Can the ILS schools produce the �all-purpose� information and library professional who can meet the needs of practitioners? Do the qualifying courses have a balance of theory and practice?

Patricia Layzell Ward, Editor, Library Link

These are two questions of interest at the present time when writing a review of the development of ILS education. But we need to look back before examining the situation today. From the founding of the School of Library Economy at Columbia University there has been a debate within the profession about the relationship between theory and practice in the education and training of librarians. Dewey, Director at Columbia, chose the apprenticeship route at a time in the USA when there was reconsideration of the trend towards technical education and the need for a theory based curriculum. Whilst library schools were established in other colleges and universities, there were also training programmes attached to major libraries, and correspondence courses. In the UK correspondence courses were provided by the Library Association for many years, supported by summer schools organised by local groups of the Association. In Australia training programmes were attached to major libraries. So the links with practice produced programmes of study, which were more akin to training than education.

The establishment of the library school at the University of Chicago in the 1920�s produced a programme of study based in a research university that could offer a doctoral programme, and where the first systematic research in librarianship emerged. An opportunity was lost in the UK when the course at the London School of Economics ceased in 1914. It had been offered since the start of the century as a result of Sidney�s Webb�s interest in libraries. Much might have happened if courses had developed within this institution. We can only speculate - But matters improved when University College London opened in 1919 helped by a grant from the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust - and it was the Carnegie Corporation that had provided the funding for Chicago. Carnegie also had an influence in Australia for it funded the visit of Munn and Pitt who produced a seminal report on the state of libraries in Australia in 1935, but it took until 1960 for the first school to open at the University of New South Wales. But the schools at Columbia and Chicago did not survive.

Professional education moved forward and in the US the masters degree became the norm. In Australia and the UK undergraduate degrees emerged in the 1960�s together with one-year programmes for graduate students. With a one-year postgraduate course there is limited time in which the basic knowledge and skills required for practice can be gained. And, of course, the graduate student has already chosen a career track. This point has become increasingly evident as countries have firstly imposed tuition fees, and then converted what had been grants into loans that are repayable. So the motivation on the part of the graduate student is to learn to get a job - it may sound crude but it is likely to be realistic.

In the case of the undergraduate student there is a three or four year course in which there should be time to extend their broader education. Universities in most countries have changed the structure of their courses so that students take modules or units lasting around 12 weeks, and are encouraged to select some of these from the range of offerings at the university. This makes for economy on the part of the university, but may not lead to a cohesive programme of study outside the core of information and library studies. One result of the economic approach has been the cutting back of the number of modules offered within the information and library field. The history of libraries, comparative librarianship etc. and often public and children�s librarianship have vanished. The trend emerged in the 1980�s for courses that prepared undergraduate students for a wider job market by providing courses in information studies. In theory this seemed to be sensible since undergraduates would be less likely to have a clear idea of possible career paths. With a general grounding they could select a post on graduation helped, if it was provided, with a period of practical work in an information and library service. They might not even want to work in the profession. Now this approach relies on the provision of information about job opportunities and mentoring on the part of lecturers and practitioners. But the question that causes concern is whether the undergraduates want to enter the ILS profession when they graduate, how well they feel they are equipped for this work - or whether they seek and find employment in the broader information field? Do they have access to the vital continuing professional courses needed to hone their skills in the chosen field? How well do the practitioners feel the new graduates are equipped for work in information and library services? Do the courses have a balance of theory and practice that will provide a foundation for the flexible staff needed in the future?

Comments are welcome.

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