Deborah Hicks

Principled, Transformational Leadership: Analyzing the Discourse of Leadership in the Development of Librarianship's Core Competences

Using discourse analysis, this article explores three questions: (a) Why was “principled, transformational leadership” the leadership style added to Core Competences? (b) What was the discourse of leadership in the profession surrounding the development of the Core Competences? (c) How might this competence affect LIS education? And what measures, if any, have MLIS programs taken to address it? Informants involved in the development of the Core Competences indicated that leadership was added because it is an important issue for LIS professionals and it links “transformational” to professional change; however, they were unable to provide a clear explanation for the descriptor “principled.” Discursively, leadership is strongly tied to discourses of management, change, and youth. Preparing leaders is a stated goal of most ALA-accredited LIS programs; however, the discourse on leadership within the profession indicates that schools of LIS may be paying more attention to leadership within their curricula, specifically in management classes.

The Construction of Librarians' Professional Identities: A Discourse Analysis / La construction de l'identité professionnelle du bibliothécaire : Une analyse de discours

Professional identities shape the way the members of a profession interact with their clients and society. As librarians are service-oriented professionals, a discursively informed understanding of identity can provide a new way to examine identity and expose the ways it impacts and informs how librarians interact with their clients and society at large.L’identité professionnelle façonne la manière qu’a une profession d’interagir avec sa clientèle et la société. Les bibliothécaires étant des professionnels axés sur le service, une compréhension discursive de leur identité peut fournir une façon nouvelle d’examiner l’identité et d’exposer comment les bibliothécaires interagissent avec leurs clients et la société dans son ensemble.

Assessing cognitive function in adults during or following chemotherapy: a scoping review

PurposeThe purpose of this scoping review was to determine the feasibility of conducting a systematic review of approaches for screening or assessing cognitive function that were comprehensive and that could be incorporated into clinical settings.MethodsUsing the scoping review approach developed by Arksey and O’Malley, we searched Ovid Embase 1980-, Ovid PsycINFO 1806-, Ovid Health and Psychosocial Instruments 1985-, EBSCOhost CINAHL, ISI Web of Science (Science Citation Index 1900-), Social Sciences Citation Index 1900-, Conference Proceedings Citation Index -Science 1990-, Conference Proceedings Citation Index -Social Science & Humanities 1990-, Scopus 1960-, with no language restrictions. Searches were conducted in April 2009 and updated in February 2013. Studies of adults treated with chemotherapy that included at least seven of the eight domains of cognition were included.ResultsEleven studies met inclusion criteria. No screening tools suitable for inclusion in a clinic were identified. The studies reviewed varied by inclusion/exclusion criteria, design, and instruments for assessing cognitive function, and thus, there are not yet enough studies to warrant a systematic review on this topic.

The informing nature of talk & text: Discourse analysis as a research approach in information science

In Information Science (IS), as well as other disciplines, discourse analysis has been used to extend the range of contextual data gathered using other research approaches. This form of textual analysis can enrich our understanding of complex information practices and contexts, particularly in relation to the ways that society and individuals construct understandings of various phenomena. However, not all discourse analysis approaches are the same; linguistic, Foucouldian, and psycho-social discourse analysis practices vary in their intent and their application. This panel will provide an overview of the discourse analysis methodology, including how the approach is conducted in various disciplines. By focusing on three projects by IS scholars that use discourse analysis, the range of data collection and analysis possibilities – including benefits and limitations of the approach – will be explored. The panel will also discuss how discourse analysis can be used in mixed methods studies, or with research participants engaged in other methods, to extend the research knowledge in the discipline.

Information technology, change and information professionals’ identity construction: A discourse analysis

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are often identified by librarians and information professionals as being a driving force behind the way they perform their day-to-day activities and how they interact with their clients. This study considers the role ICTs play in the shaping and constructing of the identities of librarians. Using data gathered from interviews, email discussion lists, and the professional literature, this study employed a discourse analysis to examine the language resources librarians use when constructing their professional identities, with particular attention to the role of ICTs in this construction. ICTs both challenged and enhanced the identities of librarians. While the changes related to ICTs have left librarians feeling insecure about their professional positions, they have also opened up new roles and opportunities for librarians to pursue. Librarians have a service-oriented identity that is influenced by ICT-related changes affecting their work. These changes will challenge and benefit librarians as they engage with ICTs and determine how, if at all, they can be incorporated into their day-to-day practice.

Career Q & A: A Librarian's Real-Life Practical Guide to Managing a Successful Career by Susanne Markgren and Tiffany Eatman Allen (review)

After MLIS students achieve an understanding of the core concepts of information work, perhaps the most common series of questions they ask themselves and their professors relates to career management. Susanne Markgren and Tiffany Eatman Allen’s Career Q & A: A Librarian’s Real-Life Guide to Managing a Successful Career offers an up-to-date and practical response to these queries. Purporting to offer advice to librarians at all stages of their careers, Markgren and Allen divide their book into three broad sections based on the metaphor that one’s career is a stage: “Setting the Stage,” “Staging Your Own Set,” and “Finishing Stages.” Each section contains four or five chapters that relate to each career stage. “Setting the Stage,” for instance, includes chapters on applying for positions, from drafting a cover letter and résumé to managing online identities and preparing for interviews. The middle section, “Staging Your Own Set,” focuses on early and mid-career concerns, such as the career benefits of becoming involved with professional associations, transitions between positions both inside and outside one’s organization, and non-traditional information-related positions available for MLIS graduates. The third section focuses on transitioning into management positions, establishing professional networks, keeping up with technology trends, and preparing for retirement. Markgren and Allen offer their readers a wealth of practical knowledge and advice that comes from their combined 30 years of professional experience and their online career advice column. Although written for librarians at all stages of their careers, this book is perhaps best suited for MLIS students and recent graduates. The advice is not only practical but also clear and engaging; it will encourage MLIS students to think beyond simply obtaining their first position to how to manage their entire careers. More experienced practitioners may find the advice offered on subjects such as career transitions or retirement too generic or cursory, although Markgren and Allen do provide a limited appendix of additional resources that may be a useful starting point for individuals looking for more information on these issues. In addition to giving their own perspective on each topic, the authors turned to other information professionals to provide advice to their readers. These additional voices of advice included interviews with prominent LIS professionals, such as the co-creator of the instant messaging reference service LibraryH3lp, as well as responses from an informal survey the authors sent to