Evolution of programme design and curricula on master level in leading Nordic Information Science Schools Influence of

the iSchool movement in curricula

Márton Németh2015 Symposium on LIS educationChampaign, IL11 April 2015.

General Master Thesis framework in the DILL programme

• Fourth semester of the Master programme • Thesis Credit Value 30 ECTS• Oslo, Parma, Tallinn- options to thesis

writing• Shared basic thesis rules• Some specific regulations set by each

school• Supervisor, Censor–from different schools• No thesis defence, written evaluation• Evaluated on ECTS Scale (A-F)

Thesis idea• The three most traditional LIS training institutions• Former monopoly: Vocational training then higher

education programmes in LIS field• Digital Library Master Programmes: DILL-Oslo,

Talinn (EST) Parma (IT) DLIS, DiSe- Borås (SWE)• LIS Master: Borås, Copenhagen, Oslo• Why DILL?- common ties in programme

development with Borås, shared module with own master programme in Oslo

• Comparative analysis of programmes: Elena Maceviciute - Borås

• Extended comparison view of this thesis• Digital library education elements of LIS Master

programmes

Methodology• Qualitative comparative project• Set major scope and limitations• Analyzing programme structures, frameworks,

course descriptions, • academic articles, programme websites, e-

learning interfaces, other related sources• Personal discussions: Ragnar Audunson, Helena

Francke, Elena Maceviciute • Literature review with broad contextualisation of

the topic• Comparative programme analysis• Discussion

Main research issues• Main subjects of programme curricula• Curricula framework conceptions• The balance of theory and practice in

curricula elements and course descriptions• National focused and international master

programmes beyond the same school framework

• Traditional education forms vs distance education: main features, pros and cons

Literature review: Broad contextualisation of the thesis topic

An overview about professional development of digital library education in the US and in Europe

iSchool movementDigital Library Curriculum ProjectEuropean overview with a previous DILL

Master Thesis: Comperative analysis on a mainly quantitative ground –Nafiz Shuva

Historical context of LIS education development in Scandinavia

Historical development of targeted library schools

Comparative analysis• The main indicators of iSchool influence in the

target schools (range of programmes, basic profiles, structures, main conceptions)

• Detailed comparison of digital library master programmes in the three LIS schools (target groups, programme plans, modular education structure, forms of education)

• Compare them with the digital library content and modules of LIS Master programmes

• Describing a joint perspective: Similar topics behind different module structures and specific curricula frameworks

DiscussionMain curricula preferencesThe appearance of main subjects,

conceptions, professional education models in curricula

Profession-based vs discipline-based education conceptions

National vs international programmesMain education frameworks in each schools

Thesis Conclusions• Mediation of culture as a fundamental education

aim. • Content and connection-based approaches• To train just IT-technicians in a simply vocational

educational sense cannot be a goal!• Set broad range of skills and competences in all

major library service dimensions related to Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, IT fields

• The education modules of each programmes can be compared with each other through their main subject dimensions

• Priority of subject and content analysis over the institutional framework context

• Institutional frameworks however describes different education priorities among different programmes and schools

Tom Wilson’s (Wilson, 2001) Wenn-diagram about main dimensions of digital library educationD Organization is the core: professional background for serving customers and managing services. A People: A community of patrons and librariansB Content: Digitized and born digital contentC System: The system in which framework digital information sources can be managed

DLIS DiSe DILL 1. Digital library management (15 ECTS) 2. Users and information behaviour in digital environments (15 ECTS) 3. Information retrieval for digital libraries -1 and II (15 ECTS) 4. Technology of digital libraries – I and II (15 ECTS) 5. Digitising cultural heritage material (15 ECTS) 6. Digital library research methods (15 ECTS) 7. Master thesis (30 ECTS)

1. Digital media in the culture and information sectors (7,5 ECTS) 2. Technology of digital libraries (7,5 ECTS) 3. Users and information behaviour in digital environments (15 ECTS) 4. Project management (7,5 ECTS) 5. Elective courses (22,5 ECTS) 6. R & D methods within digital services (15 ECTS) 7. Workplace-related project (15 ECTS) 8. Master thesis (30 ECTS)

1. Research methods and theory of science (15 ECTS) 2. Digital document (15 ECTS) 3. Information and knowledge management (15 ECTS) 4. Human resource management (15 ECTS) 5. Access to digital libraries (15 ECTS) 6. Users and usage of digital libraries: Quantitative and qualitative evaluation (15 ECTS) 7. Internship (a part of 15 ECTS credit value by module number 6) 8. Master thesis (30 ECTS)

Subject-based comparison of modules of digital library education master programmes through Elena Maceviciute’s model (Maceviciute, 2011) Colour coding: yellow – theory and research, lilac – use and users, light blue – technology related, dark blue – project, red – management. Note 2: ‘Digital documents’ is appearing by Maceviciute as yellow, seems to me more light blue on DILL however I did not change the colour of it from the original. Note 3: I put in ‘internship’ to DILL as 7th element in my opinion it is missing accidentally from the original because the original number of Master Thesis is also 8

LIS Master Borås (the level of the introductory modules based on the availability of prior LIS qualification on BA level) Amalgamation of former LIS MA and DiSe programmes

1. Library and Information Science as a Research and Professional field (Standard and Advanced level based on prior LIS education experience)

2. Introduction to knowledge organisation (standard level) OR 3. Scientific communication (advanced level) 4. Develop and manage cultural and information activities (advanced level) 5. XML and controlled vocabularies (advanced level) 6. Classification and information extraction (advanced level) 7. Users and information behaviour in digital environments 8. Three Elective courses 9. Workplace-related project 10. Access to Information (advanced level) 11. Research methods 12. Master Thesis

LIS Master HIOA, Oslo: First and last module is in common in all tracks. Modules 2-5 are in Knowledge Organization and Retrieval track Module 6 is on Library and Society track 1. Research methods and theory of science (15 ECTS)

2. Retrieval systems and techniques (15 ECTS)

3. Digital documents (Digital Knowledge Organization) (15 ECTS)- Shared with DILL

4. Web technologies (15 ECTS)

5. Digital libraries in practice

6. Information organization and knowledge management (15 ECTS)

7. Master thesis (30 ECTS)

LIS Master Copenhagen 1. Information and Culture Studies Theories and Traditions (15 ECTS)

2. Interactive dissemination spaces (15 ECTS)

3. Information organising processes (15 ECTS)

4.. Innovative communication of culture (15 ECTS)

5.System Evaluation and User Studies (15 ECTS)

6. Knowledge Media and digitality (15 ECTS)

7. Knowledge and information in organizations (15 ECTS)

8. Scholarly communication(15 ECTS)

9. Master Thesis

Modules with digital library-based subjects and content in all three schools The previous model designed to digital library education programmes can be appliedTo LIS Master programmes as well.

Basic facts about iSchools in general

59 institutions (ischools.org January 2015) Started in the US, 2005 (dates back to earlier collaboration forms) Nowadays it is a truly global community Lead and promote the information field Responses to strategic research and academic opportunities Substantial sponsored research activity Support and solution for shared challenges Public policy support on collection, organization, dissemination, use, and preservation

of information Main course topics: information architecture, design, policy, and economics;

knowledge management, user experience design, and usability; preservation and conservation; librarianship and library administration; the sociology of information; and human-computer interaction and computer science. (ischools.org January 2015)

Annual iConferences iSchool Caucus

iSchool as a brand The whole iSchool movement is a major initiative as a

policy issue in a social and political arena (Bonnici & Burnett, 2009; Saabye, 2011).

The iSchool model focuses on the appearance of traditional information related issues in new forms

Core courses: No major differences with ALA accredited non iSchools in the US (Bonnici&Burnett 2009, Chu 2012)

iSchools are more research-based, mainly with better financial capabilities

Broader variety of courses and specialization tracks by iSchools

Difficult to get hard data about courses to make comparison among education programmes in different schools

iSchools in the Nordic regionBorås, Copenhagen, Oslo: Curricula development in the past decade-

The traditional former library schools have become research and education centres based on a new complex information-based discipline

All the main iSchool course topics in different disciplines are represented in local curricula (Copenhagen, Borås, Oslo).

Main concentrations on MA programmes: theory and research, use and users, IT subjects, Management, project work-internship, master thesis

Tampere- Computer Science (Informatics) based profile: Research oriented degree programmes in Information Studies and Interactive Media

The focus is on information and media practices, computer-human interaction, information retrieval and game studies. All degree programmes are in the field of Natural Sciences.

Parallel development: The formulation of curricula design and research capabilities that have formed by the local, national environments, are in harmony with the basic goals of iSchools formed originally in the US

Nordic institutional strategies in the context of iSchool goals

Join EU networks, participate generally well-funded EU projects, R&D collaboration forms with the private market stakeholders

Internationalization of education and research collaboration: Master and PhD International master programmes in English, and collaboration with partner

institutions (Copenhagen-Berlin, DILL, DLIS) PhD programmes: Finding the best experts and research environments for PhD

students through the iSchool network Institutional internal multidisciplinary collaboration among various faculties RSLIS fusion with Uni Copenhagen; collaboration with business and IT schools

in Borås, external collaboration with Skövde Uni college; HIOA model in Oslo Strong collaboration with major information profession actors: cultural

institutions, IT industry companies etc. Three research centres in Tampere: CIS (Research Center for Information and

Systems) , TAUCHI (Tampere Unit for Computer Human Interaction), TRIM (Tampere Research Center for Information and Media)

Summary Similar challenges towards information-based

education programmes in Europe and in the USFind the way of re-establish curricula elements and re-

branding schools that educating for information-based professions. Develop strong research capabilities

Interplay of global, regional, national and local arenasServing local needs in a global context with joint

education and research resources. Partnership and common interests with iSchool

partners serves local institutional strategic goals in the Nordic countries

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THANK YOU!Full paper on iSchool relationships:

https://www.academia.edu/10339008/iSchool_community_and_Scandinavian_library_schools

The master thesis can be found:https://www.academia.edu/5278520/Digital_library_education_on_Master_level_in_Borås_Copenhagen_and_Oslo_Qualitative_case_study