Education for serials librarianship: what are the not so obvious basic components?

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Koenig, Michael E.D.

Affiliations: School of Library Service, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, U.S.A.

Abstract: Four basic components that should be stressed in education for serials librarianship, and that are frequently not part of a core curriculum, are delineated. They are: knowledge of the capabilities of computers and telecommunications systems, particularly the trends in technological capability; knowledge of scholarly communications, the mechanisms and social dynamics of the creation and dissemination of information; complementary quantitative skills for decision making; and knowledge of basic economic principles. Other components of library education are, of course, appropriate for serials librarianship – cataloguing and data retrieval techniques, for example – but it is argued that the above components are particularly appropriate to serials librarianship, and generally are inadequately stressed in library education.

DOI: 10.3233/EFI-1985-3304

Journal: Education for Information, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 237-246, 1985