MOOCs in Library and Information Science in India: An Analytical Study

Abstract

Government of India’s teaching learning portal, Study of Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds (SWAYAM) has become fully operational for offering Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in the country. There is a faster growth in the number of courses being offered in different disciplines for varied groups of students through MOOCs. Library and Information Science (LIS) MOOCs are of different level, namely, school level, post school level, master's level, and a course for continuing education for working librarians and LIS teachers working in universities and colleges. The present paper gives an overview of the courses being offered on SWAYAM platform in the subject of Library and Information Science. MOOC on 'Digital Library' was the first LIS course offered during September 2016 – March 2017. In all 13 MOOCs (with 34 course offerings) were announced and completed until June 2019. More than 26000 students enrolled for library and information science courses during this period.