Minutes, 2005
Spring Meeting
Distance Learning for Library
Staff
MALA convened its Spring
Meeting at DeVry University, Decatur campus on Thursday evening, April 14, 2005,
7pm–8pm, with sign-in and refreshments beginning at 6:30. The purpose of the
program was for librarians and prospective librarians to learn about distance
education opportunities, the pros and the cons, from faculty, current and
previous students of various programs.
Speakers included Dr. Ravonne
Green and two students, Parker Owen and Eva
Waldrup, currently enrolled in the Valdosta State University Master of Library
and Information Science (MLIS) program (http://books.valdosta.edu/mlis/
). Dr. Wallace Koehler, Program Director and faculty member, was unable to
attend. Dr. Green and the students presented and discussed the program,
logistics and benefits of the Valdosta State MLIS program and its distance
education classes. The presentation included an online demonstration of WebCT,
the on-line learning, teaching, and communication tool at Valdosta State.
Attendance at the meeting was excellent, filling the computer lab with about 30
enthusiastic MALA members and guests, a number of whom indicated they are
interested in pursuing a distance ed. program, and several others who had
library degrees from other distance ed. programs, which led to lively
discussion. Attendees could choose from handouts from the University of South
Carolina and Valdosta State MLIS distance ed. programs, as well as catalogs and
brochures for DeVry, our host institution.
A detailed report of the
meeting follows.
MALA President Tim Wojcik
introduced our guest speakers. Dr. Green opened the presentation with an
overview of the Valdosta State MLIS distance ed. program, followed by a short
demonstration of WebCT. She explained that WebCT is a Web-based system that
allows for delivery of course materials in multiple formats, including video,
print-based, and slides. It also allows for direct communication with faculty
and other students via email and chat room.
Then Dr. Green explained the program requirements and logistics, in terms
of residency vs. distance courses. Residency courses are generally taught over 4
weekends in Macon, Rome, or Athens (University of Georgia). The Macon campus is
conveniently located at Macon State College off of I-475. At this time there is
only one required residency course, and that is the Foundations of Library and
Information Science course. There is no substantial support at present for an
Atlanta campus, and the main impetus is to get ALA accreditation.
There
was discussion of the ALA accreditation status and its impact on Valdosta
State’s MLIS program. Dr. Green explained that at present, they are primarily
recruiting Georgia residents, since while preparation for ALA accreditation is
on track and hopeful, the soonest it could occur would be 1 ½ years from now.
The Valdosta State University program has been granted candidacy status by the
American Library Association. Dr. Green said the Georgia Board of Regents grants
graduates of the program equivalency, as though they had graduated from an ALA
accredited program. An attendee clarified that not all counties in Georgia do
grant this equivalency, so it was recommended that job applicants be sure to
verify this. Those students who
graduate within one year prior to the granting of the ALA accreditation will be
grandfathered into the program as though it had been accredited at the time of
their graduation. As long as students continue to take one course per semester,
they may continue their enrollment in the program but slow down their graduation
date, in anticipation of a successful ALA accreditation outcome. Also, faculty
recommended delaying the final capstone course, since it is taken in the
semester prior to graduation.
Tuition was discussed. Many
State of Georgia employees are reimbursed for tuition or may be granted tuition
remission, so it was recommended that applicants check with their library
directors on their tuition status. Otherwise, for Georgia residents, tuition is
$100. per semester hour. If there is no discount, the tuition is $371. per
3-hour course. Also, there are scholarships available. Either the GRE or MAT is
required for entrance. Dr. Green referred prospective students to the Valdosta
State MLIS Website (http://books.valdosta.edu/mlis/
) for information on scholarships, the application process, a brochure, and
additional information.
Dr. Green also summarized the
curriculum (core and elective courses, distance vs. residency requirement). The
students discussed the curriculum and their experiences with the courses and the
technologies, both in residency and in distance ed. mode. They were very
positive and enthusiastic about the program and impressed with the quality of
the faculty. They stated that the format of the program allowed them to continue
to work fulltime, since the face-to-face (residency) courses were on weekends.
The weekend residencies allowed the students to get to know each other and
establish relationships, as well as to have dynamic interactions with the
faculty. The students commented that the web chat facility was very convenient
and frequently used by professors and students. It allowed for clarification of
assignments and team problem-solving, and promoted interactions among students
learning from each other. One prime example of the success of this mode was in the
cataloguing class. Video streaming was another preferred technology, used for
distance classrooms to communicate with each other during the residencies. It
was commented that the technologies can be intimidating to think about, but the
overall feeling was that at Valdosta and other library schools represented,
distance education was being effectively implemented.
Dr. Green explained the tracks
of specialized study at Valdosta State, including technical service, management,
academic, and public. She said that for students with a strong interest in
special libraries, class assignments are customized, since there is not yet a
formal special libraries track. Neither is there a school media program, since
GSU, West Georgia, and others offer that certification program (non-master’s).
Dr. Green commented that she thought there had been a Board of Regents’ ruling
in regard to which institutions could offer that program. It is probably
something that should be revisited. It was remarked that it was too bad VSU
doesn’t also offer school media certification combined with the MLIS program,
because some students want to obtain both the master’s and the media
certification. One attendee
remarked that marketing should be a required course in every library school
curriculum—someone quoted the phrase, “advocate or die”. The VSU students
responded that several courses do touch upon marketing of library services,
including the Foundations and Management courses.
The students discussed the rich
online resources and tools of the VSU Odum Library and the State of Georgia,
including electronic journals unique to VSU, Galileo, interlibrary loans, and
others (see Library Services and Resources for Distance Learning, Off-Campus and
Online Students and Faculty: http://books.valdosta.edu/dist/dmain.html
). An attendee warned that interlibrary loan requests may take longer to
receive if you are off-campus, so it is wise to build extra time into the
research process.
There was discussion of the
special benefits of distance ed. library programs, in that most of the students
are already working in a library, which enriches sharing of experiences and
information. People enroll to improve their knowledge and skills for their
current jobs, to give themselves more career options in the field, or when they
are changing career fields altogether to librarianship from teaching or some
other profession.
In other discussion, Dr. Green
told us that there are currently 4 fulltime faculty members and a fifth is being
hired. There have been 85 students in the program to date, 65 of whom are
actively enrolled, 4 of whom have graduated, and 4 of whom are pending
graduation this spring and fall. She said that ALA wants evidence of continuing
financial support. And then there was discussion of the status of the Clark
Atlanta University SLIS program, which is due to graduate its final class and
then close this May. There has been some mention that the collection, some of
which was received from Emory when the Emory library school was closed, will be
sent to Valdosta State.
Yolanda Stewart, in attendance
as a representative of the last graduating class from the CAU SLIS program,
was honored as the winner of the 2004 MALA student scholarship. The
scholarship will be extended this year to all Georgia residents attending MLS
library school anywhere, including Valdosta State, or all non-residents
attending an MLS school in Georgia. Yolanda reported that the students and
alumni will honor the heritage of the CAU SLIS on Monday, May 16 at 5 PM, and
all are invited to attend.
There was also discussion of
the proposal by the Dunwoody campus library of Georgia Perimeter College to
develop a Library & Information Science Technology (LIST) certification
program for library assistants, pending Georgia Board of Regents’ approval.
For more information, contact Dr. Stephen Koplan, coordinator of educational
initiatives at GPC’s Dunwoody campus library (skoplan@gpc.edu
). Also see the article by Mary Swint on the program in The Story online newsletter:
http://www.communityreview.net/gbase/Expedite/Content?oid=oid%3A1738
Special thanks to Kate Stirk,
MALA Vice President for Programming, and Mary Antoine, Reference Librarian at
DeVry, for planning and coordinating this meeting.
Submitted by Nancy Bryant, MALA
Secretary
4/22/05