Journal Article•
LIS Education in India: Challenges For Students and Professionals in The Digital Age
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the challenges in LIS education in the Indian context and discuss the recent emphasis given on e-learning in lis education in India, the impact of lIS education on the work and career of graduates, the job market for lis professionals, competencies needed and continuing professional development of LIS professionals.
Abstract: The paper deals with the Library and Information Science (LIS) education and LIS professionals in India. Currently both the traditional libraries and the digital libraries coexist in India. LIS education in India has not become receptive to the new emerging situation. The library schools have failed to develop the required knowledge and skills relating to the use of information technology among students. As a result, the graduates from the LIS departments have little competitive potential in the information market. The paper discusses the challenges in LIS education in the Indian context. It deals with preparing LIS graduates for leadership and management roles to support national and economic development in India, as well as the collaboration and resource sharing among LIS schools. It also discusses the recent emphasis given on e-learning in LIS education in India, the impact of LIS education on the work and career of graduates, the job market for LIS professionals, competencies needed and continuing professional development of LIS professionals.
Citations
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01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tried to map the resources (input) used for teaching LIS by comparing syllabuses of different Universities and Institutes and assess how far these resources co-relate in imparting LIS education with the today's market demand for LIS professionals, whether there are any gaps and recommendations to fill up those gaps.
Abstract: History and development of the LIS Education in India have been traced from its early inception up to today’s scenario Towards this discussion, different modes of LIS training have been delved intonamely, regular courses offered by the universities, specialized courses by NISCAIR (INSDOC), DRTC, NCSI, etc, distance education LIS courses offered by open as well as regular universities and also the certificate course offered by BLA and some other organizations Against this proliferation, this study tried to map the resources (input) used for teaching LIS by comparing syllabuses of different Universities and Institutes and to assess how far these resources co-relate in imparting LIS education with the today’s market demand for LIS professionals, whether there are any gaps and recommendations to fill up those gaps (if any) The basic issues to be addressed in this paper are the connectivity between uniting LIS education and manpower requirements to transform India of the 21st century into a knowledge society, as envisaged by the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) set up by the Prime Minister of India in 2005 with the challenging mandate to transform India of the 21st century into a knowledge society NKC has emphasized on trying to raising standards and promoting excellence in LIS education in the light of the country’s manpower requirement
11 citations
13 Jun 2015
TL;DR: The emerging challenges of acquiring and providing access to electronic knowledge resources require librarians to change their role from traditional librarian to information scientist by learning and applying new skills to understand the evolving technologies to manage and provide quality on-line information services to the society.
Abstract: The 21 century has clearly shown that the information technologies are changing and growing at a tremendous speed. The impact of web based e-learning and teaching environment has influenced every facet of library and information services in academic libraries and providing new opportunities and challenges to the library professionals for involvement in the knowledge based society. The information revolution and the knowledge that is available on the web have created new challenges to these traditional professional ethics. The emerging challenges of acquiring and providing access to electronic knowledge resources require librarians to change their role from traditional librarian to information scientist by learning and applying new skills to understand the evolving technologies to manage and provide quality on-line information services to the society.
8 citations
22 May 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the current state of library and information science (LIS) programs in terms of their nature and composition in state universities in India and found that the lack of detailed and up-to-date information on university websites was a barrier in collecting accurate data on LIS programs.
Abstract: This brief article explores the current state of library and information science (LIS) programs in terms of their nature and composition in state universities in India. Preliminary findings were based on a content analysis of representative information regarding LIS education available on the websites of all state universities and colleges that offer LIS programs in India. Findings indicated broad trends in administrative structuring and nomenclature of LIS programs which requires standardization. The type of degrees awarded, the composition of faculty positions, student places per year and student-faculty ratios was also found to be varied among the different institutions. The lack of detailed and up-to-date information on university websites was a barrier in collecting accurate data on LIS programs. The minimal web information must be addressed by LIS professionals to further develop interest in the discipline and to increase the number of students graduating in LIS education. The findings repo...
5 citations
Cites background from "LIS Education in India: Challenges ..."
...…information and communication technologies for librarians (Biswas, n.d.); updating computer software/hardware and operating system design (Jain, 2007); programming and database management (Singh, 2003a), and library automation and fundamentals of the internet (Singh, 2003b), to name a…...
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...); updating computer software/hardware and operating system design (Jain, 2007); programming and database management (Singh, 2003a), and library automation and fundamentals of the internet (Singh, 2003b), to name a few....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine education and training needs of agricultural librarians, challenges and opportunities and the prospects of developing vibrant and viable agricultural information systems to foster value addition and production in an agro-based economy.
Abstract: Education and training of agricultural librarians is central to the development of an efficient agricultural system because realization of socio-economic stability and sustainable development is anchored on access to information. Zimbabwe is an agro- based economy and as such the education and training of Librarians with requisite knowledge and skills to contribute towards increased agricultural productivity is of greater importance. The realization of the United Nations’ millennium development goal number one “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” is dependent upon the extent to which a country invest in the education and training of proficient and efficient agricultural Librarians or information professionals. The lack of a clear and robust agricultural information dissemination system in Zimbabwe, just like any other third world country shows that there is a need for a paradigm shift in the education and training of agricultural librarians so that new systems are developed to address contemporary challenges in the generation, collection, organisation and dissemination of agricultural information. This onerous task lies on LIS schools to come up with new models of education and training agricultural information practitioners that address contemporary issues to do with access to agricultural information by rural populace whose livelihood is entrenched in farming. This paper will examine education and training needs of agricultural librarians, challenges and opportunities and the prospects of developing vibrant and viable agricultural information systems to foster value addition and production in an agro-based economy. It will further explore the extent to which the current training offered by Library and Information schools in Zimbabwe is in tandem with the on the job requirements of agricultural librarianship and to what extent does this training incorporate Agricultural Information services. The paper will further expose the extent to which stakeholders in industry and commerce namely the agriculturalists are involved or consulted in the process of curriculum review and development, with regards to the Agricultural librarianship.
5 citations
TL;DR: Are the students of MLISc in LIS schools of Odisha possess adequate IL skills?
Abstract: For the students and scholars belonging to any trade and level, exercising of information and its sources becomes inevitable. The university education in focus, identifying exact information, selecting the right source and authorized use of the same is being practised very often. This the authors call ‘Information Literacy Skill'. Considering the MLISc students, the future LIS professionals in making, this would certainly be an indication of respite that they are learning IL theories and practice during their second year course. An evaluative study on the targeted MLISC students can provide a substantial solution to this. The present study focuses on the LIS schools of state of Odisha (India) and tries to find out answers to various questions: Are the students of MLISc in LIS schools of Odisha possess adequate IL skills? Are the modules included under master degree syllabi enough for them and their skill requirements as information providers? Can IL be taught at the classroom level? Or is a meticulous practical exposure obligatory?
3 citations
References
More filters
01 Jan 2009
TL;DR: In this article, the authors tried to map the resources (input) used for teaching LIS by comparing syllabuses of different Universities and Institutes and assess how far these resources co-relate in imparting LIS education with the today's market demand for LIS professionals, whether there are any gaps and recommendations to fill up those gaps.
Abstract: History and development of the LIS Education in India have been traced from its early inception up to today’s scenario Towards this discussion, different modes of LIS training have been delved intonamely, regular courses offered by the universities, specialized courses by NISCAIR (INSDOC), DRTC, NCSI, etc, distance education LIS courses offered by open as well as regular universities and also the certificate course offered by BLA and some other organizations Against this proliferation, this study tried to map the resources (input) used for teaching LIS by comparing syllabuses of different Universities and Institutes and to assess how far these resources co-relate in imparting LIS education with the today’s market demand for LIS professionals, whether there are any gaps and recommendations to fill up those gaps (if any) The basic issues to be addressed in this paper are the connectivity between uniting LIS education and manpower requirements to transform India of the 21st century into a knowledge society, as envisaged by the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) set up by the Prime Minister of India in 2005 with the challenging mandate to transform India of the 21st century into a knowledge society NKC has emphasized on trying to raising standards and promoting excellence in LIS education in the light of the country’s manpower requirement
11 citations
13 Jun 2015
TL;DR: The emerging challenges of acquiring and providing access to electronic knowledge resources require librarians to change their role from traditional librarian to information scientist by learning and applying new skills to understand the evolving technologies to manage and provide quality on-line information services to the society.
Abstract: The 21 century has clearly shown that the information technologies are changing and growing at a tremendous speed. The impact of web based e-learning and teaching environment has influenced every facet of library and information services in academic libraries and providing new opportunities and challenges to the library professionals for involvement in the knowledge based society. The information revolution and the knowledge that is available on the web have created new challenges to these traditional professional ethics. The emerging challenges of acquiring and providing access to electronic knowledge resources require librarians to change their role from traditional librarian to information scientist by learning and applying new skills to understand the evolving technologies to manage and provide quality on-line information services to the society.
8 citations
22 May 2012
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explored the current state of library and information science (LIS) programs in terms of their nature and composition in state universities in India and found that the lack of detailed and up-to-date information on university websites was a barrier in collecting accurate data on LIS programs.
Abstract: This brief article explores the current state of library and information science (LIS) programs in terms of their nature and composition in state universities in India. Preliminary findings were based on a content analysis of representative information regarding LIS education available on the websites of all state universities and colleges that offer LIS programs in India. Findings indicated broad trends in administrative structuring and nomenclature of LIS programs which requires standardization. The type of degrees awarded, the composition of faculty positions, student places per year and student-faculty ratios was also found to be varied among the different institutions. The lack of detailed and up-to-date information on university websites was a barrier in collecting accurate data on LIS programs. The minimal web information must be addressed by LIS professionals to further develop interest in the discipline and to increase the number of students graduating in LIS education. The findings repo...
5 citations
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine education and training needs of agricultural librarians, challenges and opportunities and the prospects of developing vibrant and viable agricultural information systems to foster value addition and production in an agro-based economy.
Abstract: Education and training of agricultural librarians is central to the development of an efficient agricultural system because realization of socio-economic stability and sustainable development is anchored on access to information. Zimbabwe is an agro- based economy and as such the education and training of Librarians with requisite knowledge and skills to contribute towards increased agricultural productivity is of greater importance. The realization of the United Nations’ millennium development goal number one “Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” is dependent upon the extent to which a country invest in the education and training of proficient and efficient agricultural Librarians or information professionals. The lack of a clear and robust agricultural information dissemination system in Zimbabwe, just like any other third world country shows that there is a need for a paradigm shift in the education and training of agricultural librarians so that new systems are developed to address contemporary challenges in the generation, collection, organisation and dissemination of agricultural information. This onerous task lies on LIS schools to come up with new models of education and training agricultural information practitioners that address contemporary issues to do with access to agricultural information by rural populace whose livelihood is entrenched in farming. This paper will examine education and training needs of agricultural librarians, challenges and opportunities and the prospects of developing vibrant and viable agricultural information systems to foster value addition and production in an agro-based economy. It will further explore the extent to which the current training offered by Library and Information schools in Zimbabwe is in tandem with the on the job requirements of agricultural librarianship and to what extent does this training incorporate Agricultural Information services. The paper will further expose the extent to which stakeholders in industry and commerce namely the agriculturalists are involved or consulted in the process of curriculum review and development, with regards to the Agricultural librarianship.
5 citations
TL;DR: Are the students of MLISc in LIS schools of Odisha possess adequate IL skills?
Abstract: For the students and scholars belonging to any trade and level, exercising of information and its sources becomes inevitable. The university education in focus, identifying exact information, selecting the right source and authorized use of the same is being practised very often. This the authors call ‘Information Literacy Skill'. Considering the MLISc students, the future LIS professionals in making, this would certainly be an indication of respite that they are learning IL theories and practice during their second year course. An evaluative study on the targeted MLISC students can provide a substantial solution to this. The present study focuses on the LIS schools of state of Odisha (India) and tries to find out answers to various questions: Are the students of MLISc in LIS schools of Odisha possess adequate IL skills? Are the modules included under master degree syllabi enough for them and their skill requirements as information providers? Can IL be taught at the classroom level? Or is a meticulous practical exposure obligatory?
3 citations