Library Science Curriculum Research Articles

Using Focus Groups to Gather Information for LIS Curriculum Review

This article presents a general description of focus group activity designed to generate information for use in making decisions about core and elective courses in a library and information science (LIS) curriculum. While the results reported may be specific to the environment studied, the process can be useful in a variety of settings. Faculty who wish to teach well may benefit from knowing what their constituents expect from new graduates of LIS programs. Moreover, successfully managed focus groups enable employers to experience involvement with LIS program review. This can produce valuable good will.

Information technology and library education in Pakistan: recent developments in the curriculum

As in other walks of life, computer and telecommunications technology has greatly affected the world of librarianship during the last two/three decades. To ensure survival in the age of'informa­ tion revolution' the training of librarians to handle 'information technology' is a key priority. Though IT has not a long history in Pakistani librarianship library educators now appreciate the need and have decided to train the future librarians by revising the curriculum of library schools. This paper presents a brief history of information technology training in Pakistan. The most recent developments in library and information science curriculum have been discussed in detail.

Educating Information Brokers

The number of information brokers within libraries and in the corporate world is growing. Although a number of articles and books have been written for the potential information broker, they do not usually address the library and infomation science curriculum for education and training for information brokers. A 1993 survey of library and information science programs that assessed educational opportunities for information brokers identified eight schools with related coursework

Teaching Online and CD-ROM Resources: LIS Educators' Views and Practices

The proliferation of electronic information resources and the intense user interest in searching them have made it essential for librarians to possess the knowledge and skills to access electronic resources. To understand how educators have prepared students to deal with these resources, a survey was conducted of teachers specializing in reference services, advanced reference services, or online retrieval The study, which asked the teachers how they covered online and CD-ROM resources, found that most educators appreciate these resources and favor integrating them into the library and information science curriculum. Electronic resources have been integrated into the basic and advanced reference courses in which educators emphasize the contents of resources rather than searching skills. Online and CD-ROM resources have been covered in depth, the amount of hands-on practice has increased, and educators showed considerable agreement in their coverage of subtopics related to these resources.

Library science curriculum

Centres attention on the curriculum and through this reflects on several aspects related to librarianship as a discipline, and the different approaches which have been part of it in the past, present and perhaps even in the future. Challenges of librarianship as a discipline are put forth in the context of universal knowledge as well as its role in university studies. Devotes attention to the relationships between research and teaching and emphasizes postgraduate learning, research and theory, also touching on its interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary aspects. Places the discipline of librarianship where it rightly belongs, as part of university curricula and continuing education programmes. Finally analyses the influence of the US school on the Mexican curriculum as well as its relationship with the Mexican education system.

In Search of Multiculturalism in the Library Science Curriculum

This article discusses the need for multiculturalism to be an integral part of the library science curriculum and relates the results of a survey of library schools on the issue of multiculturalism and curriculum modification/revision. The authors conclude that the issue has received increased attention and positive action, but that a certain tension exists. They also found that the least activity in modification/revision concerning multiculturalism has taken place, curiously, in academic librarianship courses. The authors support extended efforts of library schools to prepare librarians for work in an increasingly diverse society and library environment.

Recruiting, Educating, and Training Librarians for Collection Development

Acknowledgments Introduction Overview Book Selection and Collection Building: Comments on the Art by Bill Katz Recruiting for Collection Development The Professionalization of Acquisitions and Collection Development by Terry L. Allison and Marion T. Reed Recruiting as Competition: Why Choose Collection Development? by Eugene L. Wiemers, Jr. Late Awakenings: Recruiting Subject Specialists to Librarianship and Collection Development by Michael Keller Recruiting Non-Bibliocentric Collection Builders by Sheila S. Intner Educating for Collection Development Collection Development in the Library and Information Science Curriculum by Paul Metz Among the Disciplines: The Bibliographer in the I World by Michael T. Ryan Collection Development Is More Than Selecting a Title: Educating for a Variety of Responsibilities by Peggy Johnson Should Courses in Acquisitions and Collection Development Be Combined or Separate? by Thomas E. Nisonger The Practicum in Collection Development: A Debate by Liz Futas Training for Collection Development Training for Success: Integrating the New Bibliographer into the Library by George J. Soete The Conspectus as an On-site Training Tool by Anthony W. Ferguson Training Existing Staff to Assume Collection Development Responsibilities by D. Whitney Coe and Joseph P. Consoli Professional and Survival Imperatives by Gay N. Dannelly Implications for the Future Collection Development in the Year 2025 by F. W. Lancaster Selected Bibliography Index

Do We Really Need Cultural Diversity in the Library and Information Science Curriculum?

I have attempted to create a conceptual framework for the discussion of diversity and the curriculum in library and information science. I have sketched what I believe to be the core elements of a transitional course. More than a trite phrase, cultural diversity has an important role in educating professionals in the 1990s. It is central to understanding the former Yugoslavia, post-Apartheid South Africa, racial formation in Colombia, Brazil, and southern Mexico, Haitian refugees in New York or Florida, diversity within the Hispanic population in the United States, South and Southeast Asian migration to North America, anxiety over hate speech on college campuses, and the resurgence of xenophobia in society at large, As a profession, librarians and other information professionals interact with scholars who are drawn to study such issues affecting these and other cultural groups, retrieve information for policy makers for further analysis and policy formation, and work crossculturally in classrooms and media centers, in libraries and over the Internet to facilitate access. The task for the mediator or provider of information to a multiethnic, multicultural society is to combine the wealth of our understanding about how access is accomplished with a better understanding of the people who need, see, and use information

Plato in the Library Science Curriculum

Plato in the Library Science Curriculum

Comparative librarianship and nonindustrialized countries

The literature about comparative librarianship has increased by large amounts during the last decade. During this time considerable energy has been given to defining both comparative librarianship and international librarianship. The work of such writers as Collins,’ Danton Harvey,3 Jackson4 Shores, 5 Simsova, Foskett7 and others has adequately defined the fields and presented the necessary parameters. Also, comparative librarianship has gained sufficient recognition as a bona-fide specialization within librarianship to warrant inclusion as an academic subject in library science curricula. Most educational programs in library science in North America and in other parts of the world offer at least one course in comparative librarianship. The field draws data from much of the social sciences-history, geography, politics, government, anthropofogy, sociology, economics and

Computer-Assisted Instruction in DDC

AN EXPERIMENTAL computer-assisted instruction (CAI) program has been developed at the College of Library Science, University of Kentucky, to facilitate the teaching of the Dewey Decimal Classification in the required introductory course in cataloging and classification. A further objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the CAI program to determine if educational technology might be used in other areas of the library science curriculum. Computer-assisted instruction has been applied to library science in recent years in the instruction of library use1 and in library reference courses.2* 3'4 Its application to the area of technical processing has been rather limited. At the University of Kentucky, computer-assisted instruction has been used extensively in the College of Dentistry. When the College of Library Science decided to explore the possibility of applying CAI to the library science curriculum, the experience and expertise of the learning resources staff of the College of Dentistry were called upon to assist in the development of such a program. Classification, rather than any other area of library science, was chosen for this project because its subject matter is expressed in notational symbols. The Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), with its pure notation of Arabic numerals, lends itself particularly well to computer application. The abridged DDC was used because it is a basic

Towards Restructuring Library and Information Science Curricula for the Challenges of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Environment in Nigeria

This paper deals with restructuring of library and information science curriculum for the challenge of ICT environment. The paper highlights the following areas: conceptual framework, qualities of Library and Information Science curriculum, rationale for restructuring library and information science curriculum, areas in library and information science curriculum that requires changes, rolls of National Association of Library and Information Science Educators (NALISE), Nigerian Library Association (NLA), Librarians Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN) and other related bodies in restructuring of library and information science curriculum. The following Information Communication Technology (ICT) courses: electronic resources management, management of social media tools, website design and management, networks and networking, software design and management, database design and management, innovation and creativity were identified as ICT fields that can be integrated into the curriculum. The paper reveals that the curricula of most library schools in Nigeria examined do not contain some ICT components that are relevant to librarians in training for them to be effective in the modern society. The implication of the paper is that heads of library schools in Nigeria should identify the loop-holes in the curricula and take pragmatic measures in reviewing and restructuring the curriculum for library and information science education professional that can deliver in ICT dominated society.Key words: Library Science, Library School, Information Science, Curriculum, ICT Environment

Place of Statistics in Library Science Curriculum

Place of Statistics in Library Science Curriculum