Ebla to the electronic dream: The role of historical perspectives in professional education

Librarianship-and its related professional fields of archives and records m anagement, as well as preservation and conservation-has a long record of se rvice to human cultures. In the last century, joined with information scien ce and technology they form professions that prepare graduates of basic pro grams to deal with the elements of recorded knowledge in a variety of ways and institutions that mediate knowledge to diverse users. Some outside the profession, as well as those within, claim that the requirements and opport unities of the present generation represent such a shift in direction that time and effort expended on understanding the profession's past is nearly w asted effort. Others would argue that in the current environment of flux an appreciative historical perspective is just what is needed-and often lacki ng. Evidence is accumulating that an a historical stance in professional sc hools (mirroring the profession at large) fenders a disservice to graduates and will bring consequences that likely will be irreversible.