Title: Student Chapters: Meeting Expectations and Providing High Quality Experiences.
Abstract: IntroductionFormal student chapters of professional library and information science (LIS) associations provide an additional component to the LIS educational experience. The American Library Association (ALA), American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T), Society of American Archivists (SAA), and Special Libraries Association (SLA) all include information about student groups on their websites. The purposes of these groups are generally described as a means of introducing students to the profession, developing leadership and professionalism, enhancing education, and promoting communication among its student members, etc. According to their websites, ALA's first student chapter was created in 1980 at the University of Michigan (American Library Association, 2011), and SAA's first chapters were established in 1993 at the University of Michigan, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of Texas (Society of American Archivists, 2011). No information is provided on the SLA or ASIS&T websites about the founding of their original student groups, but according to personnel at SLA, the first SLA student groups were formed in the early 1970s (M. Garvin, personal communication, August 1, 2011). ASIS&T was unable to provide this information.Apart from the above information, however, the historical record regarding student chapter associations is sparse. Neither the organizations' websites, nor the academic literature provides many details that might shed light on the development, growth, or challenges faced by student chapters after their inception.As members and/or officers of student chapters at Louisiana State University (LSU), we hoped to find answers to the following questions: Why do Library & Information Science (LIS) students join student chapter associations? What do they hope to gain from their membership? What are the factors influencing a student's decision not to join? How can student chapters and their national associations provide more enriching experiences for their members? These are some of the questions that prompted our research. We were particularly interested in exploring how the gap, (students who are not physically present on campus for coursework) affects membership since distance completion of a degree is a relatively recent development in LIS education programs.Literature ReviewThe first study of student associations in LIS was conducted in 1972 by Richard Eggleton (1972). Eggleton's study explored the structure and activities of student associations and their relationships to the schools of which they are a part. He surveyed the presidents of student associations and the deans of their respective schools. His study focused on student groups unique to their respective schools as opposed to student chapters of professional associations. He concluded, among other things, that student associations function with a great deal of autonomy and had gained some access to the power structure of their library schools, despite suffering financial difficulties (Eggleton, 1972).An update of Eggleton's research was conducted in 1981 by Gordon Eriksen and James G. Rice (Eriksen & Rice, 1983). They reported that student associations had increased in number, were better funded, and their members had greater access to the decision making process in their schools since the time of Eggleton's study.In 1988, BethM. Paskoff (1988) examined SLA's methods for recruiting student members into SLA. In her article, she discusses SLA's increased interest in student membership and the actions taken by SLA to provide more opportunities for student members, e.g., the creation of the SLA Student Group Newsletter. Her research also provides statistics about student chapters and their membership (Paskoff, 1988).In 1992, Larry L. Wright conducted a survey concerning student membership in local chapters of the SLA. Wright's interest was in exploring how SLA chapters serve their student members to retain them as full members after they graduate (Wright, 1992, p. …
Publication Year: 2014
Publication Date: 2014-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 3
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