C.C. Williamson Report (1923)

The major point of this report is that there are huge differences between clerical and professional work. Like in my last post where I make the difference between a librarian and a page, most people are unaware of the gulf between clerical and professional librarians. And that is what the Williamson Report did, it brought to the know many of the public's misconceptions regarding librarians and it layed the foundation for what Library Science was going to look like in the U.S. Published in 1923 and payed for by the Carnegie Corporation, the report lambasted many of the unaccredited professionals in the field and provided standards for what future librarians should be learning, thinking, and theorizing about. It also advocated heavily for a two year course of study and for schools to constantly re-examine what it is they're teaching. Williamson was himself a librarian and professor of economics at Bryn Mawr. In fact, the Carnegie Coporation picked him because they knew he could be objective, harsh, and comprehensive. Really, what the Williamson Report did was legitimize Library Science as a bonafide discipline and asked the ALA to create agencies like the Temporary Library Training Board (1024) which helped to make prevalent the fifth year or graduate study component of Library Science School.