College Librarians and the University-Library Syndrome

Information literacy as professional legitimation

“…Conversely, the concerns of students, though less glamorous and less likely to be lavishly funded by grant-makers, were more central in the college environment. College librarians, who were typically less specialized and more of whom worked directly with students, consistently recognized students' need for instruction (Farber, 1974). Although, again, this is not to suggest that university librarians were not equally in touch with this need; in fact evidence suggests they were (as will be demonstrated in the next section).…”

“…Because universities emphasized research, the interests of faculty and graduate students often took precedence in library services. For that clientele, access was the predominate concern (Farber, 1974). This is not to imply that university librarians did not want to teach both faculty and students bibliographic methods; in fact, they continued to value their educational mission and engage in teaching despite the repeated rejection of their formal claims to such work (O'Connor, 2006).…”

“…Indeed, the history of library instruction in academic libraries has been fairly well-documented: Lorenzen (2001) and Hopkins (1982) are two excellent examples. They were simply less successful in convincing their clients and library administrators to accept their educational mission (Farber, 1974).…”

“…On the other hand, colleges, which generally specialize in undergraduate education, tend to emphasize teaching and service over scholarly knowledge or advanced educational attainment (Farber, 1974). An old adage advises that if you want to know what is important to people, observe what they do, rather than what they say.…”

“…As the primary professional body of university libraries, the ARL focused exclusively on improving access, not instruction, through its initiatives (McGowan, 1972). Meanwhile, college academic librarians involved in the College and Reference Library Section (what would become the Association of College and Research Libraries in 1957) focused on interlibrary cooperation, professional education and credentialing, and library instruction (Farber, 1974). Though the CRLS was a much larger group of librarians representing a many more institutions, it was the access oriented mission of the ARL that dominated the jurisdictional claims of the rest of the profession.…”