Thirty-Years' Practice in Libraries

Thirty-Years' Practice in Libraries: Recollections and Ruminations collects Dr. Chih Wang's selected research articles, short papers, and reports written during the years when he was a practicing librarian serving in several U.S. academic institutions. These works deal with a variety of topics in library and information science and most of them have appeared in library journals and conference proceedings published in the United States, Europe, and other countries. A few of the selected works were joined by a coauthor. As a collection, the primary purpose of the book is to select, gather, and preserve the related articles, papers, and reports of the author. This volume brings together those general works in the library and information science field and contains a total of 20 papers, which are divided as chapters and grouped into four sections. They are library profession; library administration; electronic publishing, networking, and Internet; and library science research. Section one selects articles relating to the nature, certification, and comparative studies on the library profession. Section two covers those works on automating acquisitions, teaching library skills, and a library survey. Section three involves papers relevant to electronic publishing and networking. The last section includes three works, which were conducted and completed following the processes and methods of social science research. A list of figures and tables of the various chapters follows the table of contents; and an index for quick reference is at the end of the book. Each of the collected papers was prepared as a unique work at a specific time. The data and mechanics presented in each item were specificfor the work at the time. The basic concept, organization, research methods, and process of library and information services contained in these works, however, are mostly applicable to the practice and studies in the field despite the change of time and technology. The matter of concern, therefore, must be placed on systems analysis, organization of library skills, and application of system models when the contents of the book are reviewed. In specific, chapter 9 and 10 in section two provide systems analysis for acquisitions and research processes, which should be applicable, with limited revisions, to the analysis for other libraries. Chapters 15 and 16 in section three present the concept and details of information systems. With the advancement of the Internet and the World Wide Web, many ideas of the systems have been realized. Nevertheless, these works may help library professionals review the recent history of how the global information systems are developed. The three articles in the last section demonstrate several statistical analysis tools for social science research. These and other papers recommend a number of topics for further research. The methodology, process, and recommended topics should be particularly useful for replication and further research in the library and information science field. Several articles, particularly chapter 4, 5, and 13, review many historical events of library and information science. With the passing of time, many selected works in the book may also become part of library science history. To the library profession, to understand and to be aware of the various aspects of library development are very important. In fact, Steven Weinberg, the 1979Nobel Prize winner for physics, recently urged scientists to "learn something about the history of science" or at minimum the history of their own fields. He stressed that "history may be useful for their work; can make their work more worthwhile; and they would get great satisfaction by recognizing that their contributions are a part of history." (Nature, November 27, 2003, p.389).