#LISprochat lead-in - topic & questions for Mon Mar 19 2018 - 8:30pm ET

by rochelle hartman

TOPIC

MLIS vs. Non-MLIS, the debate over the ALA ED and beyond in Library Leadership

Since everyone in LibraryLand is currently talking about the issue of whether or not an MLIS should be required for the ALA Executive Director position, we thought now would be a great time to have a chat about that, and about the MLIS vs. no MLIS within library leadership in general. Here are a couple of sources to get up to speed on the debate about the Executive Director:

Publishers Weekly's "Who should lead ALA?"
Hedgehog Librarian's "My hopes for a new ALA Executive Director"
The Facebook Group "ALA Executive Director Search Restore the MLIS Petition"

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT WE'VE CHANGED THE TIME TO 8:30PM ET!

While you're here please consider checking out our new feature for 2018: #LISPROCHAT Reads, our professional development book club. The next book club session will be running next Monday, March 26, at 8:30 pm ET.

QUESTIONS

We post the questions here in advance of the chat so you can decide whether or not this topic is of interest to you and/or prepare your answers in advance.

Q1 Do you think it is necessary to have an MLIS to be able to work and lead in libraries? Why or why not?

Q2 Where are you with the MLIS vs. Non-MLIS debate that has been going on with ALA  election and what are your thoughts?

Q3 Do you think leaders of library associations need to carry and MLIS, why or why not?

Q4 What sources are you turning to get versed on this topic MLIS vs. Non-MLIS?

PLEASE CONSIDER JOINING IN ON TWITTER AT 8:30 PM ET NEXT MONDAY, MARCH 19 USING THE #LISPROCHAT HASHTAG.