ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries C&RL News ■ June 2003 / 391 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s news Crisis in foreign language expertise in research libraries How do w e fill this gap? by Charlene Kellsey C rises in a ca d em ic re se a rc h libraries se e m to b e e n d e m ic th e s e days. S k y ro c k e tin g serial p ric e s c a u s in g la rg e -sc a le s u b s c rip tio cancellations, econom ic recession causing Rind­ in g c u tb a c k s , th e g ra y in g o f th e lib r a r ia n w orkforce, all are serious a n d m u ch -d isc u ssed p ro b lem s c o m m o n to m o st aca d em ic libraries. T h e re a re a lso o th e r, less w e ll-k n o w n , tre n d s dev elo p in g , th at m a y b e c o m e crises if th ey are n o t reco g n ized a n d a d d re sse d soon. O n e o f t h e s e is th e difficulty in fin d in g li­ brarians to h ire w h o h a v e foreign language e x ­ p e rtis e a d e q u a te to se rv e th e n e e d s o f la rg e a c a d e m ic lib ra rie s. S tatistics o n fo re ig n la n ­ g u a g e e n ro llm e n ts a n d c o lle g e e n tra n c e a n d g ra d u a tio n re q u ire m e n ts in large p a rt p ro v id e a n e x p la n a tio n fo r th e c u rre n t situation. T he n e e d for foreign language expertise m ay s e e m e v id e n t to th o se in v o lv e d in th e day -to - d a y o p e ra tio n s o f a larg e re se a rc h library, b u t it m ight n o t o c c u r to th o se o u tsid e th e p ro fe s­ sion, including language teachers a n d guidance counselors. B ibliographers resp o n sib le for col­ le c tio n d e v e lo p m e n t m u st s e e k out, e valuate, a n d o rd e r m aterials in a n u m b e r o f languages, n o t o n ly fo r f o r e ig n lite ra tu re s , b u t a ls o fo r p h ilo s o p h y , history, classics, etc. R eference li­ b ra ria n s m u s t te a c h s tu d e n ts h o w to u s e r e ­ sources in these areas a n d assist th e m in u n d e r­ s ta n d in g w h a t th e y find. F o r e x a m p le , s o m e o f th e m ajo r re fe re n c e so u rc e s a n d c o lle ctio n s o f s o u rc e d o c u m e n ts n in fields like classics a n d m ed ie v al h istory are in G e rm a n b e c a u s e o f th e larg e e d ito ria l a n d research projects c o n d u c te d b y G e rm an schol­ ars in th e 19th c en tu ry . C a ta lo g ers a re also in n e ed o f language know ledge, preferably in m ore th a n o n e la n g u a g e , b e c a u s e a lth o u g h c atalog re c o rd s a re a v ailable fro m th e Library o f C on­ g re s s fo r a p p r o x im a te ly 75 to 80 p e r c e n t o f b o o k s in E nglish a c q u ire d b y a ca d em ic librar­ ies, they are available for only about 25 percent of books in the m ajor E uropean languages.1 W hy a re lib ra ria n s w ith fo re ig n la n g u a g e e x p e rtis e b e c o m in g h a r d to find? P a rt o f th e a n sw e r lies in th e e n tra n ce a n d d e g re e require­ m e n ts fo r la n g u a g e s o f U.S. c o lle g es a n d u n i­ versities. T h e M o d e rn L an g u a g e A ssociation, s u p p o r t e d b y th e U.S. D e p a rtm e n t o f E d u c a ­ tio n , h a s c o n d u c te d p e rio d ic su rv e y s o f th e s e re q u ire m e n ts sin c e 1953. T h e la te st availab le w a s c o n d u c te d in 1994-95 a n d fo u n d that only 20.7 p e r c e n t o f fo u r-y e a r d e g re e -g ra n tin g in ­ stitu tio n s h a d a fo reig n la n g u a g e e n tra n c e re­ q u ire m e n t a n d 67.5 p e rc e n t h a d a g ra d u a tio n requirem ent. W hile th ese n u m b ers sh o w som e im p r o v e m e n t fro m th e lo w s o f 14.1 p e r c e n t a n d 47.4 p e rc e n t respectively in 1982-83, th ey a re still w e ll b e lo w th e h ig h s o f 33.6 p e rc e n t e n tra n c e a n d 88.9 p e rc e n t g ra d u a tio n r e q u ire ­ About the author C harlene K ellsey is m o n o g ra p h ic c a ta lo g e r a t th e U n iv e rs ity o f C o lo ra d o L ib ra rie s in B o u ld e r a n d is c u rre n tly c h a ir in g th e S u b c o m m itte e o n R e c r u itm e n t o f th e WESS Research a n d P la n n in g C o m m itte e , e -m a il: charlene. kellsey@ colorado.edu 392 / C&RL News ■ June 2003 m e n ts in 1 9 6 5 -6 6 ? A lth o u g h e n tr a n c e a n d d e ­ g r e e r e q u i r e m e n t s v a r y f r o m o n e c o l l e g e to a n o th e r, a c o m m o n e n tra n c e r e q u ire m e n t is tw o y e a r s o f h i g h s c h o o l s t u d y o f a la n g u a g e , a n d d e g r e e r e q u i r e m e n t s a r e o f t e n t w o y e a r s o f c o ll e g e le v e l s tu d y , w h i c h s t u d e n t s m a y t e s t o u t o f if t h e y h a v e h a d m o r e h i g h s c h o o l p r e p a r a t i o n . W h ile b e t t e r t h a n n o l a n g u a g e s tu d y a t all, t h e s e m o d e s t le v e ls a re u su a lly n o t e n o u g h to d e v e l o p a r e a d in g flu en c y . L ib ra ry s c h o o ls in g e n e r a l d o n o t r e q u ir e a f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e a s p a r t o f t h e e d u c a t i o n a l b a c k g r o u n d o f i n c o m in g s tu d e n ts , a n d m a n y o f th e lib rarian s w h o re c e iv e d th e ir u n d e rg ra d u ­ a te e d u c a t i o n s i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s, w h e n l a n g u a g e r e q u i r e m e n t s a n d e n r o l l m e n t s w e r e m o r e p r e v a l e n t , a r e n o w n e a r i n g r e t i r e m e n t a g e . 3 A dditionally, m a n y library s c h o o l s tu d e n ts w h o h a v e h a d s o m e la n g u a g e e d u c a tio n d o n o t th in k o f it a s a v a lu a b le jo b skill if th e y c a n n o t s p e a k t h e la n g u a g e flu e n tly .4 S p o k e n flu e n c y , h o w ­ e v e r, is n o t w h a t is r e q u ir e d in m o s t a c a d e m ic lib r a r y p o s i t i o n s ; r a t h e r , f u n c t i o n a l r e a d i n g k n o w le d g e is w h a t is n e e d e d . A c ad e m ic libraries s h o u ld also b e c o n c e rn e d a b o u t t h e c h o i c e o f l a n g u a g e s t u d i e d t h a t is r e fl e c t e d in t h e e n r o ll m e n t s ta tistic s . S p a n is h h a s b e e n th e m o s t s tu d ie d la n g u a g e sin c e 1970, w h e n it s u rp a s s e d F re n c h , a n d h a s s h o w n larg e i n c r e a s e s s i n c e t h e n . T h is is p r o b a b l y d u e in la rg e p a r t to t h e in c r e a s in g S p a n i s h - s p e a k in g p o p u l a t i o n in th e U n ite d States; s tu d e n ts s e e a p ra c tic a l r e a s o n fo r s t u d y in g S p a n ish . In c o n ­ trast, e n r o llm e n ts in F r e n c h h a v e d r o p p e d b e ­ l o w t h e i r l e v e l i n I 9 6 0 , a n d G e r m a n e n r o l l ­ m e n ts h a v e d r o p p e d e v e n m o re drastically.5 Yet F r e n c h a n d G e r m a n w o r k s still r e p r e s e n t a n i m p o r t a n t s h a r e o f t h e r e s e a r c h p r o d u c e d in th e h u m a n i t ie s fie ld s. W ith o u t lib ra ria n s w h o h a v e k n o w l e d g e o f th e s e la n g u a g e s , it w ill b e ­ c o m e in c re a s in g ly difficult to a c q u ire a n d c a ta ­ lo g t h o s e w o r k s , t o t h e d e t r i m e n t o f f a c u l ty w o rk in g in th e h u m a n itie s . W h a t c a n b e d o n e ? O n e o f t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s t o i n d i v i d u a l a c a d e m ic libraries b y ACRL’s n e w A d H o c T ask F o rc e o n R e c ru itm e n t a n d R e te n tio n Is s u e s is: “P a rtn e r w ith a c a d e m ic d e p a rtm e n ts t o e n c o u r ­ a g e u n d e r g r a d u a t e a n d g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s in ta r g e te d m a jo rs to c o n s i d e r l ib r a r ia n s h ip a s a p o te n tia l c a r e e r ” t h r o u g h w o r k - s tu d y , i n te r n ­ s h ip s , o r p ra c tic a .6 E v e n lib ra rie s t h a t c a n n o t a c c o m m o d a te m a n y s tu d e n ts in t h e s e t y p e s o f p ro g ra m s c o u ld e sta b lis h c o n ta c ts w ith t h e fo r­ e i g n l a n g u a g e d e p a r t m e n t s o n c a m p u s a n d p r e s e n t i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t a c a d e m i c l ib r a r ia n s h ip t h r o u g h c a r e e r ta lk s, p o s t i n g lit­ e r a t u r e o n d e p a r t m e n t b u l l e t i n b o a r d s , a n d d e s i g n a t i n g a l ib r a r i a n c o n t a c t f o r i n t e r e s t e d s t u d e n t s . F o r e i g n l a n g u a g e f a c u l ty a r e c o n ­ c e r n e d a b o u t c a r e e r o p t i o n s fo r t h e i r g r a d u ­ a te s, e s p e c ia lly w ith th e diffic u lt j o b m a r k e t in c o ll e g e - l e v e l t e a c h i n g . 7 Y et a p o p u l a r c a r e e r g u id e fo r fo re ig n l a n g u a g e m a jo rs o n ly lists “li­ b r a ri a n ” in a c h a p t e r o n te a c h in g -re la te d o c c u ­ p a ti o n s , w i t h n o d e t a i l s .8 If f o r e i g n la n g u a g e m a jo rs a re g o in g t o l e a r n a b o u t o p p o r t u n it i e s in a c a d e m ic lib ra ria n s h ip , it w ill b e u p to a c a ­ d e m i c lib ra ria n s to in fo rm th e m . T h e lack o f q u a lified c a n d id a te s w ith fo reig n la n g u a g e e x p e rtis e is a m a tte r o f c o n c e r n e s p e ­ c ia lly f o r ACRL’s W e s te rn E u r o p e a n S p ecialists S e c tio n (W ESS). A t t h e 2001 ALA A n n u a l C o n ­ fe re n c e in San Francisco, th e WESS R esearch a n d P la n n in g C o m m itte e a n d th e C a taloging D iscus­ sio n G r o u p c o s p o n s o r e d a p ro g ra m o n th e p a r­ tic u la r difficulties o f fin d in g c a ta lo g e rs w ith E u­ ro p e a n lan g u a g e skills a n d so m e practical sugges­ tio n s fo r a lle viating th e situ atio n .9 As a f o llo w -u p to th a t p ro g ra m , a t t h e 2002 ALA A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e in A tla n ta , t h e WESS R e se a rc h a n d P la n n in g C o m m itte e a p p o in t e d a n e w S u b c o m m i t te e o n R e c r u i t m e n t t o w o r k o n s o m e c o n c r e t e a c t i o n s fo r c o n ta c t i n g a n d r e c r u i ti n g f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e a n d a r e a s t u d i e s m a jo rs a n d g r a d u a t e s t u d e n ts to c o n s i d e r c a ­ re e rs in a c a d e m ic lib ra ria n sh ip . W o r k in g w i t h i n t h e l a r g e r c o n t e x t o f t h e ACRL g o a ls a n d t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o f th e A d H o c T a s k F o r c e o n R e c r u i t m e n t a n d R e ­ te n tio n Issues, th e s u b c o m m itte e h o p e s to m a k e a d iffe re n c e in th is p a rtic u la r a r e a o f a c a d e m ic l ib r a r ia n s h ip , b u t in d iv id u a l a c a d e m i c lib ra r­ ia n s c a n a ls o m a k e a d if f e r e n c e b y g e ttin g in ­ v o lv e d a n d m a k in g c o n ta c ts w ith la n g u a g e d e ­ p a r t m e n t s in t h e i r o w n in s titu tio n s . N o te s 1. C h a r le n e K e llsey , “C o o p e r a tiv e c a ta lo g ­ in g , v e n d o r r e c o r d s a n d E u r o p e a n l a n g u a g e m o n o g ra p h s,” L ibrary R esources & T e c h n ic a l Ser­ v i c e s 46, 3 (2 0 0 2 ): 2 1 - 2 6 , T a b le 2. 2. R ic h a rd B r o d a n d B e ttin a J. H u b e r, “T h e MLA s u r v e y o f f o re ig n la n g u a g e e n tr a n c e a n d d e g r e e r e q u ir e m e n t s , 1 9 9 4 - 9 5 ,” A D F L B u l l e ­ t i n 28, 1 (1 9 9 6 ), p . 34 T a b le 1. ( c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 3 9 7 ) 394 / C&RL News ■ June 2003 C&RL News ■ June 2003 / 397 Your colleagues at public a n d special libraries can help them learn about children’s services or law and medical librarianship. Elaine Yontz suggests hosting a pizza dinner occasionally for student workers with a program that prom otes librarianship as a career opportunity.6 Consider creating a brochure a n d de­ v e loping a W eb p a g e o n library careers for y o u r library site that lias links to som e o f the resources listed in the sidebar. Use exhibit space to prom ote librarianship as o ne answ er to the question: “W hat d o I d o w ith a m ajor in Spanish?” (a n d a ny oth er major). Many o f the sam e strategies can b e u se d to en­ courage paraprofessional staff m em bers w h o are interested in librarianship. O pportunities for cross training in a variety o f departm ents h e lp th em to view different aspects o f the w o rk a n d to interact w ith a w ide variety o f library professionals. H elp them to learn about different libraries by assigning them to participate in consortium a n d cooperative activities. Encourage m em bership in professional organizations a n d attendance at local conferences. Since m any paraprofessionals are place bound, talk w ith th em a b o u t th e advantages o f the excellent n e w graduate library program s that are offered for distance learners. T hey can often take advantage of these program s while still em ployed. If they enroll in a distance program , are th ere w ays to sup p o rt their studies w ith release tim e o r o th e r benefits? Give them added professional responsibilities as they com plete their graduate school program a n d help them in their search for a professional job. E nco u ra g in g stu d e n ts a n d p a ra p ro fe ssio n ­ als to a tte n d g ra d u ate library sc h o o l is o ften a n in fo rm a l p ro c e ss , b u t at so m e in stitu tio n s it is be co m in g a program m atic initiative. At m y o w n in stitu tio n , th e library facu lty h a s re c e n tly a p ­ p o i n t e d a n a d - h o c c o m m i t t e e t o f o s t e r m entoring. ACRL a n d o th e r ALA divisions p ro ­ v id e h e lp to sta y a b r e a s t o f c u r re n t in fo rm a ­ tio n o n th e ALA W eb site, in c lu d in g s o m e e x ­ c e lle n t re cru itin g b ro c h u re s. A cadem ic librarianship is exciting a n d chal­ le n g in g w o rk . Pass th e word! N otes 1. M ary J o Lynch, “R eaching 65: Lots o f Li­ brarians Will Be T here Soon,” A m e rica n Libraries (M arch 2002): 55-56. 2. Jo h n W. Berry, “Addressing the Recruitment a n d Diversity Crisis,” A m erican Libraries (February 2002): 7. 3. Larry H ardesty, “F u tu re o f A cadem ic/R e- se a rc h Librarians: A P e rio d o f T ransitions— To W hat?” portal: Libraries a n d the A c a d e m y 2, no. 1 (2002): 7 9-97. 4. P a u la T. K aufm an, “W h e re D o th e N ext ‘W e’ C om e From? Recruiting, Retaining, a n d D e­ v e loping o u r Successors,” ARL: A B im o n th ly Re­ p o rt o n Research Library Issues a n d Actions from ARL, CNL, a n d SP A R C 22 1 (April 2002): 1-5. 5. “R e cruitm ent, R e te n tio n a n d R estructur­ ing: H u m a n R esources in A cadem ic Libraries,” a w h ite p a p e r b y th e A d H o c T ask F orce o n Re­ cru itm ent a n d R etention Issues, a subcom m ittee o f th e ACRL P e rso n n e l A dm inistrators a n d Staff D e v e lo p m e n t Officers D iscussion G roup. Final d r a f t M a y 20, 2 0 0 2 , a v a i l a b l e a t h t t p : / / ww w.acrl.org/, click o n “Issues & Advocacy,” then “Recruiting to th e P rofession.” 6. Elaine Yontz, “O n My Mind: H o w You Can Help Save Library Education,” A m e rica n Libraries (January 2003): 42. ■ ( “Crisis in fo r e ig n … ” c o n tinued f r o m p a g e 3 9 2 ) 3. M ary J o L y n ch , “R e a c h in g 65: Lots o f librarians will b e there so o n ,” A m e r ic a n Librar­ ies (M a rc h 2002): 5 5 -5 6 . 4. C o m m u n ic a tio n b y H e id i Lee H o e rm a n a t th e WESS R e se a rc h a n d P la n n in g C o m m it­ te e a n d C ataloging D iscussion G ro u p joint p ro ­ g ra m at th e ALA A n n u a l C o n fe ren c e, J u n e 16, 2001. 5. R ic h a rd B ro d a n d E liz a b e th B. W elles, “Foreign lan g u a g e e n rollm ents in U n ited States i n s titu tio n s o f h i g h e r e d u c a ti o n , Fall 1 9 9 8 ,” ADFL B u ll e ti n 31, 2 (2000), p . 26, T a b le 4. 6. S e e t h e s e c ti o n “S tra te g ie s f o r M ajor S t a k e h o l d e r s ” p . 5 o f 12 in ACRL A d H o c T ask F o rc e o n R e c ru itm e n t a n d R e te n tio n Is­ su e s. “R e c ru itm e n t, re te n tio n a n d r e s tru c tu r­ ing: H u m a n re so u rc e s in a c a d e m ic libraries: a w h ite p a p e r (final draft), h ttp ://w w w .a c rl.o rg /, g o to “Issues & A d vocacy,” th e n “Recru iting to the Profession.” 7. R anda J. D uvick, “Sustaining fo reig n la n ­ g u a g e e n ro llm e n ts th ro u g h c o lla b o ra tio n a n d in te rd is c ip lin a ry m a jo r,” A D FL B u ll e ti n 33, 2 (2002), p. 78. 8. J u l i e D e G a la n a n d S t e p h e n L a m b e rt, G r e a t j o b s f o r f o r e i g n l a n g u a g e m a j o r s ( L in c o ln w o o d , IL.: VG M C a r e e r H o r iz o n s , 1994), 128. 9. F o r a s u m m a r y o f t h e p r o g r a m , s e e C h a rle n e K ellsey, “ACRL WESS d isc u sse s c ata­ lo g in g is s u e s ,” A LC T S N e w sletter O n lin e 12, 3 ( 2 0 0 1 ) : h t t p : / / w w w . a l a . o r g / a l c t s / a l c t s _ n e w s /n e w s _ w e s s .h tm l. ■ http://www.acrl.org/ http://www.acrl.org/ http://www.ala.org/alcts/alcts_