICT skills 14 Communication skills 14 Other information management skills 13 Other generic skills 9

Likely reason for moving out of field f% Retirement3320 Devaluation/deprofessionalisation of metadata jobs1911 Switch to another information field148 Promotion to management position138 Change in personal circumstances/desires (including ‘death’) 127 Lack of continuing education opportunity within field127 Lack of metadata jobs available127 Inadequate compensation/attractiveness of salaries in other areas 127 Worsening workplace conditions106 Outsourcing of metadata jobs106 Switch to another profession/career85 Redundancy42 Lack of promotion opportunities within field32 Switch to a related information field32 A better offer21 Information overload11

Key findings Employer support for PD activities was felt to be minimal or poor by 40% of respondents 38% felt that their expertise was inadequately recognised by the library and information profession A lack of worthwhile PD opportunities was a problem for 40% of respondents Nevertheless, 81% were either ‘fairly satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with their job

Second survey Nov 2005, various ALIA lists What PD activities for cataloguers do library managers support/want more of? 165 responses

Key findings Almost half of the libraries did not provide any on-the-job training PD provision did not meet demand in terms of quantity, range and nature More flexible learning opportunities wanted (e.g. online courses)

Key findings Nor did it meet expectations – managers wanted cheaper and shorter courses Some managers also needed educating: ‘It is an area that is given little consideration because management does not see a problem, therefore no money [is] spent.’

Area of interest Number of libraries % of total Internet cataloguing Descriptive cataloguing AACR Authority control Audiovisual cataloguing MARC Dewey Decimal Classification Copy cataloguing Serials cataloguing Library of Congress Subject Headings Subject indexing Cataloguing of other item types Library of Congress Classification Other classification scheme1511.7

Summary Both traditional and non-traditional areas in demand Limited support from managers Range of PD opportunities needed A broad but solid IO foundation also needed via library school – for all information professionals, including future managers

Draft position statement regarding the formal education required of entry-level cataloguers and allied information organisation professionals The Australian Committee on Cataloguing (ACOC) recognises that the training of librarian and information professionals must provide them with the skills to meet the needs of employers today and the challenges of the future. ACOC notes the policy of the Australian Library and Information Association on Courses in library and information management is that the curriculum offered must be one which “… delivers the core knowledge, skills and generic attributes to ensure the highest standard of professional practice”. ACOC calls on all courses recognised by ALIA as leading to a first professional qualification, to include in their curricula sufficient treatment of the core knowledge and skills required to create resource descriptions and to understand and evaluate different methods for the provision of intellectual access to information resources.

Specifically, ACOC endorses the Educational policy statement of the US Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) and views the knowledge and skill sets pertaining to intellectual access and information organization as outlined in that statement (see Annex A), to be essential attributes of all professionally qualified graduates. ACOC holds that ALIA-recognised courses must provide their graduates with a “knowledge of cataloguing tools and sources of bibliographic records and how to use them” so that graduates can indeed use key cataloguing tools and apply basic bibliographic standards.