Comments on: A Ph.D. in Library Science?

By: Somnath chanda

Somnath chanda — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:05:28 +0000

Please give me a topic on that subject.

By: cird

cird — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 06:13:04 +0000

Practicing Librarians as well as Teaching Library Science Professionals both need the Research, both need to contribute to the knowledge in the field. We believe that’s the legitimate need. There should be good research activities, pursuing of Ph.D. courses, publishing research articles and such activities in the interest of the ‘healthy’ growth of the Library and Information Science profession. Thank you for an interesting post there.

By: Anthony Molaro

Anthony Molaro — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:23:49 +0000

As a current doctoral student in an LIS program (Dominican University), I can say that I agree with Emily on two major themes. The first is that one needs to make sure that they love what they are studying. Even when I am with non-librarian friends (which is decreasing with time), I talk to them about libraries. It’s almost always on my mind.

Secondly, LIS research & theory is typically not found in other disciplines. We need to make sure that what we are researching is of importance to more than just librarians.

Emily, this was a great post, and I look forward to reading the additional comments.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:46:35 +0000

Thanks for your post, Emily. I’m in my last semester as a graduate student in Library and Info Science, and the thought of ending here makes me sad. But when I talk about pursuing a Ph.D. program for reasons other than teaching, I get crazy looks. You’re spot on about the importance of encouraging LIS research, and not just teaching. You’ve given me some food for thought. Thanks!

By: Michael Golrick

Michael Golrick — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:20:50 +0000

One big issue for getting a PhD in LIS is the limited number of programs. For those of us who are practitioners, the commitment to doing the program full time is also a very large barrier. (I’d consider doing it part-time, but cost and distance to a program are huge roadblocks for me, as is time.)

However, you raise an excellent point about the gulf between LIS educators and those of us in the field.