library schools and information technology: a european overview

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LIBRARY SCHOOLS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY:

A EUROPEAN OVERVIEW

JAN H.E. VAN DER STARRE Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Documentatie,

P.O. Box 90418, 2509 LK’s Gravenhage, The Netherlands

Abstract -This paper summarizes the findings of a recent study, funded by the Com- mission of the European Communities, of the ways in which the training institutions for initial professional library training in the countries of the European Community (EC) have incorporated information technology into their curricula. Four stages of development are identified: 1. initial experiments; 2. introductory IT units added to the course; 3. permeation of IT into the whole course: and 4. new IT-oriented courses being developed. The countries of the EC vary greatly in stage of development, with the southern nations generally less advanced and the northern nations more. The U.K. is most advanced (stage 3, tending towards 4), whereas Italy is the least advanced, still in stage 1. tt is suggested that library schools should cooperate more, both within and between countries, and that student and faculty exchanges should be used to facilitate technology trans- fer to the less advanced nations within the Community. The idea of a new European Library School to serve the entire EC is not supported.

Information technology is becoming more and more important in the library world, and consequently in the world of training for librarianship. The present article describes a recent study conducted for the European Commission and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) on the ways in which the training institutions for initial professional library education in the countries of the European Community have incorporated information technology in their curricula. The research has been carried out by the Faculty of Information and Communication of the Amsterdam Institute of Polytechnics (Nether- iands). IFLA was the main contractor for the European Commission, Directorate-General XIIIB.

The project did not form part of the Commission’s Library Action Plan, but can be considered a forerunner of it. The objective was to make an inventory of what the library schools actually do regarding information technology. The method used was twofold. Firstly, a literature survey was conducted on the reievant aspects of the subject. It is amaz- ing to see the amount of literature on education for librarianship, and the lack of detailed relevance as regards this subject. The literature was used to write a first draft report in order to decide on further methods of study. It was then decided to ask all schools to send their brochures, descriptions of curricula, timetables, etc. This material was processed by country, to produce an indication of the state of the schools with respect to information technology. An extra source was the questionnaires used for the preparation of the second edition of the Fang and Nauta (1985) guide.

In Europe some 90 schools were identified. Information is available on more than 50% of these schools.

In the beginning of 1991 a workshop was held in Luxembourg to validate the draft report. Experts from all European countries were present, and the report was discussed in detail. As a result, the report is being corrected and amended, and wiil be published in an abridged version by the European Commission (van der Starre, 1992).

This and the next three papers resulted from surveys undertaken by a program entitled Computers in Teaching Iniriative at the Center for Library and Information Studies, Loughborough University of Technology, U.K.

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242 J.H.E. VAN DER STARRE

I. TERMINOL,OGY

As a working definition, the subject of information technology can be defined as the body of computer technology and computer applications in the field of library and information science. It includes subjects like catalogue automation, online information retrieval, retrieval and indexing techniques, library automation, programming for library applications, systems analysis, database construction and management, and decision support systems.

Initial professional library education is meant to include recognized courses for librarianship accredited in conformity with national standards. Short part-time courses and courses for functions at assistant level are omitted. The schools surveyed offer full courses in librarianship as a first training or degree. However, a tendency towards Information Management, Information Resource Management, etc., can be discerned among the library schools.

Archives Studies are not covered in the survey. However, in a follow-up study, if any, they should be considered for inclusion because of the nature of archives work and records management, and the blurring of the borderlines between library and information work and archives work.

2. CHANGES IN THE PROFESSION

On a macro level the library world is faced with three concurrent revolutions, as Cor- bin (1988) calls them.

1. The computer revolution. In essence this means that during the past ten years computer equipment had decreased in price dramatically, and the processing power of the machines has been greatly expanded, which has made it possible even for smaller libraries to make use of this technology.

2. The information revolution. We all know about the visions of the ‘global village’, the ‘information society’, etc. We see a growing market penetration of microcom- puters, development of new information products, a growing preference for full- text information instead of bibliographic data, and the integration of various information and communication channels.

3. The communications revolution, which has everything to do with the two preced-

ing revolutions. In fact, telecommunications make them happen and make it eas- ier to use external sources of data at a relatively low cost and at high speed.

During the last two decades also, on a micro level, significant changes have taken place in the ways in which libraries work, including use of online databases for the purpose of selection of documents; automated acquisition process; use of automation for bibliographic descriptions and online catalogues.

Not only in the sector of information storage, but, of course, also in the sector of information production many changes have taken place. Publishers and printers have changed from their old technologies to modern methods of text production (computer type- setting), standardized layout (SGML), etc., and scientific researchers nowadays may write articles on their own personal computers, sent it via e-mail to colleagues all over the world for comments, receive the annotated texts back, and convey the final versions to their publishers via a data network or by sending floppy disks by mail. One even may not wish to publish the article formally, but send the text again to colleagues by way of publishing.

3. CHANGES IN CURRICULA

In order to cope with these revolutions and to serve the professions, the schools for Library and Information Studies (LIS) have five responsibilities, according to Corbin (1988), and one can only agree:

Library schools and IT in Europe 243

1. to prepare information-, systems-, and technology-oriented graduates; 2. to have fresh and relevant curricula that reflect the latest concepts of information

technology; 3. to have updated faculty (i.e., permanent education for the educators in the field of

information technology); 4. to prepare flexible and innovative graduates, which means that the graduates must

have a firm grasp of the basic principles of information technology and have the attitude to be innovative; and

5. to offer continuing education to the profession.

In my opinion there should be added:

6. to conduct relevant research.

It is interesting to note that the institutions for LIS education in various countries have developed new programs for the information profession (information management, information resource management, or information science), and in fact sometimes changed their names from Library School to School of Library and Information Studies. In these new programs they all deal with information work that has nothing to do with an existing col- lection of materials in an organization, but everything to do with the provision of relevant information regardless of the source. All programs rely heavily on information technology, and in some cases form part of the educational offerings of a business studies or computer science department.

To accommodate the technology better, Wallace and Boyce (1987) suggest dividing education for librarianship into four librarian profiles:

1. general librarian (uses computers, knows of the role of computers in libraries); 2. librarian with technical responsibilities (knows about the technical possibilities); 3. technical expert with library responsibilities; and 4. technical expert.

All library schools educate for the first profile, and some for the second. Most libraries will need a few specialists with extensive technological skills, but not an entire staff with these skills. It is my view that as technology develops more trainees of profile 3 are needed-a technical expert with library responsibilities. The library schools should stay away from profile 4 and concentrate on the others.

4. CONCLUSIONS TO THE STUDY

In the report many conclusions and recommendations are listed, of which a few are presented here, together with some remarks not made in the report. It should be noted that the conclusions and recommendations are of a somewhat more general scope than would be expected of a study on the information technology component in curricula. It turned out that, on the basis of the material found and on the basis of many discussions with experts, these conclusions safely can be drawn. Some statistics are available but not on all aspects because of the nature of the study.

Entrance requirements above the first level of professional qualification (BA, undergraduate study) vary widely by country. However, there seems to be no need of harmoniz- ing the curricula and the entrance requirements. Exchange of labor force will not be made easy by this; however, it should be stressed that establishing the level of a diploma of an applicant for a job could well be done by referring to the proper sources, (e.g., Fang & Nauta, 1985) and course documents. Table 1 summarizes entrance requirements in the different countries.

Also, data on number of staff and students are available (Table 2), but it should be noted that these figures are incomplete, because not all the schools replied to requests for

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Country

J.H.E. VAN DER STARRE

Table 1. Entrance requirements

Type of education Entrance requirements

Belgium (Dutch) University

Belgium (Dutch) Belgium (French)

Library School University

Belgium (French) Denmark Federal Republic of Germany Federal Republic of Germany Federal Republic of Germany France France France France France Greece Ireland Italy Italy Netherlands Netherlands Portugal Spain Spain United Kingdom United Kingdom

Library School Library School Certified Librar. Certified Librar. Academ. Librar. DUT, DEUST, EBD Licence, IRTD Maitrise, ENSB DEA, DESS Doctorat Libr. School Postgraduate Corso di Laurea Libr. School Rome Libr. School University University Univ. Schools Univ. Schools Undergraduate Postgraduate

Licentiate or Diploma Higher Education or Diploma Library School + five years practical experience

Diploma Secondary Education Licentiate or Diploma Higher Education or five

years experience Diploma Secondary Education Diploma Secondary Education= Diploma Secondary Education in Public Libr. Diploma Secondary Education in Academ. Libr. University degree’ Diploma Secondary Education Diploma DUT, DEUST, EBD Licence, IRTD Maitrise DEA Diploma Secondary Education’ University degreed Diploma Secondary Education Diploma di Laurea Diploma Secondary Education University degree or Diploma Polytechnic Licentiatee Diploma Secondary Education’ Diploma Vocational Education Diploma Secondary Educationa University Degree

Abbreviations: Libr. = Library; Librar. = Librarian; Academ. = Academic. “Plus two foreign languages. hPlus one year practical experience. ‘Students have to pass a State exam. “Plus three months’ practical experience (not obligatory). ePlus Latin and two foreign languages. ‘Plus one year preparatory course and entrance exam. aFive GCEs (two A-level) or four GCEs (three A-levels).

information, or replied incompletely. Use has been made also of the questionnaires for the IFLA guide on Library, Archive, Information and Documentation education, the new edition of Fang and Nauta (1985). These figures date from 1988 or 1989. It has proven to be impossible to break down staff figures according to specific training programs, as the institutions have their staff working for many or all of their programs.

Table 2. Overview on numbers of students and staff

Country Students FT staff PT staff Coverage

Belgium (Dutch) 117 0 73 50% Belgium (French) 297 I8 62 30% Denmark 498 70.5 20 100% Federal Republic of Germany” 2222 83 206 60% Franceh 1526 51 39 57% Greece 350 7 20 50% Ireland 60 6 6 100%

Italy _ - _ 0% Netherlands 1396 72 110 86%

Portugal _ - _ 0% Spain 2118 68 20 100% United Kingdom 2694 183 18 100%

Abbreviations: FT = full-time; PT = part-time. NB: Number of PT staff cannot be converted to number of FT staff. “Based on figures taken from the IFLA questionnaire. hNumbers cited are a minimum.

Library schools and IT in Europe 245

Table 3. Overview on recognition

Country

Belgium Denmark Federal Republic of Germany France Greece Ireland Italy Netherlands Portugal Spain United Kingdom

Recognized by government

yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes

Recognized by professional organization

no no no no no

yes no no no no

yes

Required for public functions

no

ye? yesb no

yes

no

no no

‘Recognition by Lander or Central State. bLevel of Diploma determines level of function.

Superficially, library education seems to be well crystallized in the various countries. Diplomas are recognized by central government and/or professional bodies (Table 3). Li- braries in the for-profit sector are at liberty to hire anyone they want, and policies regarding the publicly funded libraries vary by country. If public-sector libraries were to be obliged to require diplomas it would benefit the quality of library work, and enhance the status of the profession.

As regards the use of information technology, it must be stated that, to no one’s sur- prise, library education varies widely between countries, and even within a country. Every- one starts with a subject called “Introduction to Computers” (or any other name for the subject). But then the differences appear:

1. The use of information technology applications varies: library automation, information management, software evaluation, networking, hypertext, and expert systems.

2. The number of hours differs: from 200 hours in a total of 2880 for a whole program (mainly lectures) to 50% of the total time.

3. The methods used vary enormously: lectures, practicals, self study. In this respect the traditions in education and the availability of equipment play an important role.

The countries in southern Europe have a low rating in this respect. New applications like computer-assisted instruction are very rarely found.

But maybe the schools accurately follow the professional practice and are well tuned to the needs of the profession? If one talks to professionals, that is never the case!

In accordance with the report of the Transbinary Group (1986) we could see four stages in the development of information technology-related teaching:

1.

2.

3.

initial experiments in, for example, cataloguing, or information retrieval, leading to permanent subjects in courses-schools provide separate courses in basic IT- related subjects; units/subjects added to the course giving a broad introduction to computing and information technology - schools provide permanent courses on many aspects of IT in library and information work; permeation of information technology into the whole course-use of IT is taken for granted throughout the curriculum; that is to say that IT subjects (except perhaps the basic introduction to computers) no longer appear as separate subjects, but are incorporated in other subjects (e.g., sources of information and online information retrieval);

246 J.H.E. VAN DER STARRE

4. new information technology-oriented courses being developed, meaning that schools develop IT-based courses that need not to be concerned with library work, but more with information work in general.

This ciassification represents a more or less organic approach to the development of IT teaching. It is a continuous line on which schools may mark their own progress. On the other hand, it brings with it some difficulties, because there are no clear boundaries between the stages. It is, however, the opinion of the author and his cooperating specialists that it presents a tool for assessing the extent of IT permeation throughout the courses. Therefore this classification is used when concluding on the content of curricula. Table 4 summarizes the position in the different countries in 1990.

5. SOME SPECIFIC CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

First of all it must be stressed that the gaps between the various ‘classical’ information professions (librarianship, documentation, information work) have a tendency to heal, to close slowly. Perhaps in five years’ time we will no longer speak of librarians, but of information professionals who perform tasks in libraries, information and documentation centres, in information management in business, and in records management.

Information technology is already very important and will be more important still. The schools are therefore facing enormous investments in hardware and software. Cooperation with the profession is needed to make these investments viable, and even realizable. Not every country is blessed with active organizations like the British Library.

There is clearly a need for curriculum development in several countries. Defining a new course is a time-consuming and difficult task. It is only natural that schools, when facing severe problems in keeping the normal’ course going, hesitate to embark on major curriculum revision projects, unless some help is offered, either as one-way traffic or as joint development.

In conjunction with the preceding conclusion, the establishment of an educational materials bank for education for librarianship should be seriously considered. In many countries people are re-inventing the wheel, and keep on re-inventing it. A central source of relevant course documents-not necessarily free of charge- might be a great help. Such a focal point could further the use of information technology.

The lecturers in many schools in many countries lack up-to-date knowledge of technology. One reason is that lecturers were hired many years ago and left practice then. An- other reason is that new (printed) information does not easily reach the country because of language barriers (e.g., Greece) or lack of money. Also, attending conferences, one way of acquiring new, fresh knowledge, is too costly for most schools. There are several ways of helping to overcome these barriers:

Table 4. Stage of development in different countries

Country Stage 1 Stage 2 Stage 3 Stage 4 -__

Belgium ____++++++------------

Denmark ++++++---- Germany -----++++++++-__-_____

France -----+++C++++ t+++-- Greece ++++++ Ireland +++++++ Italy +++++++++---- Netherlands ---+++++++++------ Portugal --++++-- Spain ---+++++++- UK -----++++++++-----

Symbols used: --- = few schools, +++ = many schools. Example: In Spain most schools are in stage 2, but there is already some tendency to go to stage 3, and some schools are on the borderline between 1 and 2.

Library sci~ools and IT in Europe 247

l Staff exchange could be stimulated by providing funds. Use may be made of the Erasmus program.

l Workshops could be organized on relevant topics as a joint responsibility of practice and schools, but perhaps stimulated by library vendors, (international) professional organizations, governmental organizations like the British CounciI, etc.

* Lecturers might take a paid sabbatical leave to work at a suitable position in a library, although this presents severe problems for the schools because they have to find suitable replacements. This is also a joint responsibility of profession and schools.

Value can be added to the existing programs by establishing student exchange programs. Working in another country and in another library is instructive for young professionals and provides them with new ideas on librarianship and use of information technology and with a sense of relativity as regards their own national situation.

The gap between the North European and the South European countries is already big, and will become bigger if no measures are taken to stimulate the use of information technology in southern countries. They need know-how, training materials, assistance in setting up courses, hardware, and software.

The library profession will be facing a growing movement of labour within the Com- mon Market. In the light of this development, a system of mutual recognition is needed. The British Library had a feasibility study carried out on the possibility of a large-scale curriculum project and a possible European databank on library schools. Readily available information on the schools and on the content of programs will be needed. Such a source could well be used for gathering information on (information technology-oriented) courses, not only in order to identify the subjects taught to a trainee of that school, but also to identify possible partners for joint development of new (information technology-oriented or -based) courses. The Library Association (of the UK) is compiling such a database at the moment.

Some might argue that a European Library School is needed, for instance, in Luxem- bourg, Brussels, or Strasbourg. In my view, the schools must take more notice of Euro- pean developments, and incorporate these into their curricula by offering electives, by exchange programs with other schools, or perhaps via a summer school. A separate Euro- pean Library School will have no basis for existence.

In view of the importance of information technology and the high cost involved, the schools themselves should cooperate more than they do now in some countries, and should establish closer links with the profession. In this way we may be able to guarantee the turn- out of well trained, aspiring professionals.

REFERENCES

Corbin, J. (1988). The education of librarians in an age of information technology. Joarnu~ of Library A&?&- &ration P(4), 77-87.

Fang, J., & Nauta, P. (1985). i~te~nationaf guide to librury and information science education: A reference source for educational programs in the ~nfar~atian fields world-wide. Munich: K.G. Saw.

Transbinary group (1986). Report of the ~ransb~~ar~ Group on l~br~rians~i~ and information studies. London: UGCINAE.

van der Starre, J.H.E. (accepted for publication). Informatjon technolo~ content of ~nit~ai~fofessjo~af education and training for ~~~raria~shi~ in the European Community. European Commission.

Wallace, D.P., & Boyce, B.R. (1987). Computer technology and interdisciplinary efforts: a discussion and model program. Journal of Education for Librarianship and Informalion Science, 27(3), 158- 168.

library schools and information technology: a european overview

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