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What Price a Head Librarian...

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    #62
    Ever2010
    Registered Users Posts: 166 ✭✭Ever2010


    dyl10 wrote: »
    The efficient running of the library is pivotal.
    That being said, our library is **** and the head librarian makes too much money.

    Why is it Sh*t?


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    #63
    Walls
    Registered Users Posts: 1,258 ✭✭✭Walls


    parker kent wrote: »
    People doing the MLIS can take modules in rare book curatorship and in archiving, so there is an academic structure in place to give librarians knowledge of archiving and dealing with rare books. Think of the librarians who look after the Long Room in Trinity or other such libraries. Seamus is a little bit off in what he says but elements of it are true. Librarians can look after rare books. But it is often in conjunction with archivists.

    Since the recent retirement of a staff member, the modules regarding Rare Books and Book History are no longer on offer.


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    #64
    Chinafoot
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,894 ✭✭✭Chinafoot


    Walls wrote: »
    Since the recent retirement of a staff member, the modules regarding Rare Books and Book History are no longer on offer.

    In UCD.

    The course in UCD is regarded as quite new in comparison to the Aberystwyth and Aberdeen courses which have been around much, much longer. There are plenty of qualified people who have covered those areas and I'm sure plenty who still will in the future.


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    #65
    parker kent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,289 ✭✭✭parker kent


    Walls wrote: »
    Since the recent retirement of a staff member, the modules regarding Rare Books and Book History are no longer on offer.

    Well I meant that there are people out there who have taken that module previously in UCD or taken in abroad. Of course lots of librarians have taken other courses in archives and rare books to supplement their education too. It is not that unusual to have that mixture of skills.


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    #66
    dyl10
    Registered Users Posts: 1,355 ✭✭✭dyl10


    Ever2010 wrote: »
    Why is it Sh*t?

    Lack of/quantity issues regarding important books and access to certain e-journals but that could be a different issue.


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    #67
    Ever2010
    Registered Users Posts: 166 ✭✭Ever2010


    dyl10 wrote: »
    Lack of/quantity issues regarding important books and access to certain e-journals but that could be a different issue.

    The library hasn't really had a book budget for the last number of years - with the exception of last year, as far as I'm aware - and for course material the lecturer is meant to send in reading lists to be bought. The quantity is again down to budget - surely it's better to have 2 copies than no copies?

    I've always found the access excellent especially from home... but maybe you're having issues with certain journals.

    That doesn't mean though the library is ****!


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    #68
    dyl10
    Registered Users Posts: 1,355 ✭✭✭dyl10


    Ever2010 wrote: »
    The library hasn't really had a book budget for the last number of years - with the exception of last year, as far as I'm aware - and for course material the lecturer is meant to send in reading lists to be bought. The quantity is again down to budget - surely it's better to have 2 copies than no copies?

    I've always found the access excellent especially from home... but maybe you're having issues with certain journals.

    That doesn't mean though the library is ****!

    Access is only an issue with certain subject fields, which seem to be plagued with problems i.e. physical geography.

    I used **** in an operative sense. Of course the library is not **** compared to my local library but from my understanding of what the libraries of world leading universities should be like, ours is pretty bad.

    Your point about budget puts us in agreement, I think. I'm sure the library/staff do the best they can considering it's budget but that does not change how frustrating the library can be.


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    #69
    parker kent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,289 ✭✭✭parker kent


    Dyl10 makes an allusion to a point I was going to make. Libraries in other universities around the world are placed as THE centre of learning. The library and librarians are involved in curriculum development. Sadly, for a variety of reasons that is not the case in Irish universities. The head librarian at UCD has experience of working in Harvard, so I know that he will try everything possible to reverse that trend.


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    #70
    snickerpuss
    Registered Users Posts: 2,055 ✭✭✭snickerpuss


    parker kent wrote: »
    People doing the MLIS can take modules in rare book curatorship and in archiving, so there is an academic structure in place to give librarians knowledge of archiving and dealing with rare books. Think of the librarians who look after the Long Room in Trinity or other such libraries. Seamus is a little bit off in what he says but elements of it are true. Librarians can look after rare books. But it is often in conjunction with archivists.

    I certainly always think of rare books as being under the remit of librarians. Archivists might deal with bound volumes like letter books or cash books as part of an archival collection. But other than things like a unique medieval bound volume or personal handwritten diaries or something, I don't think most archivists would have anything to do with rare books, unless they were one-off and unique. We're really only trained to deal with unique, irreplaceable material, mostly documents.

    Often people assume what we do is similar, but other than facilitating research and making information available, we've really got different concerns and focuses.

    I sound like I'm nitpicking but I'm really just interested. Our archives class has no contact with the librarians at all so it's interesting to find out what they do.


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    #71
    parker kent
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,289 ✭✭✭parker kent


    snickerpuss wrote: »
    I certainly always think of rare books as being under the remit of librarians. Archivists might deal with bound volumes like letter books or cash books as part of an archival collection. But other than things like a unique medieval bound volume or personal handwritten diaries or something, I don't think most archivists would have anything to do with rare books, unless they were one-off and unique. We're really only trained to deal with unique, irreplaceable material, mostly documents.

    Often people assume what we do is similar, but other than facilitating research and making information available, we've really got different concerns and focuses.

    I sound like I'm nitpicking but I'm really just interested. Our archives class has no contact with the librarians at all so it's interesting to find out what they do.

    We had classes with people from the archiving masters so I would be aware of what the job entails. I'm not sure what year that the change occurred where MLIS students could no longer take the archiving module, it might be last year but I am not sure. There is an overlap between the two jobs and it often involves joint projects. I know I mainly referred to rare books in my first post, but there are facilities where the two would work together. The best example is probably the collaboration between staff at the Library of Congress and the Archives of the United States.

    Edit: Take a look at these for an example of how the two are linked by many
    http://www.library.calpoly.edu/about/jobs/speccoll_head.html
    http://politicalgame.blogspot.com/2009/12/first-librarian-heads-national-archives.html


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