LIS education and training in South Africa : a historical review

Raju, Jaya

doi:10.7553/71-1-656

Cited by 9 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…In South Africa, LIS schools are schools or departments that offer more general or theoretical education in LIS, and also offer undergraduate and postgraduate degree qualifications which take three to four years for undergraduates, and between one and three years for honours, master's and doctoral qualifications (Ocholla and Bothma 2007;Raju 2005). According to Ocholla and Bothma (2007) Finally, the UL offers LIS programmes from undergraduate and postgraduate up to PhD level.…”

Section: Contextual Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of the Throughput Rate of Doctoral Students in LIS Schools in South Africa, 2005–2015

Maluleka

Ngoepe

2019

Mousaion

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South African universities produce fewer graduates than the number specified in the National Development Plan (NDP). According to the NDP, South Africa needs more than 5 000 doctoral graduates annually, against the 1 420 produced in 2010 and 2 258 in 2014. The 2030 target is to produce more than 100 doctorates per million people per year, as the current figures are below international standards. This study employed informetric research techniques as the main method, triangulated through questionnaires administered to doctoral supervisors to examine the throughput rates of doctoral students in the field of library and information science (LIS) at public universities in South Africa between 2005 and 2015. Data were extracted from institutional repositories of universities offering LIS in South Africa, and after the relevant information (i.e. gender, race, institution, and nationality of both students and supervisors) had been obtained, the data were saved and analysed in Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Key results suggest a low throughput rate of doctoral students in LIS schools. The findings further suggest that social factors such as the gender, race and nationality of doctoral students in relation to those of their supervisors have a direct impact on the completion of doctoral projects in LIS schools.

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Section: Contextual Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Analysis of the Throughput Rate of Doctoral Students in LIS Schools in South Africa, 2005–2015

Maluleka

Ngoepe

2019

Mousaion

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“…Cataloguing and classification have also been studied from the job market perspective. Raju (2005) stated that cataloguing and classification are among 25 core areas of the LIS job market in SA. Shongwe and Ocholla (2011) and Ocholla and Shongwe (2013) concurred and stated that the LIS job market actively recruits cataloguers.…”

Section: Cataloguing and Classification In Samentioning

confidence: 99%

A comparison of the cataloguing and classification curriculum and job requirements

Sibiya

Shongwe

2018

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Purpose 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. Design/methodology/approach 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. Findings 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. Practical implications 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. Originality/value 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.

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Trends, challenges and opportunities for LIS education and training in Eastern and Southern Africa

Ocholla

Bothma

2007

New Library World

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Purpose-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, reorientation , and curriculum review and revision. Design/methodology/approach-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. Findings-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. Research limitations/implications-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. Practical implications-The paper provides useful current information to inform LIS educators, researchers, students and other stakeholders on the issues and challenges of openUP (March 2007) LIS education in the region. Originality/value-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.

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LIS education and training in South Africa : a historical review

Cited by 9 publications

References 14 publications

An Analysis of the Throughput Rate of Doctoral Students in LIS Schools in South Africa, 2005–2015

An Analysis of the Throughput Rate of Doctoral Students in LIS Schools in South Africa, 2005–2015

A comparison of the cataloguing and classification curriculum and job requirements

Trends, challenges and opportunities for LIS education and training in Eastern and Southern Africa

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