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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the status, trends and challenges of library and information education and training in Eastern and Southern Africa. It notes that library and information education and training in Africa is undergoing rapid change, with difficult challenges to be overcome. For example, during the past 20 years, the number of library schools has grown in some regions and declined in some, such as South Africa. Common LIS factors include amalgamation, re‐orientation, and curriculum review and revision.

The authors' extensive experience with and exposure to LIS education has been used together with observations and literature survey in the field to inform this paper.

It is evident that LIS schools have, to a greater or lesser extent, been redesigning their curricula to keep track of the latest developments in the information world and keep their teaching market‐related. New qualification programmes have been developed to provide opportunities for further specialization. In many cases departments have changed their names to reflect these new focus areas and extensions, and in many cases departments have realigned themselves within their universities. It is evident that LIS schools have taken the challenges of the changing information environment very seriously, and have adapted their curricula, their names and their institutional alignments to reflect these changes.

The paper raises fundamental issues concerning trends, challenges and opportunities for LIS education and training in eastern and southern Africa by largely drawing examples from the authors' experience and related African studies in the domain.

The paper provides useful current information to inform LIS educators, researchers, students and other stakeholders on the issues and challenges of LIS education in the region.

Information provided in this paper is of value for comparative studies on LIS education and training. The paper is current and largely informed by participant observation, participation and experiential knowledge that is fresh and well informed.

This chapter updates earlier research that analyzed mergers, collaborations, and similar trends in LIS education, and provides a more comprehensive current summary of those trends. Three distinct patterns are beginning to emerge in both organizational structure and collaboration: changes in the nature of LIS program partnerships within parent educational institutions; the impact on LIS education by prominent academic associations that are not reliant on ALA accreditation recognition; and the growth in the number and type of academic offerings in LIS schools themselves. Among some notable changes are the establishment of the Consortium of iSchools Asia Pacific (CiSAP), continued growth in the iSchool caucus and its increasing international membership. Additionally the number of dual degree master’s programs in which LIS departments partner is on the rise, as is the number of degrees now being offered at LIS schools (both at the undergraduate and graduate levels) that are not “traditional” MLS degrees. Inter-institutional collaborative MLIS programs are also emergent, evident in such programs as the Web-based Information Science Education (WISE) consortium. The data presented here seem to suggest that the face of LIS education continues to change as the 21st century gets underway.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the current status and challenges of collaboration in library and information education and training in Africa.

The paper largely draws examples from experiential knowledge and observation; basic bibliometric analysis; and studying related institutional documents as well as African studies in the domain.

Most of the library and information studies (LIS) schools are based in Anglophone Africa and located within universities. Common trends of LIS education are shared by most LIS schools in Africa. Major challenges facing LIS education include the regulation of student numbers, knowledge and diversification of LIS job markets, funding of LIS schools, the development of technology infrastructures both in quantity and quality, allowing efficient access and the continued development of education through short courses that provide new knowledge, skills and attitudes to LIS workers. Collaboration of LIS schools in the region is weak and largely informal. There is hardly any research collaboration amongst LIS schools in Africa.

Opportunities for collaboration that exist require initiatives, involvement and leadership. Organizing LIS schools workshops and pre/post conferences during national, regional and international conferences is an excellent way to begin unravelling a considerable portion of the current collaborative plight by engaging relevant stakeholders.

The paper raises primary challenges and opportunities for collaboration in LIS education and training in Africa thereby providing useful, current information that should inform LIS educators, researchers, students and other stakeholders on the status and challenges of collaboration in LIS education on the continent.

Internationalization of Library and Information Science (LIS) education is not only desirable but also critically necessary. The education of future library and information professionals who are able to understand the global information access, and to promote systems of communication among people throughout the world are vital for the success of the profession. This paper examines and analyzes the inclusion of international issues in LIS education in Europe, the USA, and Canada. The data gathered via a questionnaire survey of 60 LIS programs in Europe, the USA and Canada are presented. The provision of a program that addresses global views in LIS education is recommended.

Knowledge organization (KO) content is central to educational programs of library and information science (LIS) and information and knowledge management (KM) programs. The components of information and KO have similar philosophies, theories, approaches, strategies and tools. LIS education programs have strong traditions of teaching KO. Fresh emphasis is noted on metadata, data mining, info-maps, knowledge maps, taxonomy, ontologies and other strategies for organizing an organization’s explicit and tacit knowledge. This paper aims to analyze how LIS schools have responded to the needs of developing competencies related to information and KO among its graduates.

This study analyzed the curricula of LIS accredited schools and leading schools in selected regions of the world based on the course titles presented on their websites.

This analysis provided an overall picture of the coverage of KO courses in LIS programs of 68 selected schools located in Southeast Asia, the Europe and accredited schools of North America.

The paper is limited to the treatment of KO in 68 selected programs of LIS education.

Library and information education programs may benefit from the findings for incorporating needed content in KO coursework.

The study is ground-breaking as it addresses the needs of development of KO competencies among LIS professionals from the perspective of findings of a systematic study of the curricula of 68 schools.

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.

Libraries and librarians have long been early adopters of information technologies. For decades, librarians have applied computerization to library operations. Standardization and computerization of bibliographic records decades ago made possible automation of library systems, the creation and utilization of giant bibliographic utilities such as OCLC with its 52 million records. Collaborative adoption of information technologies decades ago brought shared cataloging, on-line public access catalogs, bibliographic databases, enhanced interlibrary loan and document delivery, and acquisition of information in digital formats, resulting in worldwide access to library resources. Nonetheless the revolution in information technologies that produced the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s hit the information profession of librarianship and the educational establishment like an earthquake.

Education in library and information science (LIS) in the first decade of the 21st century is reviewed and discussed in terms of changes, developments, and associated issues. Specifically, courses and concentrations newly added to the LIS curriculum are described along with a summary of what has been revised, including the core. Distance education in LIS is presented as a result of technology application while reposition, relocation, and closures of LIS schools are also examined. Of the organizational changes among LIS schools, the emergence of iSchools and related topics received particular coverage with data gathered recently. Issues persistent in LIS education (i.e., accreditation of LIS programs, library education crisis, and chasm between LIS education and practices) are revisited with analysis. The author believes on the basis of this review that the digital age has brought us in LIS education with opportunities greater than ever. LIS education will move forward and even thrive in this digital age when the field not only makes intelligent use of the technology but also changes in other dimensions as the society advances.

Formal and informal links between LIS schools in Europe exist. The EU’s SOCRATES programme, the NORDPLUS scheme, and professional bodies offer frameworks for communication as well as European LIS education projects and networking activities. Besides increased communication and networking efforts there are few results, some progress can be noted, but visible effects of partnerships and networking in the LIS academic community are difficult to identify. The Bologna Declaration also has implications for the European LIS academic world. Consideration is given to how the recommendations of the declaration can be fleshed out in a LIS educational context. However, progress within the LIS educational community in terms of co‐operation and co‐ordinated curriculum development appears meagre. Active co‐operation and networking efforts within the European LIS education world must be initiated.

The central place that education has in the strength and well-being of any profession is widely accepted. Australia presents an interesting case study of a country where Library and Information Studies (LIS) education moved from being conducted by practitioners under the guidance of the professional association to being provided in institutions of higher education in 1959. The 50 years (1959–2008) saw substantial changes in Australian LIS education with a rapid proliferation of schools which was later followed by closures, mergers and changes of focus. This chapter charts LIS education during this period focusing on organizational and structural aspects of the placement of LIS education in tertiary institutions, on the academization of LIS educators who had in the early days mainly been drawn from practice, and on the development of LIS educators as academic researchers and authors as represented by their productivity and visibility in national and international databases. In addition to giving an account of these areas of LIS education over the 50 years, the chapter seeks to offer explanations for what has occurred and some views of strategies which may assist the development of LIS education in Australia and in other countries which possess similar characteristics.