The organizational culture school of thought is a relatively recent notion in the field of organizational theory and is a response to the perceived shortcomings of other modes of thinking that may miss some important aspects, not just of organizing and the purpose of organizations, but of the real workings of organizations. The organizational culture of the research university is highly complex, because, in part, of the multifarious demands on and activities of the institution. This article examines the culture that pervades the research university, the problematic conflict between the cultures of university and of discipline, the implications of organizational culture for meaning formation and the reduction of uncertainty. Since this is the culture in which many LIS programs exist, the implications of the culture, especially regarding determination of success, are explored.

This is the text of the keynote speech at the joint EUCLID/ALISE conference â Coping with continual changeâ change management in SLISâ Fachhochschule Potsdam Potsdam, Germany, July 31st, 2003. Delineates the problems facing library education, particularly in the United States. Proposes changes in curricula, faculty, and diversity in library education. Calls for a restructuring of library education for the 21st century.

Although survey data disclose that traditional content and delivery continue to be stressed, educators still ponder the fact that the new combinations of knowledge, attitudes, and skills in the workplace may require something more of library and information science (LIS) educators. A de-emphasis on traditional content has resulted. Professional education and practice call for multiplicity, academic self-sufficiency, and adjustment to local needs and aspirations. The problem surfaces when students are so exceedingly diverse as to resist common boundary. There is a need for these types of problems to be discussed in light of curriculum changes and for a common boundary in instruction to be defined. Analytical studies to articulate the unarticulated part of the information paradigm may help to conceptualize the information science substance more clearly.

This is a presentation (of 12 slides) on Tuesday January 11, 2005 in the session sponsored by the Curriculum SIG titled "Preparing Students for the International Information Society: Studying the Global Context in LIS" at the 2005 ALISE Conference, Boston, MA. This presentation by the Co-Convenors of the SIG sets the context for the session by using the metaphor of World Fairs.

This article presents a theoretical investigation of the concept of 'subject' or 'subject matter' in library and information science. Most conceptions of 'subject' in the literature are not explicit but implicit. Various indexing and classification theories. including automatic indexing and citation indexing, have their own more or less implicit concepts of subject. This fact puts the emphasis on making the implicit theories of 'subject matter' explicit as the lirst step. A very close connection exists between what subjects are. and how we are to know them. Those researchersw ho place the subjects in the minds of the users have a conception of'subject' different to that possessed by those who regard the subject as a fixed property of the documents. The key to the definition of the concept of 'subject' lies in the epistemological investigation of how we are going to know what we need to know about documents in order to describe them in a way which facilitates information retrieval. The second step therefore is an analysis ol the implicit epistemological conceptions in the major existing conceptions of 'subject'. The different conceptions of 'subject' can therefore be classified into epistemological positions. e.g. 'subjective idealism' (or the empiric/positivistic viewpoint), "objective idealism'(the rationalistic viewpoint),'pragmatism' and 'materialism/realism'. The third and final step is to propose a new theory of subject matter based on an explicit theory of knowledge. In this article this is done from the point of view ol a realistic/materialistic epistemology'. From this standpoint the subject of a document is defined as the epistemologicapl otentials of that document.

Focus is on curriculum development for Knowledge Organization (a core area, a problem area) using Learning Communities; rather than LIS education continuing to focus on Information Technology. / This article reviews the state of education in digital libraries and curriculum planning documents from professional associations in two areas: Library and Information Science; and Computing. It examines suggestions for integration and interdisciplinarity in education for digital libraries curricula using definitions of a discipline, interdisciplinarity, and the transdisciplinary structure of a university in order to discover how such integration may be successfully accomplished. A plan to use learning communities and develop an interdisciplinary curriculum for Knowledge Organization is briefly discussed.

Presents shortly 11 specific approaches to domain analysis, which is claimed together define the specific competencies of information specialists. The approaches are 1. Producing and evaluating literature guides and subject gateways, 2. Producing and evaluating special classifications and thesauri, 3. Research on and competencies in indexing and retrieving information specialties, 4. Knowledge about empirical user studies in subject areas, 5. Producing and interpreting bibliometrical studies, 6. Historical studies of information structures and services in domains, 7. Studies of documents and genres in knowledge domains, 8. Epistemological and critical studies of different paradigms, assumptions, and interests in domains, 9. Knowledge about terminological studies, LSP (Languages for Special Purposes), and discourse analysis in knowledge fields, 10. Knowledge about and studies of structures and institutions in scientific and professional communication in a domain, 11. Knowledge about methods and results from domain analytic studies about professional cognition, knowledge representation in computer science and artificial intelligence.

A presentation at the 2005 ALISE Conference, Session 5.1, titled Collaborative Projects between LIS Schools in Different Countries (12 slides). It describes how the LIS program at Simmons has contributed to the development of LIS education and library profession in Southeast Asia (including China). The history and current status of the relationship between Simmons LIS program and Southeast Asian library schools/libraries is introduced; and, this presentation outlines the major milestones as well as some important projects that Simmons has conducted in helping library professionals and educators of Southeast Asian countries (especially Vietnam) set up their own systems. It also pinpoints a great potential for the development of the relationship.

This article argues the improper of terming "elite" in the evaluation of LIS programs by Herubel's research. It disagrees with Herubel about her definition and analytical strategies.

This is a juried paper presentation (of 24 slides) in Session 6.4, Reports of Current Research (Juried Papers) on Thursday, Jan. 13 at the 2005 ALISE Conference. Graduate library and information science (LIS) programs continue to evaluate their curriculums, goals and objectives, as trends in education shift toward a global environment focused on information science, technology, and distance learning. For the past four years, the School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of North Texas (SLIS) conducted an End of Program Questionnaire of graduating masterâ s students. This study focuses on student evaluation and satisfaction with the SLIS masterâ s program and the ways of preparing them for the changing paradigm of the global library and information science profession. Student satisfaction is measured in five key areas: 1) Program background information, 2) Masterâ s program goals and objectives, 3) Curriculum, 4) Physical resources and facilities, and 5) Faculty and advising. The studentsâ comments and answers reflect high satisfaction and confirm the schoolâ s effort to meet the objectives and goals of the program. Interesting and positive results in studentsâ answers along with discrepancies among studentsâ comments are carefully analyzed and discussed by the school faculty and staff. The results are compared to issues identified in the global environment and appropriate suggestions are made for meeting flexible curricula evaluations.