DU Educators: What's the deal with bibliographies?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

I'm in educational support (instructional technology), have my MSEd, and my responsibilities have overlapped frequently with our college's librarians over the years. With some exceptions, few ever impressed me much with their intellect or work ethic and one of the big reasons is that every so often one of them will make a big damn deal out of having compiled a bibliography on some topic. Some even get some serious release time for doing it. Then I see the thing and it's just a list of books-- little or no analysis, recommendations, estimate of the value as a resource-- just the raw title, author, call #, etc. Like something you'd turn in with a term paper. Only longer. And no term paper.

Why should I be impressed? What point am I missing?

[GoddessOfGuinness]

1. Sounds like a good question to me...

I hope someone will answer it.

[Kerrytravelers]

2. Well, from what I'm gathering, they are compiling lists of references for topics.

I always used these type lists when I was working on my BA, Credential and my MA. Basically, the lists need to be updated regularly as more text is written on the subject. I suspect with the onset of the Internet and it's widespread acceptance as a source (one that I question regarding many sources) their work load must be exponentially growing.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. You're so stuck in a pre-9-11/Clinton mindset, when competence was expected.

It's a new era, a Republican era, a post-9-11 era when personal responsibility doesn't mean taking responsibility for your own work, it means blaming others for expecting the wrong thing.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. No, seriously, though, all they are doing is making a list of books.

It's not up to them to read them or evaluate them - only to compile as large a list as possible so that the researcher who requested the list has something to go on: it's he or she who will read the books.

The librarian merely does the grunt work of compiling the damned thing.