Twenty-nine employers were present and twenty-five surveys were returned. The questions on the survey and the aggregated reponses are provided below.
- What is your overall impression of the graduate students you spoke with?
Very poised and professional. Bright people. – Good – fairly articulate, professional in appearance and demeanor. Where are the children’s librarians? – Overall I was impressed by the enthusiasm of the students. In addition, the vast majority were poised, professional, and confident. – Bright, articulate, forward thinking. – They seemed articulate and seemed to have lots of previous experience. Most had or were going to have field experience by the time they graduated. – They seem poised and self-assured; eager to learn. – Good presentation of skills. – Good, bright people. Some could be more outgoing. – Professional, good communication skills. – Very favorable. – Professional, informed, very good. – Very nice, polite. The turnout was NOT well mixed racially. We need to find minority librarians and obviously depend on the library schools to recruit and educate them. – Good communication skills; most interested in library science rather than the IT field. – More grads with technical skills; less grads with strong science backgrounds. – Professional, educated. – Very professional, mature and knowledgeable of what they wanted to do. – Good (3). – Very good (2). – Fewer students interested in traditional library jobs. – I was impressed. It did concern me that they did not seem familiar with the opportunities that working for a vendor offered librarians.
- Please rate as best you can the students on the following knowledge, skills, and attitude. (Mark an "X" in the appropriate box -- add a comment if you wish)
Career Fair Interviewees
No Opinion
Less than satisfactory
Acceptable
Very Good
Out-standing
Comment
Professional Manner
5 15 5 Technical Knowledge
5 8 10 1 1 = not applicable Communication Skills
6 18
1 System Skills
11 7 4 1 2= not applicable Subject Knowledge
3 7 11 3 1 = not assessed Flexible and Open to Change
2 9 10 3 1 = not assessed Able to Work in Team Setting
8 1 12 1 3 = not applicable Team skills very important
Background:
- Was this the first time you attended the Carolina Information and Library Science Career Fair?
18 Yes
7 No
If no, do you see any changes in the qualifications of students or in their ability to present themselves professionally this year as compared to last year or previous years?
No change – good before, good now. – More qualified and aware of library settings. – Few students interested in traditional library jobs. – Students seem to be more self-confident, also older this year. – Turnout was not well mixed. We need to find minority librarians – and absolutely depend on the library schools to recruit and educate them.
- Has your organization employed any of our graduates in the past?
7 No
18 Yes
- If yes, please rate the graduates on the following knowledge, skills and attitudes. (Mark an "X" in the appropriate box -- add comments if you wish)
SLIS
Graduates
No Opinion
Less than satisfactory
Acceptable
Very Good
Out-standing
Comment
Professional Manner
1
1
9
8
Technical Knowledge
12
5
Communication Skills
1
10
7
System Skills
2
3
7
5
Subject Knowledge
1
9
7
Flexible and Open to Change
4
10
3
Able to Work in Team Setting
1
2
10
6
About The School's Curriculum:
- The curriculum of the Master’s of Science in Information Science and the Master’s of Science in Library Science is designed around five functional areas: organization, collection and retrieval, communication, design and evaluation, and management.
A. The Master's of Science in Information Science (MSIS) degree program is intended to prepare students for careers focusing on the design, implementation, evaluation, and administration of a wide variety of information systems including databases, networks, multimedia, the World Wide Web, instructional technologies, and other emerging technologies.
Please rate the following required MSIS course work areas in terms of perceived usefulness and relevance: (Note: For course description, please consult our print catalog or Web catalog at http://ils.unc.edu/ 1998 catalog) Rated by 29 out of 25 responses. One person checked more than one box.
MSIS Curriculum
No Opinion
No Perceived Usefulness
Moderately Useful
Highly Useful
Comment
Organization of Information
1
7
12
More useful if borrowed more heavily from LS equivalent.
Broad utility
Systems Analysis
1
5
19
Broad utility
Information Retrieval
2
6
12
Broad utility
Communication Processes
2
7
11
Broad utility
Management of Information Agencies
2
1
10
7
Broad utility
Research Methods
1
3
10
5
Electives in Human Communication Behavior
1
1
10
8
Also electives in Leadership, Supervision, and Management. – If user interface included here, it is especially helpful.
Electives in Database and Retrieval Systems
4
16
Broad utility.
Electives in Networking and Internet Technologies
3
16
*** - Highly useful.
Specific utility.
Electives in Managing Information Systems
2
3
14
Project Management would be a real plus and should be a requirement.
B. The Master's of Science in Library Science (MSLS) degree program is intended to prepare students for careers in library administration, archives and documents librarianship, cataloging, public and reference services, acquisitions and collection management, children's librarianship, access and manipulation of database information, and special collections.
Please rate the following required MSLS course work areas in terms of perceived usefulness and relevance: (Note: For course description, please see consult our print catalog or Web catalog at http://ils.unc.edu/ 1998 catalog)
Rated by 17 of 25 respondents.
MSLS Curriculum
No Opinion
No Perceived Usefulness
Moderately Useful
Highly Useful
Comment
Organization of Material I
1
5
11
Information Resources and Services
1
2
14
Resources Selection and Evaluation
1
3
13
Communication Processes
1
2
6
8
Needs to be geared to communication in libraries, not so general.
Management of Information Agencies
1
7
9
Do more on managing a library, not old management theory.
Research Methods
1
7
9
Electives in Reference
2
4
12
Young Adult Services!
Children’s Services!
Electives in Resources and Services
1
6
9
Electives in Type of Library
1
1
7
8
Electives in Management
10
7
Leadership, supervision and management. – This should be a requirement. Useful to librarians at every level and one thing many librarians seems to lack.
Representatives were given the option of submitting the survey unsigned. Representatives of organizations who did sign the form are listed below.
- Clemson University
- Collegis Learning Network Services
- Cumberland County Public Library
- Duke University Medical Library
- Durham County Government
- East Carolina University
- Home Depot
- Keystone Systems
- Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County
- SIRSI Corporation
- UNC-TV
- UNC-CH Libraries
- Valdosta State University
- Vision Software
- VTLS Inc.
- Wake Forest University
- Wake County Library System
Revised 7/30/99