Boyd Keith Swigger

Well researched. Professor of library science, and former dean of the school, writes that the product he has spent the whole of his life selling, the MLS, is essentially unnecessary to the practice of librarianship -- yet I assume he continues to draw his paycheck. He argues that there is no meaningful distinction between professional librarians and paraprofessionals, and anyone who wants to call themselves a "librarian," is one. While that may be true of the students who graduate from his program, it rarely applies as a general rule. That is not to say there are not problems with the education of librarians, or their quest for professionalism, and his treatment of these is thorough and a good resource for those seeking background materials. But he has surrendered the fight, largely because he reduces the work of libraries to simple dispensation of information -- he thus sees Google as providing a superior service. When he criticizes librarianship for failing to advance a theory of what it is that it strives to achieve, he need look no further than his own empty understandings.… (más)