Rankings of Library and Information Science Faculty and Programs: The Third in a Series of Studies Undertaken at Six-Year Intervals

Full-time faculty members at schools with programs accredited by the American Library Association that prepare students at the master's level for careers in library and information science and directors of academic libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) were surveyed to determine their responses to three questions. They were asked to provide their perceptions of (1) the programs offering the highest-quality education at the master's level; (2) the schools whose faculties contribute most significantly to the advancement of the profession; and (3) the programs offering the highest quality of education to students at the doctoral level. Responses are ranked and compared. The results are also compared to earlier survey results carried out, at six-year intervals, in 1980 and 1986. Of greater interest, perhaps, than the rankings themselves is the evidence of change in school prestige as it is perceived over a twelve-year period. Comparison of these findings with studies using other approaches to identify elusive indications of "quality" are invited.