Introduction: A Gentle Manifesto on the Relevance and Obscurity of School Libraries in LIS Research

Abstract

One area in many library and information science (LIS) education programs consistently occupies the far end of the prestige spectrum: school librarianship. As Evelyn Daniel wrote in the Reader in Library and Information Services, “School librarianship [is] frequently regarded as a low status and alien activity by both the education and library professions” (1974, p.57). To gain necessary recognition and continue to develop as a field, she concluded, awareness and understanding of the complexities of school libraries must come from library and information science educators, practitioners, and researchers (Daniel, 1974). The intent of this issue of Library Trends is to begin to shift staid conceptions of school librarianship in the LIS academy to the idea of dynamic educational informatics in schools; this shift in perception can have tremendous impact upon preparation curriculum, professional practice, and research trajectories in all areas of library and information science. At present, few opportunities to encounter school library-related research exist in the information science community. School librarianship has only two peer-reviewed journals, School Library Media Research and School Libraries Worldwide. Research articles about school libraries appear infrequently in information and library science periodicals aimed at a broader audience.