2003 Final Exams Questions

• Spring 
  
• Summer 
• Fall
  

April 11, 2003

1. For more than a hundred years reference service has been a core information service in all types of libraries and information agencies. Describe several important problems and issues currently facing reference service and discuss how the service is likely to develop over the next decade.

2. You have been given the task of developing an "outcomes assessment mechanism that will provide you information on the effectiveness of your agency. From the perspective of a type of library or information agency, identify the "outcomes" that you would include as the best indicators of effectiveness; how would you involve your external constituencies in the process; and how would you utilize the results in improving the agency's services?

3. Recently the FBI and other Federal agencies have been asking libraries for information regarding the reading habits and Internet use of library clients whom the FBI suspects of being "terrorists." What kind of problems does this raise for libraries? What would be a good "privacy policy" for library records? Describe the key elements of a privacy policy regarding client information, from the perspective of a type of library or information agency. First identify the principles that you would consider in drafting such a policy, and then identify the sources that you might draw upon for doing so. For example, what does the ALA Code of Ethics say about client privacy?

4. The public increasingly believes that access to web based search engines is sufficient to solve most information needs, but information retrieval on the web can be problematic for a number of reasons. Based upon what you know about the nature of the web, how search engines create searchable indexes, and the nature of keyword searching, identify and discuss four important problems or issues that impact the effectiveness of web searching e.g., the invisible web, the comprehensiveness of search engine indexes, keyword searching versus controlled vocabularies, the presence or absence of discovery metadata, etc.). Compare and contrast the issues you identify regarding web information retrieval to a traditional library information retrieval system or product of your choice.

5. Computer and information technologies have transformed the role of librarians and the services libraries provide to clients. From the point of view of a type of library of your choice, identify and discuss three technologies that you believe are among the most important transforming technologies of the last few decades and discuss how each has changed the library, its services, and the profession. Then discuss what you think the future of each of those technologies will be in the decade to come.

July 18, 2003

2. Describe the characteristics of the current information environment that support the profession's conclusion that all libraries need to ensure that instructional services (also called bibliographic instruction, library instruction, and information literacy) are an important part of the information services offered to clients. From the perspective of a library type (school, public, academic, special) discuss the major issues and problems that implementation of instructional services present.

3. Some observers claim that (physical) libraries are declining in importance. They predict that printed documents, buildings, and human intermediaries will gradually be replaced by "digital libraries" and other electronic services available over public networks. What are some of the arguments for and against this prediction?

4. There have been a number of changes in core library technologies and functions over the last decade. Specific areas include: integrated library systems (i.e., software that manages the database, circulation, OPAC, etc.), the kinds of information resources available to clients (collections), and the various ways that clients can access that information (both on-site and remotely). Discuss these three topics in context of how each has changed over the last decade and how each might be different a decade from now.

5. Over the past century, library and information professionals have developed elaborate methods for information storage and bibliographic control (describing and providing access to resources). Describe the extent to which traditional approaches to organizing resources have been applied to digital and networked information. What are the limitations of the traditional approaches and what alternatives exist or have been proposed?

November 21, 2003

1. Recently the FBI and other Federal agencies have been asking libraries for information regarding the reading habits and Internet use of library clients whom the FBI suspects of being "terrorists." What kind of problems does this raise for libraries? What would be a good "privacy policy" for library records? Describe the key elements of a privacy policy regarding client information, from the perspective of a type of library or information agency. First identify the principles that you would consider in drafting such a policy, and then identify the sources that you might draw upon in doing so. For example, the ALA Code of Ethics.

2. Digital libraries are possible today largely because of the information technologies and standards that are available that allow us to digitize, store, manage, access, and distribute large sets of electronic documents. Identify and discuss at least two of the essential, supporting information technologies (e.g. scanning, OCR, networks, etc.) and two standards (e.g. XML, TEI, Z39.50, Dublin Core) and explain how they contribute to the creation of digital libraries, and how they could impact decisions that must be made about formats, scan resolutions, indexing, metadata, or long term availability of these digital resources.

3. Library collections, commercial databases, and the World Wide Web are among the basic avenues for retrieving information. Discuss the scope and the contents of these sources and compare and contrast methods and tools for retrieving information from them. To what extent do they overlap? With examples, illustrate when (under which circumstances) and how (with what particular search strategies) each of the avenues can best be used.

4. Reference service has been a central information service of libraries for many years. Clearly explain or describe what constitutes reference service in the library context. What are the major issues currently facing reference service in all types of libraries and, from the perspective of a library of your choice (e.g., public, academic, special, school, etc.), discuss how reference service is likely to develop or change over the next decade.

5. In light of increasing competition for funding as well as insistence upon documenting the connection between funding and results, strategic planning has become critical. In this context, and from a type of library of your choice, discuss how you would develop a strategic plan, who would be involved and how, paying attention to the political and public relations dimensions of your planning.