Bookworms need a little respect
Dr Colin Storey, Chinese University of Hong Kong's librarian, has a bachelor's degree in Chinese studies from the UK's Leeds University and an MPhil from the University of East Anglia. But that was not enough, prompting him to embark on a PhD with the University of Hong Kong's history department.
His topic was related to his profession as a librarian and interest in China - the politics of information flow in academic libraries in the mainland, 1949 to 1989. He was fascinated by the contradiction between the role of librarians to provide information and the control of information in a communist state.
He said there was a trend among university librarians to have PhDs, so they could talk the academic language with those they served. 'Librarians need that academic respectability and to speak the same academic language.'
He recommends librarians have degrees in other subjects and learn library science in more vocational postgraduate courses. Library sciences involve extensive IT and database management, and learning how libraries function, to worldwide standards.
Library and information management courses are offered by HKU's Faculty of Education and HKU Space.
