1993 Final Exams Questions

November 19, 1993

1. Recently the profession has been hearing and seeing a great deal about the emerging "information superhighway". Define the "information superhighway" and discuss how libraries, and library patrons, might use the information superhighway to improve access to information.

2. You have recently been hired as a librarian, and your first assignment is to draft a collection development policy statement for the library. From the perspective of a library of your choice (public, academic, special, school media library, etc.), describe what specific information should be included in the draft collection development policy statement.

3. Discuss how computer-based end-user search services (both, remote and 1ocal) have changed libraries and their services over the last decade.

4. Several information related professional associations (e.g. American Library Association, Medical Library Association, American Society for Information Science) are involved in the process of revising or developing ethical codes. What is the basic purpose of a professional code of ethics? Identify and describe what you believe should be the most important elements in a code of ethics for librarians of information professionals.

5. In his book If You Want to Evaluate Your Library, F W Lancaster writes "Unfortunately the different services proveded by a library are competing with each other for limited funds." from the perspective of a library of your choice (e. g. , public, academic, special, school media library, etc.) describe three or four situations where different library programs or services are competing for limited funds, and discuss how you feel each of the conflicts should be resolved.

July 9, 1993

1. In a recently published article John Sculley, Chairman of the Board of the Apple Computing Corporation, argues that the fundamental question faced by all organizations in today's rapidly changing environment is "How will organizations designed to thrive in the 19th and 2Oth centuries learn to contribute to the 21st?" Discuss how all types of libraries need to redefine themselves so that they will thrive over the next several decades. In your discussion, focus on how libraries will use inforation technology (computers and communication technology) to add value to the information products and services they provide their clients.

2. Increasing cultural diversity places special demands on libraries and the services they offer their clients. From the perspective of a library of your choice (for instance, public library, academic library, special library, school media center, etc.), discuss how such libraries have changed, or should change, (e.g., organization, collections, staffing, services, etc.) in order to better serve the information needs of a culturally diverse clientele.

3. The development of NREN (National Research and Educational Network) has enormous potential for improving access to information in the United States. What are the basic arguments for and against NREN as a public good (funded by government), versus its privatazation and comercialization? Discuss your personal views regarding this heated debate.

4. Discuss how developments in the profession over the last two decades have altered the role of professional catalogers (e.g., their responsibilities, work, cataloging processes and education requirements). How is their proeessional role likely to change over the next decade?

5. From the perspective of a library of your choice (for instance, public library, academic library, special library, school media center, etc.), identify and describe four important inforation services which such libraries have acquired or developed for their users over the last decade. In each case, discuss why the identified service is ccinsidered important.

April 16, 1993

1. Discuss why many experts in the library profession feel libraries need to change their primary strategy for providing users with access to information from one that emphasizes building local collections, to one that emphasizes providing access to materials wherever they may be found. How would such a change in strategy for meeting user needs likely affect resource allocation decisions and the nature of libraries of the future?

2. It is frequently argued that, for libraries to meet the challenges of the information age, librarians need to reexamine or rethink library practices and services. In this context, discuss how advances in information tecnology (i.e., computer and communication technology) are affecting, and will continue to affect, libraries in the areas of human resources (people).

3. From the perspective of a library of your choice (for instance, public Iibrary, academic library, special library, school media center, etc.), discuss how the characteristics and information needs of the library's patrons affect (or should affect) the information services provided.

4. An important responsibility of all library managers is to acquire and allocate financial resources which are used in a variety of ways to achieve the library's goals and objectives. From the perspective of a library of your choice (for instance, public library, academic library, special library, school media center, etc.), describe the most common funding sources of such libraries. Discuss the role of the library professional (manager) in relation to the library's funding sources (i.e., what does the library professional need to do in order to acquire needed financial resources, and how can it be done most effectively).

5. The recent publication of Madonna's book Sex has returned the topic of intellectual freedom and censorship to the editorial/letters page of many newspapers. What is the formal position of the American Library Association regarding patron access to controversial library materials. Discuss how your personal views of intellectual freedom compare with the ALA position.