Jesse hauk shera workshop presentation test3

The Legacy of

Jesse Shera

Reaching Back to Look Forward:

By Cynthia BosakVincent Jew &Hanako Moondance

Biography

Born December 8, 1903 in Oxford, Ohio Graduated from Miami University with an B.A.

in English literature in 1925 Graduated from Yale University with a M.A. in

English in 1927 Married Helen M. Bickham in 1928 and had

two children Graduated from the University of Chicago,

Graduate Library School (GLS), with a Ph.D. in 1944

“Backed into the library profession” Prolific writer; remarkable given he was

visually impaired, making reading difficult Died March 8, 1982 in Cleveland, Ohio

Librarian Career

1927: Unable to find a teaching position, he became an assistant cataloger at Miami University’s library

1928-1940: Became a bibliographer at Scripps Foundation for Population Research

– Worked with a Hollerith Machine, a computing machine used to compile and tabulate data electronically, using punch cards

1938-1940: On leave to attend GLS 1940-1941: Chief of the library census

project at the Library of Congress 1941-1944: Assistant Chief, Central Information Division of

the Office of Strategic Services (OSS)– Supervised conventional library and picture collection– Organized reports from various military services and censorship intercepts

Librarian Career (continued)

1944: Completed Ph.D. dissertation; became Chief of Preparation and then Assistant Director at the University of Chicago Library

1947: Became assistant professor at GLS, teaching courses on American Library history, academic libraries, cataloging, library administration and the theory of classification

1951: Became associate professor with tenure 1952: Became Dean of the School of Library Science (SLS) at

Western Reserve University (WRU), increasing faculty and library graduate populations; reorganized the American Documentation Institute (ADI), which eventually became the American Society for Information Scientists

1953: Editor of American Documentation 1954-1959: Editor of Western Reserve University Press

Contributions to Librarianship

1955: Established the Center for Documentation & Communication Research (CDCR) with James Perry and Allen Kent (information retrieval pioneers)

1956: Established a doctoral program at SLS which served as a model for other librarian schools (received a 3-year grant from the Carnegie Corporation for the study of library education)

1956: CDCR sponsored a conference on Practical Utilization of Recorded Knowledge (PURK) with librarian and non-librarian representatives discussing common problems

1960-1971: Became CDCR director, created curriculum on information storage and retrieval

1961-1968: Wrote a column “Without Reserve” in the Wilson Library Bulletin

Career & Contributions to Librarianship (continued)

1967: Remained Dean of the School of Library & Information Science as WRU merged with Case Institute of Technology

1970: Retired as Dean; remained as professor 1970-1971: Visiting professor at University of Texas 1972: Dean Emeritus at Case Western Reserve As a prolific writer & lecturer, Shera maintains an enduring influence

on the Library & Information Science profession Writings included: 11 books (wrote, edited or assisted editing), 45

book chapters, 10 reports, 108 periodical articles, 74 columns in Wilson Library Bulletin, 29 editorials in American Documentation, 104 book reviews, 45 publications in Library Literature (some of them reprints and collections); occupying 29 linear feet at the Case Western Reserve University Archives in Cleveland, Ohio

Philosophies

Wanted librarians to have a professional creed; to be more careful and precise in answering patron’s questions

Thought classification basic to bibliographic organization (1st American to note that classification was used outside of libraries)

Wanted automation and computers to be applied to library science without losing sight of humanism of the profession; “Embrace the technology but do not become its servant” (1976)

Believed elements in American life contributed to the growth of the public library as a social agency; society shapes libraries

Developed a new discipline – social epistemology – with Margaret Egan exploring ways society can access and perceive its environment or information using bibliography, documentation and librarianship, introduced in the article Foundations of a Theory of Bibliography (April 1952 issue of Library Quarterly, 22:125-38).

Historical Context:Professionalism in Librarianship

Librarian position not actively thought of as a scholarly position 1930’s -1940’s: varying types of library education available based

on previous and continuing education levels Disparities in education received from programs and thus difficulty

to award same degrees to students of the field Absence of cohesive education for librarianship across the board Standards adopted in 1925, updated in 1933; one of few written

forms regarding consistent librarianship though lacking thorough terms

New terms not created until 1951 and applied in accreditation visits to schools in 1953

Historical Context: Organization of Information and Use of Resources

“The library problem, like the problem of education, is not storage but retrieval” (Shera, 1973)

American Documentation Institution previously focusing on microphotography, microfilm as resources

Microfilm effective tool for space conservation, but not access, retrieval and dissemination

Libraries coming together in order to

share information (i.e. ILL) thus creating

need for optimal organizational systems

Legacy

JESSE is the primary email discussion list used by librarian and information science educators in his honor

ALA LRRT(Library Research Round Table) Research Award (1975-1986)

– The award was established by the Library Research Round Table to honor excellence in library research.

– $500 award given annually Jesse H. Shera Award for Research (1988-1995)

– After Jesse Shera’s death in 1982, LRRT obtained permission from his family to use the Shera name.

– In 1996 and 1997 no worthy winners were found thus a new award was formed.

Legacy (continued)

Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Published Research (1998-current) – Honoring exemplary publications in the field of

library science

Jesse H. Shera Award for the Support of Dissertation Research(1998-current)– 2012 winner was Victor J. Sensenig for his

dissertation “Public Libraries and Literacy in Ecological Perspective”

Learning Points

Use technology to your benefit and that of your “customers” rather than allowing it to use you

Perseverance prevails Society does shape libraries: digital has made

a world of difference Master the basics first, then “tweak” them Librarianship is customer diven, not data or

technology driven

References

Carroll, C.E. (1970). The professionalization of education for librarianship: With special reference to the years 1940-1960. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press.

Farkas-Conn, I.S. (1990). From documentation to information science: The beginnings and early development of the American Documentation Institute-American Society for Information Science. Contributions in Librarianship and Information Science, 67. Retrieved from www.asis.org.

Garraty, J. & Carnes, M. (Eds.). (1999). American national biography. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

LRRT’s Shera Research Awards Recipients. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/offices/ors/orsawards/sherawinners

References

Shera, J.H. (1953). Historians, books and libraries: A survey of historical scholarship in relation to library resources, organization and services. Cleveland, OH: Western Reserve University.

Shera, J. H. (1973). Knowing books and men; Knowing computers, too. Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Wiegand, Wayne A. (Ed.). (1990). Supplement to the dictionary of American library biography (Vol. 1) Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Pictures from www.weebly.com, www.likrakauer.com, www.nypl.org and www.case.edu respectively.