Demise, renaissance or existence of LIS education in Ethiopia: Curriculum, employers’ expectations and professionals’ dreams

Abstract

Library and Information Science (LIS) education in Ethiopia started in the late 1950s, passing through several ups and downs. In an attempt to assess the status of LIS education in Ethiopia, the reasons for the closure of the first Bachelor of Library and Information Science (BLIS) program, review of strengths and weaknesses of existing LIS programs, the reasons for discontent of employers on the services provided by LIS professionals as well as the reasons for the dissatisfaction of the LIS professionals were investigated. Interviews (for LIS employers) and questionnaires (for LIS employees) were administered at selected organizations. Some of the general findings of the study are that the BLIS program at the Addis Ababa University was changed to a pure Information Systems program due to university-wide curriculum review initiatives; the current BLIS program at Jimma University is the strongest in addressing the limitations and expectations identified by LIS employers; and the reasons for the dissatisfaction of LIS professionals are pay, promotion, benefits, rewards, procedures and communication aspects of their job. LIS professionals believe that their qualifications are inadequate for performing their job.