LIS EducationUnited Kingdom United Kingdom

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A historical perspective:

• formal training for librarians in the UK dates back to the late nineteenth century

• this was delivered through evening classes and short courses, and was quite fragmentary

• UCL was the first library school to be set up, in 1919

• other university departments date from the period after World War II

• education for professional examinations of the Library Association (leading to ALA) were provided for mainly by commercial and technical colleges

School of Librarianship, UCL:

• set up through the efforts of Sir John McAlister • James Duff Brown was another enthusiast for

professional education• the course was initially for a diploma in

librarianship for practising librarians• most of the teaching was delivered through

evening classes• most of the lecturers were eminent librarians• there was only one full-time member of staff• students were required to study literature, and

foreign languages, as well as library economy, cataloguing, and bibliography

Later history of UCL:

• full-time courses were gradually introduced, but the Diploma remained the qualification until the 1970s

• professional education for archivists was added in 1947

• MSc in Information Science was introduced as a mid-career qualification

• a master’s in Electronic Communication and Publishing came in the 1990s

• MA Publishing started in 2007• the name of the Department was changed to

Information Studies in 2009

Graduate education in LIS:

• during the earlier part of the 20th century, there was a great divide between graduate and non-graduate entry to the profession

• graduates studied for a graduate diploma• non-graduates studied for the Library Association

examinations leading to chartership• later on, bachelor's degrees in librarianship were introduced

(although these have more or less disappeared now)• graduate diplomas were supplemented by master’s

degrees, which have become the standard LIS qualification• in 1992 many colleges were granted university status• librarianship became a graduate profession

Current qualifications:

• professional (rather than academic) qualifications are managed by CILIP – the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals

• at present the normal route to professional qualification will be MA LIS (or equivalent)

• this is ‘topped up’ by a professional portfolio leading to chartership, and the award of MCLIP

• certification or ACLIP (affiliated status) was introduced in 2005 for paraprofessionals

• possession of ACLIP allows paraprofessionals to embark on the chartership process

• CILIP also offers fellowships (FCLIP)• there is a re-validation process for CPD

Relation between MA and MCLIP:

• CILIP validates the courses run by university departments

• this ensures that the universities cover the Body of Professional Knowledge (BPK) in their curricula

• graduates with an accredited MA (or post-graduate diploma) are able to start on the chartership route

• the accreditation process takes place every five years

• there are currently four accredited institutions in London, plus fourteen other UK universities

• CILIP also recognizes the programmes at Cologne

UCL MA LIS:

• is regarded as very traditional compared to other UK departments

• only school to teach cataloguing/classification in depth• only school to offer rare books librarianship and manuscript

studies• children’s librarianship is another ‘feature’ module• these are all successfully offered as CPD• there is also state-of-the-art technical content• there is useful cross-programme teaching• we enjoy excellent access to the wealth of libraries in London• emphasis on practical work, placements and engagement

with the profession

The good UCL LIS student:

• has a good honour’s degree in any subject• mostly we have humanities graduates• has good IT skills• has a year’s practical experience• has some clear career objectives• belongs to CILIP• is lively and articulate

• most FT students have been graduate trainees• part-time students come from a variety of

backgrounds• voluntary work or related experience is good

Some recent student destinations:

• Courtauld Institute• Eton College• Arts & Humanities Data Service• Victoria & Albert Museum• Slaughter and May• Guildhall School of Music• Sackler Library Oxford• Scotland Yard• Special collections UCL• Imperial College London• Natural History Museum• London Library• Lambeth Palace• Fire Services College

• Conde Nast• Department for Education & Skills• London Borough of Brent• National Institute for Clinical Excellence

(NICE)• Inst. of Advanced Legal Studies• Friends’ House (Quakers) • National Autistic Society• National Maritime Museum• National Trust• St. Bride Printing Library• Hillingdon Schools Library Service• Seeley History Library, Cambridge• SOAS• Caius College Cambridge

The professional curriculum 1:

• this has been the subject of much change over recent years

• broad-based programmes like UCL’s have been joined by more specialist courses in areas like health informatics and geographic information management

• a particular feature is the change in terminology• nearly all departments and programmes have been re-

labelled to emphasise ‘information’ rather than ‘library’• this is accompanied by re-styling of many curriculum

areas, such as cataloguing and classification becoming knowledge organization

• important to focus on core skills and to retain the idea of LIS as a discipline, and a research area

The professional curriculum 2:

• there have been some substantial changes in content over the last twenty-thirty years

• much more emphasis on ICT, and a need to make room for it

• subjects such as cataloguing disappeared from many schools

• some are now re-appearing under other names• the changing role of the professional librarian explains

some new areas• the professional bodies now lay some stress upon the

need for strategic management and leadership skills• information literacy and the need for teaching skills

Knowledge management:

• organization and representation of knowledge– metadata, classification schemes, catalogues, website

organization

• publishing– creation and dissemination of knowledge

• subject indexing– analysis and indexing of individual documents/resources

• communication– transmission of knowledge, enquiries, reading lists

• information resource management – collection management, curation

• information service provision– information systems, library management systems, internet

Applications environment:

• ethical framework– codes of practice, quality standards, diversity awareness

• legal dimension– data protection, freedom of information, intellectual property,

copyright

• information policy– local information policies, access to internet for children

• information governance– policies, strategies, adherence to legislation at institutional

level, compliance, accountability framework

• communications perspective– dynamics of information flow, collaborative working, national

and local agencies

Generic and transferable skills:

• computer and information literacy• interpersonal skills• management skills• marketing• training skills• research methods

The professional curriculum 3:

• the government Knowledge Council is working on a framework of information competences which complements the BPK

• this tends to focus on skills and disregard distinctions between professional sectors

• traditional LIS competences are only a part of the skills set

• knowledge management is regarded as a form of asset management