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Purpose – This chapter argues that more opportunities for diversity-related content should be purposefully included in library and information science (LIS) graduate curricula.

Design/Methodology/Approach – Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with LIS graduates and current LIS graduate students. The data were analyzed for patterns and themes, and a narrative developed that expounds on the experiences and insights of practicing LIS professionals.

Findings – The data emphasize that more work needs to be done to incorporate, de-tokenize, and normalize meaningful conversations about diversity and social justice and incorporate them across LIS curricula. Reframing and re-centering the curriculum to foster critical, inclusive, and culturally competent professional engagement is greatly needed in LIS programs and in the profession at large.

Originality/Value – This chapter details and analyzes a set of original interviews in which both current and aspiring librarians discuss their experiences with diversity and social justice content in their graduate programs.

The library and information science (LIS) profession experienced drastic changes in its job requirements due to emerging digital scholarship trends, especially the growth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). As a result, there is a discrepancy between the job market and the LIS curriculum. This study addresses this gap by looking into incorporating digital scholarship into the LIS school curricula in South Africa. This may have implications for other contexts as well, because digital scholarship is becoming pervasive.

The study adopted a constructivist paradigm using a qualitative approach and a multiple case study design. Primary data using semi-structured interviews were collected from 10 academics at LIS schools and 10 librarians from both academic and special research council libraries in South Africa.

The study revealed that LIS schools did not have content on digital scholarship such as research data management (RDM), digitisation, metadata standards, open access, institutional repositories and other related content. Stakeholders who needed to be consulted included librarians, information technology (IT) and information and communication technology (ICT) specialists, computer scientists, humanists, the South Africa Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and LIS professional bodies. There were gaps and redundancies in the curriculum as far as digital scholarship was concerned. Digital scholarship presented opportunities for librarians and academics to acquire emerging jobs and to collaborate more in the digital space.

The article advances knowledge on the importance of incorporating digital scholarship in the LIS curriculum in South Africa. Furthermore, it provides guidance regarding stakeholders to be consulted when incorporating content into the LIS curriculum with the intention of closing the gaps and curbing or removing discrepancies between job requirements and graduates’ skills and competencies.

A comprehensive analysis of the LIS education system was carried out covering the 2004‐2007 period and it was established that currently 24 LIS education programs are conducted in Sri Lanka by eight educational institutions. The purpose of this paper is to present a critical evaluation of the curriculum development strategy of the LIS education programs in Sri Lanka based on the major research.

The research used both quantitative as well as qualitative research methods to determine the present status of affairs and the study was based on primary and secondary data collected by means of questionnaires, semi‐structured interviews, participatory observations and review of documents. Primary data were collected from the LIS course co‐ordinators, teachers and policy makers. Researcher's own reflections were also used.

The empirical survey identified that six main subjects are taught across most of the LIS programs; that most programs provide a general knowledge in LIS but not opportunities for specialisation; appropriate levels of complexity were not evident across the different levels of programs; and there is no national core in LIS so that all programs cover a set of common subjects at appropriate depths and breadths suitable for different levels of programs. Findings with regard to the curriculum development strategies identified that most of the curricula documents are not comprehensive, and that the Sri Lankan LIS curriculum developers do not use any formal curriculum development model. Analysis of the curriculum development teams indicated that most members have no training in curriculum design, and the teams lack contributions by other stakeholders except LIS professionals. Several recommendations are presented to eliminate the weaknesses of the curriculum development strategy in the LIS programs.

This paper is based on a broader empirical study of the LIS education system of Sri Lanka and throws some light on specific research on identifying the most appropriate curriculum development model for Sri Lanka.

The findings of the research are directly applicable to the tasks of the curriculum developers and the LIS education policy makers in Sri Lanka and they can use the findings for the improvement of the LIS education programs.

Contents or the curriculum development strategy of the current Sri Lankan LIS education programs have not been critically analysed before and this paper presents the original research findings relevant to all the programs conducted in 2007.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the cataloguing and classification curriculum offered in South African LIS schools and the job market requirement for cataloguers in South Africa (SA). It was instigated by the changes that have occurred in the LIS field over the past decade, especially in cataloguing and classification.

An interpretive, qualitative approach was used, and content analysis was used as a research and data analysis method. Data were obtained from 3 sources: cataloguing and classification course outlines obtained from 6 LIS schools, 18 interviews conducted with professional cataloguers and 10 job advertisements obtained through newspaper scanning and from the LIASA listserv.

The results indicate that LIS schools teach basic and advanced cataloguing and classification theory and practical topics. The main objective of the courses is to teach students knowledge organisation. The subjects are offered at bachelor’s degree and postgraduate diploma levels. Tools such as AACR2, RDA, MARC21, DDC and LCSH are mainly used to teach the courses. Professional cataloguers and job advertisements indicate that employers require the knowledge and skills to use the above-mentioned tools. Job advertisements also indicate that a national diploma and two years’ work experience are the minimum requirements for employing cataloguers.

This paper will inform academics whether they are teaching the relevant curriculum. If not, they will have to implement changes or improvements to the current curriculum. It will also help employers get a picture of what is offered in LIS schools and make judgements on whether it is relevant in the job market or not.

This paper has compared what is offered in LIS schools and what is required in the job market and found that there is match between what is offered and required, although there are areas to be improved. This is the first paper to establish that link in SA.

This paper aims to analyze the opinion of young and senior library and information science (LIS) professionals in Pakistan on LIS curricula and its relevance to market needs to enhance employability.

A mixed research method was used to collect data from professionals through two questionnaires, focus group and personal experiences.

The findings reveal that the LIS curriculum offered at the University of the Punjab (PU) is up to date and well designed but it is not fully meeting the needs of young graduates and employers. Both groups were dissatisfied with employability skills due to lack of implementation of LIS curricula and shortage of specialized faculty members at the time of data collection in May 2008. The employers complained of weak communication, practical and presentation skills. They expect graduates with more multidimensional and market oriented skills. However, the school takes a lead in introducing new curricula among the rest.

The paper only focuses on the graduates of Department of LIS, University of the Punjab, among the eight library schools in Pakistan.

The study divulges very valuable information for the planning and revision of the LIS curriculum and change in teaching practices in all eight library schools of Pakistan. It will also be helpful for LIS graduates to learn more market oriented and multi dimensional skills to meet the changing demands of the information marketplace and enhance their employability.

This is first ever study in any library school of Pakistan about the employability skills of its graduates.

Purpose – The general aim of the chapter is to assess the impact of the Bologna Process (BP) on Library and Information Science (LIS) education in Europe, investigating the curriculum content, the different concepts and values of LIS institutions, the learning and teaching definition and the learning outcomes orientation, with student-centred learning considered the first objective to be achieved.

Design/methodology/approach – The past and recent debate inside European Association for Library and Information Education and Research (EUCLID), European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations (EBLIDA), International Federation Library Associations (IFLA) studies and conferences are used together with relevant literature to describe the ongoing debate.

Findings – The main problem of LIS education in Europe is that there are different concepts of LIS and that the internationalisation of LIS education lends itself to various interpretations. The quality criteria of the contents of the LIS curricula evidenced here are the research orientation and, in particular, the qualities (and competencies) that you expect graduates of the programme to possess. The first tenet of LIS education in a European course is that it should have a student-centred approach. Pedagogy should be based on a constructivist approach and students should be encouraged to engage in a research project of some kind, so that they are more critical consumers of research.

Research limitations/implications (if applicable) – In the discussions inside the EUCLID project European Curriculum Reflections (Kajberg & Lorring, 2005), there was no common understanding of the LIS professional role. It is suggested that further research is needed towards Europeisation of LIS curriculum.

Social implications (if applicable) – Possible benefits of the Bologna Process for quality enhancement of LIS education, which can also be described as problematic areas, are the stimulus of the politicians which push a constructive dialogue between stakeholders.

Originality/value – Ambiguities are not lacking for the learning outcomes approach as a whole. The paper tries to evidence what the learning outcomes subject to evaluation are, and hence how they can be measured.

This study aims to explore undergraduate students’ perceptions of teaching information and communication technology (ICT) courses in the library and information science (LIS) program in Jordanian universities. It also aims at investigating the correlation between the impact of some variables, namely, gender, the type of university, academic year and student GPA on and their students’ views.

Quantitative methods were adopted. A questionnaire with 40 items was distributed on a stratified random sample of 220 students from four LIS departments in Jordan and, of whom, 203 responded with a response rate of 92.3 per cent.

Research findings indicated that teaching ICT courses was considered highly important. Students stressed on the importance of incorporating ICT courses in LIS programs. They also pointed out the competence of the teaching staff and the efficacy of their teaching methods. On the other hand, student assessments of the curriculum content, the teaching pedagogy and methods of assessment were on an average level. In addition, the findings indicated that resources and facilities necessary to teach ICT courses were available and adequate. It was noted that the “university” was the only factor that affected results; the University of Jordan students showed a higher satisfaction. The other factors (gender, academic year and GPA) did not appear to affect student perceptions.

Previous studies investigated the importance of teaching ICT courses in general but did not consider students’ perceptions. Only a few studies discussed students’ perceptions of studying ICT courses but in a different context, i.e. Kuwait. This research focused on students’ perceptions of studying ICT in Jordan as a new geographic region. This would be beneficial for other developing countries to learn from this experience and refine their ICT curricula and LIS programs accordingly.

To present and explore the need for alternative narratives to be included in library and information science (LIS) curricula.

This chapter examines LIS and its curricula through the Storytelling Project (STP) framework. STP theorizes that there are four types of stories: stock, concealed, resistance, and emerging/transforming stories.

Each of these story types exists in LIS, but in unequal proportion. LIS curriculum should include more stories of resistance and more emerging/transforming stories. These stories should also facilitate the emergence of the “new storytellers,” faculty members and instructors in LIS graduate programs who are working diligently to incorporate new stories into the classroom by creating learning environments that accommodate and encourage discussions of race, privilege, social justice, and other necessary and difficult issues.

The STP story typology forms a counter-storytelling matrix that can allow LIS educators an opportunity to diversify their content and teaching styles, ultimately enriching their students, their programs, and the profession.

This chapter expands LIS pedagogy by infusing elements of diversity, social justice, and theory from the related field of education.

This multi-method study is aimed at assessing the quality and alignment of 11 Pakistani library and information science (LIS) master’s programs’ orientation, curricula and course contents, by comparing them with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Guidelines for Professional Library/Information Programs (2012).

The study is based on a documentary analysis and telephonic interviews with master’s programs’ coordinators of all LIS departments. The data were collected on the 11 master’s programs from three sources: programs’ web pages, prospectuses and curricula with detailed course contents. The principal researcher also conducted 11 structured telephonic and face-to-face interviews with master’s programs’ coordinators.

Findings of the study show that while there is some compliance with IFLA core elements, the courses are largely inclined toward the management and less toward the information communication technologies (ICTs) components. Generally, the courses are traditional in nature, indicating a problem of widespread reliance on outdated and some irrelevant contents that do not reflect the current needs of the changing environment.

The findings highlight the need of increased efforts for seeking alignment with international standards by redesigning and reorienting LIS curricula. Mission and vision statement, planning and evaluation are the areas that need to be focused on to ensure the future survival of academic programs.

This is the first study of its nature in Pakistan that will be beneficial for Pakistan and other developing countries in their curriculum review and development process and future programs orientation.

Advancements in technology have led to many changes in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS). As global communications and technology continue to become more available and sophisticated, LIS programs need to prepare students for employment in rapidly changing and globalized LIS professions.

Data from a total of 63 programs from the American Library Association (ALA) and 32 programs from the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) was collected through openly accessible websites of these programs. Areas explored include program name, name and level of the academic unit offering the program, credit hours, required courses, percentage of required courses and capstone measurements used within the different LIS programs.

A majority of programs still preserve the keyword “Library” in their name, but not the academic units offering them. Most programs in ALA and CILIP follow a semester-based program. Research methods, internships, practical experience, combined with traditional library core and information technology requirements were found to constitute the major subjects in general. Comprehensive exams were replaced by e-portfolios among ALA programs while a dissertation remains the preferred choice of capstone requirement for CILIP.

Scant studies compare accredited LIS programs worldwide, motivating the study of the similarities, differences and trends of LIS programs under the current globalized technology-driven knowledge economy. This paper seeks to fill the literature gap and promote a global discussion and understanding of LIS curricula in different regions of the world, guiding potential students to select their suitable LIS programs.