MLIS in Australia

Dr. Janet MartinBack to School Forum - ABCs of MLIS Qualifications: A Global Perspective

January, 2014.

1. How do LIS programs prepare graduates for the changing demands

of the industry/workforce?

“Everything sort of looks the same,

but everything has changed.”

Michelle Rabinowitz, a producer at MTV News (from OCLC)

A summary of the international Library Environment

ALA, ACRLOCLC Research

JISC (UK)PEW Research Center (US)

RLUKEDUCAUSE (ECAR Reports)

... and numerous conferences, including LIDA

A summary of the international library environment

* Changes to information

* Changes to general characteristics of younger scholars

* Characteristics of researchers as they affect library services

A summary of the international discussion on library education and the role of librarians

ALA 2008 Standards (being revised)SLA 2003 Competencies for Information

ProfessionalsLibrarian 2.0 competencies –

many articles/authors

A summary of the international discussion on library education and the role of librarians

Knowledge brokerLibrary educatorWeb managerProgram managerMetadata manager/ metadata professionalSystems librarianInformation architect

ArchivistCuratorRecords managerLibrarianData researcher/ data managerResearch officerInformation consultant/ information manager

A summary of the international discussion onlibrary education and the role of librarians

• Managers of information, organizations, resources, services• Appliers of information tools and technologies. • Skillful in project management, marketing, research, teaching• User focused• Personal competencies (communication skills, teamwork, collaboration, problem solving)

A summary of the international discussion onlibrary education and the role of librarians

“Library 2.0 requires an LIS professional that is better equipped

and [more] broadly educated than one just ten years ago.”

Feng, n.d., Special Libraries Association (SLA)

A summary of the international discussion onlibrary education and the role of librarians

“[IFLA, 2000] point out that in thepast educational programs have focused on

physical collections and other physicalmaterials. Today, the emphasis is on the

individual practitioner and on informationprovision in a variety of contexts.”

Gerolimos (2009)

2. Characteristics of the program that make it unique. What are focus areas of the programs?

Framework for the Education of Information Professionals In

AustraliaDeveloped from an Australia-wide research project

undertaken 2010-2012. Partridge et al (2011)

3. How has the program evolved since the early days ( 70s or 80s)

3.1 Program evolutionMultiple qualification pathways:

Professional qualifications are obtained from higher education: Bachelor, Graduate Diploma, or Masters levelParaprofessional qualifications obtained from the Vocational Education and Training sector (VET).

3.2 Program length and Costs

5. Why is the degree necessary or important to the region?

5.1 AccreditationNeed for parity of qualification to support international

mobility.Increasing interest in international LIS collaboration.

5.2 Role of Professional AssociationsIssues of standards and quality for the curriculum across

courses and statesChanging nature of the profession broadens the

professional associations involved.

References – LIS in AustraliaDr. Janet Martin January 2014.

Abels, E., Jones, R., Latham, J., Magnoni, D., & Gard Marshall, J. (2003). Competencies for information professionals of the 21st century: Revised edition, June 2003 (pp. 1-17). Virginia, USA: Special Libraries Association.

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2006). Changing roles of academic and research libraries Retrieved 27 February, 2013, from

http://www.ala.org/acrl/issues/value/changingroles

Auckland, M. (2012). Re-skilling for research. London: Research Libraries UK (RLUK). Connaway, L., Dickey, T., & OCLC Research. (2010). The digital information seeker: Report of the findings from selected OCLC, RIN, and JISC user

behaviour projects. Bristol, UK: JISC. Dahlstrom, E., deBoor, T., Grunwald, P., & Vockley, M. (2011). ECAR national study of undergraduate students and information technology

2011. Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research. Drake, M. A. (2010). Academic Library Challenges. Searcher, 18(9), 17-21,52-53,55.

Feijen, M. (2011). What researchers want. Utrecht, Netherlands: Surf Foundation.

Feltes, C., Gibson, D., Miller, H., Norton, C., & Pollock, L. (2012). Envisioning the future of scientific research libraries: A discussion (White Paper). Cold Spring Harbor, New York: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Gerolimos, M. (2009). Skills developed through library and information science education. Library Review, 58(7), 527-540. doi: 10.1108/00242530910978217

Hendrix, J. (2010). Checking out the future: Perspectives from the library community on information technology and 21st century libraries.

Washington, DC: American Library Association.

References – LIS in AustraliaDr. Janet Martin January 2014.

Libraries in the Digital Age (LIDA ) annual conferences http://ozk.unizd.hr/lida/

Michalko, J., Malpas, C., & Arcolio, A. (2010). Research libraries, risk and systemic change OCLC Research. Dublin, OH: OCLC Research.

Oakleaf, M. (2010). The value of academic libraries: A comprehensive research review and report. Chicago, IL: ACRL.

Partridge, H., Hanisch, J., Hughes, H., Henninger, M., Carroll, M., Combes, B., . . . Yates, C. (2011). Re-conceptualising and re-positioning Australian library and information science education for the 21st century (pp. 161). Sydney: Australian Learning & Teaching Council.

Partridge, H., Lee, J., & Munro, C. (2010). Becoming "Librarian 2.0": The skills, knowledge, and attributes required by library and information science professionals in a Web 2.0 world (and beyond). Library Trends, 59(1-2), 315-335.

Partridge, H., & Yates, C. (2012). A framework for the education of the information professions in Australia. Australian Library Journal, 61(2), 81-94.

Smith, A. (2008). The research library in the 21st century: Collecting, preserving and making accessible resources for scholarship. Core functions of the research library in the 21st century. Washington DC: Council on Library and Information Resources

Smith, K., Hallam, G., & Ghosh, S. B. (2012). Guidelines for professional library/information educational programs: 2012. The Hague, Netherlands: IFLA. Zickuhr, K., Rainie, L., & Purcell, K. (2013). Library services in the digital age. Washington, DC: PEW Research Center. Zimerman, M. (2012). Digital natives, searching behavior and the library. New Library World, 113(3/4), 174-201.