Education Of Information Professionals Research Articles

Education and training of library and Iinformation professionals for National Integration and Development

The study investigated education and training of Library and Information Professionals for national integration and development in tertiary institutions in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States of Nigeria. It sought to investigate education and its relationship with national integration and development. Survey design was used for the study. The hypothesis was tested using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation statistical technique and the relationship was established to be significant at 0.05 level. The results of data analysis showed a high positive correlation (0.61) between education of information professionals and national integration and development. The study concluded that education of information professionals was a strong determinant of national integration and development. The paper recommends among other things that government and stakeholders must rise to the challenge of supporting the education and training of information professionals so as to foster national integration and development through the custody and dissemination of information materials by educated and trained information specialists.Keywords: Education, Training, Library and Information Professionals, National Integration

Editorial

Editorial

Müzelere yönelik bilgi yönetimi eğitimi: Hacettepe Üniversitesi Bilgi ve Belge Yönetimi Bölümü öğrencilerinin analizi

As one of the leading institutions in cultural heritage management, museums develop their services with technological approaches and they provide more interaction with society. In this regard, museums need knowledge and skills from different elds to develop such services. Library and information science, as one of these elds, stands out concerning the education of information professionals, and provide qualied human resources in a modern sense for the museums. In the light of this information, this study aims to analyse perspectives and availability levels of library and information science (LIS) students about working in the museums. To this end, research was conducted on the students who have taken Information Management in Museums course at the Hacettepe University Department of Information Management. The data were gathered from 52 of 70 students via web-based questionnaire. The results reect that LIS students display low levels of museum interaction and mostly use social media platforms to follow museum events. It is also revealed in the study that they can take an active part in both technical and managerial processes related to information management in museums.

Finding and forming the bold and the fearless: the future of LIS education in Australia

The education of information professionals needs constant re-examination and renewal if it is to remain relevant to the needs of society. Rapid change in the environments in which information is managed calls for the re-evaluation of old skills and the development of new skills. From our perspectives as a new professional and an experienced academic we define some of what is needed to enable library and information studies education to evolve quickly so that it can produce the ‘fearless information professionals’ that are needed. We aim to stimulate robust debate, reassessment, and revision.

New technologies and the education of information professionals

Using the example of the Masters in Records Management by Distance Learning at the University of Nortumbria at Newcastle in the United Kingdom, the article will explore the potentials of the new information and communication technologies and the implications for using them as a means of delivery for education for information professionals.The key challenge is to ensure that the education instils not only an awareness of the technologies and skills in their use but also the capacity to understand and evaluate their potential since they are the prime tools of trade for information professionals today. An effective approach is to study the technologies through using the technologies but success can only be achieved if the wider systems of processes and approaches, based on teamwork, are developed to recognise specialisms and divisions of labour.

Information Ethics: Issues and Challenges For Librarians in Nigeria A Case Study of Ekiti State University

Generally, librarians should not shy away from ethical issues. Library professionals must have a good working knowledge of information ethics. Codes of professional ethics can help to provide such knowledge, information ethics must be part of the education of information professionals which should provide library professionals with an understanding of ethical theories and practices and how they apply to create practical solutions. It is in the light of the above that this research work focuses on information ethics: issues and challenges for librarians in Ekiti State University. The study highlighted the works of several scholars and covered such areas as the concept of information ethics, information technology, codes of ethics, universal services and access to information, intellectual property, and information privacy among other concepts. The work adopted a survey research method and utilized questionnaire to generate data, out of the twenty four (24) copies of questionnaire distributed, twenty (83.33%) were returned with valid responses. Findings revealed that it is important for library professionals to have an understanding of information ethics because it has a direct impact on their ability to carry out their professional obligations.

An entrepreneurial stance towards education of information professionals

An entrepreneurial stance towards education of information professionals

Libraries and LIS education in Vietnam: a view from the outside

PurposeDocumenting some of the developments in libraries, and LIS education in Vietnam, this paper aims to suggest directions for achieving goals of education, collaboration, policy development, and access to resources in this rapidly developing country.Design/methodology/approachThe report is based on an extensive literature review of available English language material together with information obtained from structured interviews with a group of LIS professionals in Vietnam. These data support an analysis of current initiatives, programs and developments taking place in the different library sectors in Vietnam.FindingsSignificant developments have occurred in Vietnam in terms of national policy agendas and development of the internet backbone. The pace of change, particularly in the national and university sectors, has been dramatic but the pace of change at other levels is somewhat slower. Community development, access to electronic resources, and education of information professionals are identified as areas for development. In particular, the paper focuses on the emergence of improved professional communication, which is facilitated by an improved ICT infrastructure within Vietnam, which allows managers to cooperate and share experiences more effectively.Research limitations/implicationsThe major limitation to the research is the fact that much of the literature about this topic is only available in the Vietnamese language. This research was conducted using the available English language material, and the interview responses of the LIS professionals in Vietnam. Further research is needed by Vietnamese library professionals on the state of the industry, and the directions being taken at the different levels.Practical implicationsThe study identifies a number of strategies, and areas for development, which could have an impact on training of library staff, and moving towards more collaborative approaches at all levels of library resourcing.Originality/valueThis paper brings together information published in a variety of sources, not always readily available to give a more detailed view of library development in Vietnam for the international community.

Sharks, digital curation, and the education of information professionals

Museums, libraries, and archives are creating and acquiring a growing volume of digital resources, including collection documentation, digitized versions of holdings, and original born-digital collections. All these institutions need information professionals who can manage and preserve digital resources and work with colleagues in their own and other institutions to meet the public's increasing expectation of finding the information they want online. All types of cultural heritage institutions will benefit from taking an interest in the education of a new generation of information professional with skills in digitization, digital archiving and preservation, and what is now being called ‘digital curation’ – the ability to add value to digital assets for use and re-use over the long term. These new professionals may also have disciplinary expertise that enhances their value to cultural heritage institutions, and they may forge new career paths that cross traditional boundaries among libraries, archives, and museums.

Information studios: Integrating arts-based learning into the education of information professionals

Successful professionals in technical disciplines require abilities beyond technical competenceto interpret complex and ambiguous situations, interact with experts from other specialties and discip...

Information studios: Integrating arts‐based learning into the education of information professionals

AbstractSuccessful professionals in technical disciplines require abilities beyond technical competence—to interpret complex and ambiguous situations, interact with experts from other specialties and disciplines, and constructively evaluate their own work and the work of others. In this article, we argue that experiences and interactions with the arts should play an important role in the education of a specific group of technical workers—information professionals—and that such interactions provide a useful and necessary complement to the more familiar rational, scientific model that currently informs technical professional education. We discuss the principles inherent in an arts‐based approach to learning and show how the work done by information professionals is similar to the work done by creative and performing artists as well as those in the design professions. Finally, we describe three examples of complementary learning opportunities built on arts‐based practices.

President's page

I don't know about others of you in the academic world, but once upon a time I imagined that moving to that sector would give me lovely, quiet summers. Turns out not to be true in medical centers, but in addition to that this summer has been an extraordinarily busy time in ASIS&T as well. Your stories about what you are doing should you be so lucky to have a quiet summer would be welcome as vicarious reading. Meanwhile there is much to report. The publications area has been particularly busy. While you are likely to have heard about our new JASIST editor, Blaise Cronin, by the time this column is published, as I write it is very new information. Blaise, the Rudy Professor of Information Science and the Dean of the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University, is both a thought leader in our field and a person of considerable editorial service. In his application for the position, he described JASIST in relation to other journals in the field, saying “…JASIST differs in one key respect from all of these competitors and others such as D-Lib Magazine and First Monday: Its scope is information science in-the-round, not one or other of its many sub-fields, be it IR, digital libraries or HCI. This very catholicity differentiates JASIST from most other journals and confers on it a powerful comparative advantage in an otherwise congested arena.” We are indeed fortunate, both to have had such a fine editor in Don Kraft and to have Blaise willing to take over the helm now. Offer an attractive image to prospective entrants in the information professions Facilitate the sharing of public information resources Facilitate the identification and implementation of joint activities Facilitate for their members exposure to international activities and resources and international networking Therefore better respond to the needs of their members with regard to the growing importance of the international dimensions of the field. This ambitious undertaking will be a long-term project, but we have to begin by sending letters of invitation to a large and varied group of other information-related organizations worldwide. There has also been excellent progress on my presidential initiative being spearheaded by the Task Force on Information Professionals and carried out in partnership with the Council on Library and Information Resources. We commissioned a data collection and analysis project to obtain background information, and two graduate students at the University of Washington's I-School, Samantha Becker and Bo Kinney, provided us with a fascinating report describing the existence of about 900 distinct information-related master's programs spread across 468 institutions. Disciplinary domains in which these programs are located include business, engineering, computer science, information science, applied information science/informatics, biological and health sciences, library science, public administration, communications and education. Sixty percent of the programs have majors or concentrations in at least one of the following categories: information systems, informatics, information technology or information science. The full report by Becker and Kinney — must reading for anyone interested in information professional education — is available at http://www.asist.org/news.html. The report is also being made available to the information organizations that will join us at an invitational meeting in September to consider the establishment of a new accreditation process for the range of master's degree programs that educate information professionals — over 50 invitations have gone out, and responses are flowing in. These are significant accomplishments in three quite distinct areas, but at the same time they are linked. Each serves a role in sharpening our vision of the very broad field of information science and technology, and each helps in communicating that vision to the world.

Ethics Education for Information Professionals

ABSTRACT Originally called the ethics of information in society, Information Ethics (IE) has received increased attention in the LIS profession and education. Several LIS programs have incorporated IE into their curricula, both as stand-alone courses and as part of other courses. Because most LIS students entering programs have little experience in libraries or in management, LIS programs must focus on introducing students to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed for the profession. Building on the author's earlier writings and experience in LIS, this paper provides an overview of IE education, using the University of Pittsburgh as a case study, and addresses the questions of what IE content should be included in LIS programs, how the content should be taught, and by whom.

Enformasyon Bilimlerine Fütüristik Bir Yaklaşım

Bilgi çağını yaşayan dünyamızda her yıl Amerikan Kongre Kütüphanesini 37.000 kere dolduracak boyutlarda özgün bilgi üretilmektedir ve bu bilginin %92’si manyetik ortamda kayıtlıdır. Böylesi bir ortamda yetişen yeni nesil için kâğıt üzerinde kayıtlı bilgi “kapsama alanı dışında”dır. Onlar bilgiye bir kısım akıllı bilgisel ajanlar vasıtasıyla ve hemen o anda ulaşma eğilimindedirler. Dolayısıyla, giderek azalan zaman dilimleri içinde ulaşamadıkları bilginin bilinmeye değmez olduğunu düşünmektedirler. Enformasyon çalışanlarından, geleneksel olarak beklenen içerik sunumu, güvenilir bilgi saklama, orijinallik tespiti ve konservasyon gibi temel fonksiyonlar da değişen dünyanın koşullarına paralel olarak elektronik odaklı hale gelmektedir. Ancak, bu fonksiyonları elektronik ortamda yürütebilmek için gereken teknik bilgi alt yapısı, enformasyon bilimlerinin neredeyse bir “enformasyon mühendisliği” haline dönüşmesini gerektirecek boyutlardadır. Bu değişimlerden hareketle yola çıkan bu yazı, enformasyon çalışanlarının eğitimlerinde teknolojinin alması gereken yeri sorgulamakta ve bu eğitimin nerede verilmesi gerektiği üzerinde tekrar düşünmek gerektiği sonucuna varmaktadır.

A Comparative Study on the Present Education for Information Professionals in the U.S.A. and the U.K.

A Comparative Study on the Present Education for Information Professionals in the U.S.A. and the U.K.

Education for information professionals in the UK

During the last 10 years, there have been significant changes in LIS education in the United Kingdom. In this paper we have analysed the current provision of education for information professionals at 16 universities in the United Kingdom and set this against the trends and changes of the past decade. In addition to documentary sources, we have conducted a brief survey of the LIS education providers. We conclude that there has been a shift towards postgraduate education for information professionals. We also note that there has also been significant expansion of undergraduate education in information management, almost none of which has been in the form of courses accredited by the principal UK professional body, CILIP.

Empowering patients through health information literacy training

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to outline some new approaches to information literacy instruction for health librarians and other information professionals.Design/methodology/approachIn the context of the increasing amount of health information on the internet, the paper outlines a changing attitude to health care that is based on shared decision making and informed consent. Health and other information professionals have a responsibility to promote health information literacy among health consumers. This includes mastering the basic principles of teaching and learning, and the evaluation of health information, including the techniques of critical thinking.FindingsThe paper summarises some criteria for evaluating health information sources and applies these to four well‐known health web sites, and concludes that all provide valuable and reliable consumer health information, but that none meets all the criteria advocated.Practical implicationsThere is an ongoing need for education of information professionals and health consumers to ensure that the potential benefits of health information on the world wide web are maximised.Originality/valueThe paper offers new information and techniques for information literacy training to health information and other information professionals.

Legal Aspects of Electronic Information in the Training of Information Professionals

The increasing effect of information and telecommunications technologies and the growing influence of the market economy in the world of information are modifying the environment in which information professionals act. Change has been significant in the legal field. Along with new problems unimaginable in the past, some of the legal areas traditionally involved in the training of librarians and information scientists have changed. Therefore, it is crucial to reappraise certain aspects of the education of information professionals in view of new technological and economic realities. To highlight the consequences for information professionals, this article analyzes the following areas with legal implications: 1) selection of materials and censorship, 2) access to information, 3) reference services and information brokerage, 4) privacy, confidentiality, and data protection, and 5) copyright.

Alteração curricular do curso de biblioteconomia da Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina - UDESC

Apresenta a proposta curricular do Curso de Biblioteconomia da Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina - UDESC, no que tange aos aspectos relacionados com a Biblioteconomia catarinense, com a literatura sobre o Moderno Profissional da Informação e com os estudos de compatibilização curricular realizados no Brasil e em âmbito do Mercosul.

Challenging the boundaries of graduate education for information professionals in Australia: Real world learning for a virtual information world

Developments in Australia over the last ten years have challenged traditional approaches to the delivery of graduate education for the professions. The recent focus on lifelong learning, flexible learning, work-based learning, situated learning, constructivist and contextualised learning have created rich opportunities to rethink the boundaries of time, place, space, approach and means to learning, and the roles of students in relation to these opportunities. This paper examines the dynamics of shared responsibility for learning in the provision of graduate education for the library and information sector, as realised through a strategic collaboration between the State Library of New South Wales and the University of Technology, Sydney.