Curriculum Contents of Digital Library Education (DLE) in Europe

Abstract

Digital library research has attracted much attention around the world. Much of the research and projects funded by several agencies and governments around the world focus on how DLs can aid education; very few studies and projects are funded that address teaching and learning about digital libraries. There has been very little literature on digital library education in Europe. This chapter explores the existing Digital Library curriculum scenario in European Library and Information Science (LIS) schools as well as to find out the preferred DL curriculum contents as rated by the European LIS faculty members. Survey research methodology is used in this study. Three directories of institutions of higher education in LIS (i.e. IFLA, EUCLID, and BAILER) were consulted to find the potential respondents of the current study. The questionnaire was sent to 159 LIS schools/departments in Europe; of those, 54 LIS schools/departments participated in this study. The result indicates that the majority of LIS schools/departments have already integrated the concept of digital libraries into their curriculum. A list of preferred content by LIS faculty members for DL education is presented. Comprehensive literature reviews on DL education aspects have been conducted. The findings of the study would help creating a uniform DL curriculum for Europe and other regions of the world.