Library and Information Science

Considering the required background and quality of the NIST personnel, the author presents a question whether the expertise in conventional processing technique and a fair average subject knowledge are sufficient.

The work to be done by professional staffs is not limited to the collection, storage, and dissemination of documents, but information processing contains the process of information synthesis, such as the production of required information from related but not fully relevant information including reviewing, forecasting, etc. This kind of work requires persons trained not only in processing but well acquainted with subject fields.

The other problem lies in obtaining good teaching staffs. The foundation of a new department requires a cooperation of teaching staffs coming from different disciplines and having different experiences. Some working organizations will supply such teaching staffs if the qualication standards are realistically adjusted and a period of training is given for them.

In Japan where trained persons are scarce, two possible solutions may be pointed out in the supply of personnel; post-graduate education for those with subject background, and training in each working organization for its employees, possibly linked with university post-graduate courses.