Preparation of School Library Media Specialists in the United States
Recruiting and preparing the next generation of school library media specialists (SLMSs) is a growing concern nationwide. School library media preparation programs are critical to meeting the current shortage of SLMSs in the United States. To determine the status of professional preparation programs for SLMSs, surveys were sent to forty-eight American Library Association (ALA)-accredited library education programs and 155 programs that prepare SLMSs but are not accredited by the ALA. Specifics related to the percentages of students and faculty in this specialization, the fulland part-time status of students, and the numbers of students enrolled were addressed in this survey. The survey further sought to determine the status of distance education opportunities, the internship as part of the school-media curriculum, and recruitment efforts of school library media preparation programs, school districts, state departments of education, and professional organizations.
The Occupational Choice Of School Librarians
Recent concerns over anticipated shortages of school librarians have led to an interest in discovering the motivations individuals have for becoming librarians. Such information can be used to attract qualified people to the field. The current study employed in-depth narrative research to identify and explore the reasons that five graduate students had for selecting the occupation of school librarian. Savickas' (2005) career construction theory served as the framework for understanding the vocational behavior of the participants. The primary data collection method was through life story interviews. Looking at the life stories of the participants through the lens of career construction theory provided a comprehensive picture of the complex network of elements that accompany any occupational choice. This examination revealed the substantial value placed on educational achievement by the participants and their families, and showed that the influence of a librarian was instrumental in bringing these five individuals into the profession. The study found that the reasons these individuals had for becoming school librarians are similar to those previously identified in the research literature, although one, emotional distance, appears to be unique. Finally, this study reiterated the library profession's persistent problem of the public not being aware of librarianship as a possible occupation.
XV. Notes on the Geological Survey Memoir—“The Geology of the Glasgow District.”
Introductory. During the late summer the Geological Survey issued a map of the Glasgow district which will prove a boon not only to the members of this Society, but also to the increasing number of those who, although not members, still take an interest in geology as a branch of liberal education. The present map differs from its predecessors in that it is colour-printed, and the printing and general details are brought out more clearly than was possible in the hand-coloured maps. This fact has been taken advantage of to add an enormous amount of detail, which is often of such a minute character that after study one feels inclined to wish that he were gifted with microscopic eyes or that the map had been drawn to a larger scale. Not the least of its benefits is the low price at which it is sold (2s. on paper, and 3s. on cloth), the price of the previous maps having lately become prohibitive (19s. 3d. on paper). It will be observed that the long way of the map is from north to south. This has doubtless been adopted for good and sufficient reasons, if we only knew them; but I, at least, would have preferred that the long way should have been east and west, with Glasgow in the centre. The map is accompanied by an extensive memoir of the geology of the district, and the more one reads of it the more one is impressed with the This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract