A few years ago we had a long discussion about creating a certificate program or its equivalent at AJL, where RAS professional librarians will broaden & deepen their Judaica knowledge, and SSC librarians will acquire Library & Information Science tools to advance their professional skills. After a prolonged free-floating discussion on ha-Safran this idea, as many other good ideas before it, came to naught as no one volunteered to take it to the next level of creating a curriculum, researching Institutions that would agree to sponsor it, academically as well as financially, and “all that jazz”…It was very disheartening and no one picked it up since then. Recently I have asked Chaim Gottschalk, who was one of the more active participants in that discussion, to be the Continuing Education leader on the AJL Council, and to try & revive the idea in our current digital environment. To support the renewed effort, I will be asking the AJL Council to approve a significant raise in our next Continuing Education budget. I am hoping that we can create such a framework this year, gain the professional and financial support needed for it, and start implementing it in the near future. I believe that although it may feel like an Herculean task, it is not Sisyphean. Anyone? Yaffa,, a.k.a President, AJL
From: CARLJS [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Hirsch, David Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 11:45 AM To: Academic Judaica Libraries Subject: Re: [CARLJS] Retraining SSC librarians for RAS? In some libraries a subject PhD is accepted in lieu of the MLS. I have seen that happen here at UCLA several times. It used to be that the successful candidate would be required to complete an MLS within 2-3 years but that rule seems to have gone by the wayside here. Best, David From: CARLJS [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Taub, Aaron Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 11:38 AM To: Academic Judaica Libraries Subject: Re: [CARLJS] Retraining SSC librarians for RAS? And academic librarian positions often require a subject Master’s degree in addition to the M.L.S. Best, A From: CARLJS [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Rose Shoshanah Seidman Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 2:30 PM To: Academic Judaica Libraries Subject: Re: [CARLJS] Retraining SSC librarians for RAS? Thanks Michelle for a very important question that I have pondered for a while now. I would add to your list of requirements: Hebrew and other foreign languages (especially Western European) besides collection development and cataloging. I think that at Northwestern the knowledge of Hebrew and foreign languages would be much more desirable than knowledge of cataloging. I am sure that many of our colleagues in SSC have some languages and could master the other skills. As a group we should look into that and confer about how to help those colleagues. I would be very interested in hearing from our colleagues who are directors of libraries and in administration. The field of Judaica Librarianship is certainly changing. Shoshanah Shoshanah Seidman Faculty Liaison, Program for Jewish Studies, Northwestern University Library 847-467-2914 From: CARLJS [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Michelle Chesner Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2015 1:07 PM To: Academic Judaica Libraries Subject: [CARLJS] Retraining SSC librarians for RAS? Hi all, It seems that RAS and SSC librarians have the opposite problems. RAS positions open and stay vacant for years because there is nobody to fill them, while SSC librarians are being cut left and right (to me, Temple Emanuel was one of the few synagogues that would have a librarian forever because of the importance of its collection, but we see now that this wasn't true). I know my position was open for two years before it was filled; and I know of a position currently open that seems to be having difficulties finding appropriate candidates. I can list about 5-10 jobs that were open for Judaica librarians in the past 5 years, and the ones I know about all had difficulties in finding candidates. At the same time, many RAS librarians are at the cusp of retirement, and unlike SSC positions, the universities would have to do some serious explaining to donors and departments if they would take away the JS librarians lines. Is this a group that can be tapped? What would it take to retrain an SSC librarian to make them ready for RAS? An MA plus some collection development/cataloging classes? I think if we really think this out, we might all benefit. Best, Michelle P.S. I think the same questions could be asked of Jewish Studies PhDs, but maybe that's for another email...
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