School of Library and Information Science

COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS
July, 2002

1. What is a mission statement and what are its benefits? Choose a type of library and discuss who should be involved in developing the mission statement of a library or information center. Describe a proposed process to create this statement.
2. Describe the knowledge and skills library and information professionals can bring to a digital collection project, and discuss issues, especially those related to intellectual access to digital resources, that must be considered when one plans for a digital collection.
3. Discuss how different types of publishers market books, journals, and other materials to different audiences. How does knowledge of such differences aid in collection development?
4. Some library reference positions are being eliminated using the rationale that end users can find everything they need on the web. Choose a type of library and justify the need for a professional reference librarian in that library. Include a discussion of end user searching behavior in your answer.
5. With its policy that decisions on the appropriateness of Internet materials be left to the user, the American Library Association (ALA) can be perceived as abdicating one of the core responsibilities of the librarian, namely the selection and mediation process that distinguishes a public library from an information warehouse. Take a position of this issue and discuss.
6. In 1876 Samuel Green published a paper entitled "Personal Relations Between Librarians and Readers" in which he suggested three basic reference functions: information, guidance, and instruction. Over the past 125 years, these functions have taken on greater or lesser importance depending on societal needs and the type of library providing the service. Discuss each of these functions using specific examples. Which one(s) seems most relevant at the beginning of the twenty-first century and why?
7. For centuries scholars and librarians have sought to achieve universal bibliographic control over works that have been published all over the world. Discuss how the WWW has affected the effort to achieve this goal.
8. Many databases can be searched using simple keywords, controlled vocabularies, and Boolean search strategies. Compare and contrast these search strategies discussing the pros and cons of each one.
9. Among the factors that Marchionini identifies as part of the information-seeking process is the setting or environment where the search takes place. In what ways can factors in the library or information center environment influence the information-seeking behavior of users?
10. Librarians and archivists seeking funds from philanthropists or corporate sponsors, may face conflicts between potential donors and professional staff over the appropriate use of such funds. Discuss how such conflicts might arise and ways in which such controversies can be avoided or resolved.