[Metadatalibrarians] Survey on Education for Metadata Librarianship

[Bolam, Michael R]

You are invited to participate in a research study related to LIS education and metadata librarianship. The survey is intended for Library and Information Sciences faculty who teach courses related to organizing information, cataloging, digital libraries, and/or metadata. The survey is being distributed to administrators at all ALA accredited MLIS/MLS programs and select metadata related listservs. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey or forward it to the appropriate faculty at your institution.

Through this study, we aim to gain a better understanding of issues surrounding library and information science education as it relates to metadata librarianship. From January 2007 to June 2008, over 70 professional librarian positions with the term "metadata" in the job title were posted on various listservs and internet employment sites. Of these jobs, nearly 50 could be considered "entry level", requiring no previous professional experience. Using the entry level position postings as a representation of the skills expected for these positions, a survey was created to determine if if faculty at ALA Accredited MLIS/MLS programs are providing appropriate course work to prepare students for jobs working with metadata.

Responding to the survey constitutes informed consent to participate in the research. The survey is voluntary, and you may withdraw from it at any time. All responses will be kept confidential. Demographic information is being collected for data management purposes. Responses from individual institutions will not be reported.

The survey will remain open until Friday December 5, 2008. It should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete. Any questions should be directed to Michael Bolam, Metadata Librarian, University of Pittsburgh.
email: metadata.librarian.study at gmail.com

SURVEY: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=95AhnAYcxPs_2bmAbBqZq5LA_3d_3d

Michael R. Bolam
Metadata Librarian for Digital Production
Digital Research Library
University Library System
University of Pittsburgh
7500 Thomas Blvd., Room 306
Pittsburgh, PA 15260