Future Librarian Education and Government Information with Service to Low-Access Users

Future Librarian Education and Government Information with Service to Low-Access Users

The following survey asks questions about the topics covered in courses offered at your LIS School. With funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, this survey is just one part of a project exploring how people with low-access to the Internet find government information. By answering the following questions, you will help us learn more about how libraries provide government information resources to the public. This survey should take about ten minutes to complete. Thank you again for your time.

1. How many courses have you offered since January 2006?

These following questions ask you about government information. For purposes of this study, government information pertains to all levels of government (local, state, and federal). This information may include anything from health and housing, education and employment opportunities, legal and law enforcement issues, military service, and even how to fill out tax forms.

1. Has your school offered any government information or government documents course(s) since January 2006? [only allow them to choose one]

Yes 1

No 2 (skip to Q2)

Don’t know 99 (skip to Q2)

1a. Are the government information or government documents course(s) required for graduation or are they considered electives? (Please circle all that apply.)

Yes, a required course for all LIS degree seeking students 1

Yes, a required course for students in certain LIS specialization areas 2(box to list

track/specialization)

Yes, an optional course (please list optional course titles on line below) 3 (box to list course titles)

1b. In the government information or government documents course(s) that teach students how to assist the general public in accessing internet information, listed in Q2, does any part of the course(s) focus on: (Please rate how well the topic is covered in the courses listed in Q1 on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not at all and 5 meaning the topic is the sole focus of the course) :

Not at all--------------------------Sole Focus

1. Finding government information? 1 2 3 4 5

2. Instructing underserved populations? 1 2 3 4 5

2. Has your school offered any community information/community informatics course(s) since January 2006? [only allow them to choose one]

Yes 1

No 2 (skip to Q3)

Don’t know 99 (skip to Q3)

2a. Are the community information/community informatics course(s) required for graduation or are they considered electives? (Please circle all that apply.)

Yes, a required course for all LIS degree seeking students 1

Yes, a required course for students in certain LIS specialization areas 2(box to list

track/specialization)

Yes, an optional course (please list optional course titles on line below) 3 (box to list course titles)

2b. In the community information/community informatics course(s), listed in Q2, does any part of the course(s) focus on: (Please rate how well the topic is covered in the courses listed in Q1 on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not at all and 5 meaning the topic is the sole focus of the course.)

Not at all--------------------------Sole Focus

1. Finding government information? 1 2 3 4 5

2. Instructing underserved populations? 1 2 3 4 5

3. Has your school offered any required or optional course(s) that teach students to assist the general public in accessing information from the Internet since January 2006? [only allow them to choose one]

Yes 1

No 2 (skip to Q4)

Don’t know 99 (skip to Q4)

3a. Are the course(s) that teach students to assist the general public in accessing information from the internet required for graduation or are they considered electives? (Please circle all that apply.)

Yes, a required course for all LIS degree seeking students 1

Yes, a required course for students in certain LIS specialization areas 2(box to list

track/specialization)

Yes, an optional course (please list optional course titles on line below) 3 (box to list course titles)

Optional course titles:_____________________________________________

3b. In the course(s) that teach students how to assist the general public in accessing internet information, listed in Q3, does any part of the course(s) focus on: (Please rate how well the topic is covered in the courses listed in Q1 on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not at all and 5 meaning the topic is the sole focus of the course.)

Not at all--------------------------Sole Focus

1. Finding government information? 1 2 3 4 5

2. Instructing underserved populations? 1 2 3 4 5

4. Has your school offered any required or optional course(s) that teach business skills like, for example, communications, event planning/programming, budgeting, or public relations/marketing since January 2006? [only allow them to choose one]

Yes 1

No 2 (skip to Q5)

Don’t know 99 (skip to Q5)

4a. Are the course(s) that teach business skills required for graduation or are they considered electives? (Please choose all that apply.)

Yes, a required course for all LIS degree seeking students 1

Yes, a required course for students in certain LIS specialization areas 2(box to list

track/specialization)

Yes, an optional course (please list optional course titles on line below) 3 (box to list course titles)

Optional course titles:_____________________________________________

4b. In the course(s) that teach students the importance of business skills, listed in Q4, does any part of the course(s) focus on: (Please rate how well the topic is covered in the courses listed in Q1 on a scale of 1 to 5 with 1 being not at all and 5 meaning the topic is the sole focus of the course)

Not at all--------------------------Sole Focus

1. Communications? 1 2 3 4 5

2. Event Planning/Programming? 1 2 3 4 5

3. Budgeting? 1 2 3 4 5

4. Public Relations/Marketing? 1 2 3 4 5

5. Has your school offered any continuing education for librarians, since January 2006, related to any of the following? (Please circle all that apply.)

Community Information/Community Informatics 1

Government Information/Government Documents 2

Instructing underserved populations 3

Other course(s)/workshop(s)/seminar(s) related to making government

information more accessible to low-access users [please list the name

of the course(s)/workshop(s)/seminar(s)]

-----------------------------------------------Thank you for your time. --------------------------------------------

If you have any questions about this study, please contact the Library Research Center at (217) 333-1980 or via email at [email protected]

F:\Projects\IMLS - Institute of Museum and Library Services\Access to Government Docs\Development and Literature\Trainers of Trainers Survey Development\trainers_of_trainers_LISschools_2.doc