![]() “It’s true that it is a lot of work and coordination,” for such partners, including providing students with work spaces, interesting projects, and supervision. Limited buy-in from library schools could be owing to a lack of resources or partner institutions that can take the time to provide a structured and educational practicum experience, she suggests. Raszewski also questions the “very low number” of schools that actually require students to take part in a practicum before graduating rather than simply offering the opportunity. “If want students to get hired, you have to make them do this.” “I don’t see how people could not do” practicums, she tells LJ. Students also submit weekly written work describing their experiences and reflecting upon what they have learned. “That’s a product that will continue to benefit that library operation over time,” he said, “and it’s nice to have that sort of legacy from a student’s practicum work.”Īccording to Rebecca Raszewski, associate professor and information services and liaison librarian at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Library for the Health Sciences, a structured practicum gives LIS students the chance to “see how things work, the different approaches to being a librarian, and the different ways we connect with people.” She works with a practicum in which library students spend 12 weeks split between two libraries, presenting an opportunity to compare the methods of professionals in different settings. He offers the example of a practicum student who worked on a particularly common research request for their library host and then moved on to create documentation that could guide other employees in tackling such work in the future. Practicum experiences also benefit from host institutions that are dedicated to supervising students and encouraging their continuing education.Īt their best, practicums or internships will be established in a way that supports students taking ownership of their work product and contributing to their hosts’ ongoing objectives, not just filing, shelving, or “doing things the staff don’t have time to do,” says Shumaker. “We can coach the student to the extent that the student wants the coaching,” he says, but motivating students to take charge is “empowering” and makes it more likely that the practicum experience will fit their professional goals. Students are expected to take on a leadership role in arranging their work experiences and coordinating with host institutions. Shumaker emphasizes the “student-centeredness” of the approach to practicums at his institution. David Shumaker, clinical associate professor in the department of Library and Information Science at Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, explains that not only do students gain useful work skills through experiential learning, ranging from data management to research skills, they also gain a sense of “what it is like to work in a particular setting.” Internships and practicums provide a unique opportunity to ask, “Is this the kind of place where I want to work? The student is better equipped to choose that first professional job and better equipped to perform well in the setting they choose.” ![]() Graduate-level LIS coursework can be intellectually stimulating, introducing interesting theories about information science, but the heavily academic focus in some programs can be in conflict with the need for students to learn the technical tools of their chosen profession. The first Toronto Academic Libraries Internship (TALint) Program cohort Such programs offer at least encouragement and opportunities for students to participate in either internships-paid or unpaid work experiences independent of schoolwork-or practicums-work experiences for credit, often involving a final paper or seminar meetings with faculty. LIS programs and information schools take various approaches to equipping students for the workplace, which often requires practical skills that prove challenging to teach in a strictly classroom (or online classroom)–based environment. Students typically pursue a master’s degree in library and information science (LIS) because they hope to become working information professionals. Practicums and internships give LIS students valuable experience on the ground but can prove more of a barrier than a boon
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