the integrated lis education programmes conflict...

Annals of Library ScieJl(;C and Documentation 46. 3: 11)1)1): I () I-III .

THE INTEGRATED LIS EDUCATION PROGRAMMES CONFLICT BETWEEN OBJECTIVES, EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY

R S R Vara Lakshmi Reader Department of Library & Information Science Andhra University Visakhapatnam 530 003

Studies the two-year intergated MLlSc programmes presently offered by fourteen Indian Universities. Analyses the prospectuses of the integrated MLlSc programmes to analyse various aspects which include eligibili ty, admission requirements, number of seats, course pattern etc. Also discusses the details of papers with special emphasis on IT papers offered. Points out the various problem faced by these universities and suggests suitable measures to other universities planning to introduce similar courses.

INTRODUCTION

The contemporary library and information science (LIS) education in India is an outcome of many reviews and restructures made by Board of Studies of individual universities and University Grants Co mm ission (India) from time to time in accordance with the changing character of information environment. The change may be because of an evolution from a traditional to 'an emergent state of libraries and their services or the information technology and computing power act as a potent force and have an overriding influence on information gathering , organisat ion and dissemination .

Any professional education is subjective to changes in the profession . As such the rapid advances which are made and are being made in LIS profession are rather intrinsic to its education . Therefore, in recent times the LIS curriculum has been restructured thoroughly to suit the demands of the present era of electronic information. After many discussio ns about the role of the professionals in a modern academic , special or

Vol 40 No 3 September 1999

research information dissemination centre , old courses/topics have been pruned and new courses/topics have been introduced keeping in view the advanced technological and educational environment. The aim is to produce a hyb rid librarian i.e. librarian cum computer specialist , as a solution to the existing complexities in information systems/centres, 'so that he can compute the internal information and access the external information through electronic devices . These changes have paved way for the introduction of two years integrated MLiSc programmes in the place of BLiSc + MLiSe (1 + 1) programmes by some universities in India.

AIM

The aim of th is study is to

analyse the objectives of two years Integrated MLiSc course , and

ascertain how far the course contents and teaching methods suits to achieve the objectives laid down.

TWO YEAR INTEGRATED MLiSe PROGRA-MMES IN INDIA

Though the thoughts on a two year M.Sc. in Library and Information Science was mooted by Devinson [1] in 1977 at a Seminar on LIS Education in India, the University of Madras is pioneer in introducing the 2 Year Integrated MLiSc programmes amalgamating the one year BLiSc and MLiSc courses since 1988-89. During 1990s, a number of universities followed the Universi ty of Madras

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R S R VARA LAKSHMI

and started integrated MLiSc programmes. At present , as revealed in Table 1, fourteen universities are offering the 2 Year Integrated MLiSc prog rammes.

Objectives of the MUSc (2 Year) IntegrClted Programme

The Curriculum Development Committee (CDC) [2] of University Grants Commission (UGC), India has stated that" taking note of the demand for better qualified professionals; new developments in the discipline, and growing pressure on the existing courses and some repetition in the contents of BLiSc and MLiSc courses, it is, suggested that some departments with necessary infrastructure may offer a two year MUSc integrated programme". 11 has further stated the following objectives for the course:

1. i. Understanding the basic principles and laws of library and information science.

ii. get trained in the skills of librarianship and management of libraries.

iii. acquainted with social, cult ural , educational and communication frame-work of the library; and

iv. gain knowledge of management and admin istration of libraries and information centres .

2. To make the student proficient with :

i. advanced techniques of library and information science

ii. theory and methods invo lved in information storage and retrieval; and

iii . knowledge of in formatio n systems , networks and services.

The individual universities have laid down thei r own objectives for the cou rse , but in principle coincides with the objectives stated by CDC (UGC) .

Duration

As already stated, the course is of two years duration, with an examination being conducted after each academic year. Being an integrated course the degree will be awarded only after successful completion of two academic years .

Nomenclature

Majority of the universities have retained the name of the course as Master of Library and Information Science. However, three universities viz. B.IT , University of Madras and University of Kuvempu have renamed the course as Master of Science in Library and Information Science.

Table 1

SI. No.

1.

2.

102

Universities offering 2 Year Integrated MLlSc Programmes: Prospectus

Name of the University

Andhra Univ. Waltair

Birla Inst. of Tech. , Ranchi

Eligibility

Graduation

Graduation with 2nd Div.

No. of seats

34 + 34 (Campus + PG Centre, SKLM)

15

Selection procedure

Entrance test

Entrance Test

Semester/ Annual

Annual

Semester

contd.

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CONFLICT BETWEEN OBJECTIVES, EXPECTATIONS VS REALITY

table 1 (contn.)

SI. Name of the Eligibility No. of seats Selection Semester/ No. University procedure Annual

3. Bishop Heber Graduation 20 Marks of -do-College, with 2nd Div. qualifying Bharathi exam. Dasan Univ. Trichi

4 . Gulbarga Univ. Graduation 5 -do- Annual Gulbarga

5. Karnatak Univ. Graduation with 17 Marks of -do-Dharwad 2nd Div. qualifying

exam + entrance test

6. Kuvempu Univ. Graduate 20 Marks of -do-Shimoga qualifying

exam

7. Mangalore Univ. Graduation 12 -do - -do-Mangalore

.8. Nagarjuna Univ. Graduation 20 Marks of -do-Guntur (AP) qualifying

exam

9. North Eastern Graduation 25 Marks of qual i- Semester Hill Univ. with 2nd Div. fying exam + (NEHU) Shillong Entrance &

Interview

10. Sri Venkateswara Graduation 20 Entrance test Annual Univ., Tirupati

11 . Univ. of Calcutta BLiSc 15 Marks of Annual Calcutta qualifying

12. Univ. of Madras Graduation 16 Marks of Semester Chennai qualifying

examn.

13. University of Graduation 20 - do - Annual Mysore

14. Vidyasagar Univ. BLiSc with - do - Annual 2nd Div.

Source 1. Hand Book on Library and Information Science. New Delhi , AIU .1997. 2. Prospectus of LIS Courses of universities offering 2 year Integrated Course.

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R S R VARA LAKSHMI

Admission Requirements/Eligibility

The candidates seeking admission into the COJrse are usually graduates (B .A.lB.Com.lB .Sc.) . The CDC (UGC) [3] Report has recommended the following as conditions for admission:

i) A Bach e lor 's Degree or its equiva lent qualification from a recognized institute/ university (but candidates with Master 's degree be given preference or more weightage) .

ii) Proficiency in English

iii) Must have secured not less 50% marks in aggregate at degree level : and

iv) Special consideration to eligible candidates from :

a) the fie lds of medicine, agriculture and technology

b) employees in libraries holding some basic qualification in library science.

Realities

However, Table 1 indicates that in practice, there is no uniformity in admission procedure. Some universities admit students on the basis of marks of qualifying examination whil e others are conducting an entrance test and the admission is according to rank order among qualified candidates . There are universities viz. University of Madras, B.I.T. . Ranchi etc. which are following a combination of qualifying examination marks and entrance test. The University of Calcutta and Vidyasagar University have put BLiSc as the eligibility criteria.

The var ious aspects of concern regarding admissions to integrated MLiSc programmes are:

i. Qualifying marks

Though the CDC (UGC) has stipulated 50% at bachelor's degree level as eligibility marks, seven universities have not considered it and candidates below 50% or second division are also given admission.

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ii. Level of incoming students

The candidates are having differen t subject background and it is becoming difficult for them to understand the too technical sub jects like Information Technology.

iii. Proficiency in English Language

CDC (UGC) has recommended for prof iciency in English as one of the admission criteria as 80% of the literature is available in English but the universities have not given importance to this factor and infact allow the students to write their examination in the regi onal languages. The problems encountered thus are:

a) the absence of text books in the regional languages

b) the inadequacy of regi onal languages to express the concepts and tech nical terms which information technology bounds in

c) the students cannot go abroad or to other states for further studies , re sea rch o r employment.

Suggestions

To achieve the defined objectives of the course, due emphasis should be given at the entrance level and effective filtration policy should be fo llowed to select candidates with LIS knowledge, skill s and aptitude. It is difficult for a B.A.lB.Com. graduate with pass or second division to grasp the advanced subjects and deliver the goods as per expectations. Hence, for true real isation of the objectives, the admission to integrated course may be restricted to BLiSc students , so that the students can be exposed to more advanced courses and practicals.

Number of Seats

The intake of students for 2 year Integrated MLiSc Course varies between 5 - 34 seats as ind icated in the Table 1. Gulbarga University admits only 5 candidates while Andhra University has highest number with 34 students each for campus and for PG extension centre . Hence, there is no uniformity followed in the intake of students. However, the universi ty departments have to cons ider two

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important aspects while fixing the number of seats for admission per academic year. There are:

Existing infrastructu ral facilities such as strength of the staff, computer lab facilit ies, adequate number of classification schedules , catalogue codes , etc .,

The principle of supply as per demand since LIS is a professional course and not a general course like other master degrees .

Realities

It is a fact that many departments have introduced the course without having necessary infrastructure. There are departments running this course without a single PC and there are departments that have one or two staff members. As such they are not able to cope up with the needs and requirements of the students.

Further, the two year Integrated MLiSc products are supposed to occupy high order positions as Assistant Librarians in Universities, Librarians of Degree colleges, Information Officers of special libraries or even private practitioners as Information consultants . Indeed such positions are fewer in number when compared to junior positions such as school , junior college and public librarians. It is true that it is not obligatory on the part of the university/department to provide placement to all products of MLiSc course . But , at the same time, being a professional course suffic ient concern must be shown to balance between demand and supply.

Suggestions

It is advisable to restrict the number of seats to 15 per academic year. Th is facil itates thorough training in higher order skills in information technologies with the available resources.

Table 2

Papers/Courses/ IT Papers for 2 years Integrated MLiSe Programmes

SI. Name of the Univ. No. of papers No. of papers on Natureof Practicals, No. Inf. Technology Computer lab work

Previous Final Previous Final year year year year

1 . Andhra University 6 5+ 1 (viva) 1 1 Computer lab work

2. BIT 14 7 + 1 (Project) 5 4 Computer lab (2 Semesters) seminars , field work

3. Bishop Heber 7 7 + 1 (Project) 1 offered Computer lab, College (2 Semesters) under Seminars, compulsory

elec. I field work for 45 days to III in libs. considered

as one paper

4. Gulbarga - - -

contd .


R 5 R VARA LAKSHMI

table 2 (contn .)

SI. Name of the Univ. No. of papers No.

Previous Final year year

5. Karnataka Univ. 8 6+2

6. Kuvempu Univ. 6 5+2

7. Mangalore 7 6+1

I 8 . Nagarjuna Univ. 5 I 5 9. NEHU 9+1 7+1

(2 Sem) (2 Sem)

10. S. V. University 7 6+1

11. Univ. of Calcutta - -

12. Univ. of Madras 11 + 1 9+1 (internship) (Diss.)

13. Univ. of Mysore 6 6

14. Vidyasagar - - .

Course Contents

To create an academic environment and strive for achievement of the objectives that are set up, the LIS Schools have tuned their curriculum finely. They have formulated the courses a nd examinations to serve the goals.

The CDC (UGC) Report has suggested the following as 'Scheme of [4] papers' forthe two year Integrated MLiSc programme :

106

No. of papers on Natureof Practical Inf. Technology Computer lab

work Previous Final year year

-

1 1 Computer lab work

1 1 -

2 2 Computer lab work (Th.+P) (Th.+P

, - 2 -

- 1 -

1 1 -

- - -

2 offered Computer lab work under Internship (must) Elec. I (2 credits) to V

., 1 -

- - -

Core Papers

First academic year

1. Foundations of Librarianship 2. Library and Information Management 3. Library classif ication- Theory and Practice 4. Library cataloguing and Indexing - Theory and

Practice 5. Information sources and services

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Second academic year

1. Information and communication : Evolution and Development

2. Information Processing and Retrieval 3. Computer applications, Library Automation

and Information Systems. 4. Research methodology and informetrics.

Further. it has listed optional papers under two groups to be opted by students which are two in the first year and two in the final year, one each from Group A and Group B. In other words , the CDC has recommended seven papers (5 + 2) in the previous year and six papers (4 + 2) in the final year.

The individual departments of LIS that offer 2 Year Integrated MLiSc course have devised their own curricular programmes based on their own experiences and suggestions from UGC (India) Panel on LIS Education and Modular curriculum compiled by Large (5) for Unesco keeping in view the local requirements.

However, there is no un iformity either in number or in contents of the curriculum . Table 2 provides details of total number of papers/courses/credits and number of courses on Information Technology. One of the major objectives in switch ing over to Two Year Integrated course from 1 + 1 stream is to produce manpower with skills in handling the current information technolog ies. The aim is to produce pro fessional with high calibre in informatiom technology (IT). Hence , the attempts made in the curriculum to achieve this objective have been discussed in detail here.

Realising the necessity of proper and up-to-date training to the LIS professionals in handling IT, keeping in view the invasion of IT in to th e information sector, all the schools of LIS have included minimum of two papers on IT. As stated by Andrew Larg e. th e LIS teachers/course designers are still in an uncertain state whether "Technology to be taug ht as a subject in its own right or merely as a tool to apply in re levant courses such as information retrieval or budgetting". Hence, they are trying to include as much of IT aspects as possible in the integrated MLiSc curriculum. The basic objective however is to

Vol 46 No l Septe lllht:r 11)1)')

impart to the students, the basic concepts of IT, its application to library environment and practical experience of handling them.

The number of courses in two year programme are not comparable as some universities offer them as full paper/course and some offer them as units/credits. However, a startling revelation is that some universites have just amalgated the BLiSc and MLiSc courses with one or two courses on IT, while some institutions, for example, B.I.T. (Ranchi) has given more emphasis on IT with nine courses including four practicals . The aim of the course is to offer comprehensive instruction in all the aspects of information science and technology with part icular emphasis on the practical aspects. Madras University offers foundation courses on IT during 2nd semester and the student has an option to select the further advanced courses on IT. This is definitely a welcome feature as the student is not compelled to learn the areas in which he is not interested. Further, the student may choose under 'Elective' any other courses as may be offered by other departments.

To real ise the objectives, the course contents on IT have been well designed and broadly the components includes:

IT concept - impact on library environment

Computers - Hardware , auxi liary storage media. software;

Languages - +Basic , PASCAL , COBOL or C, C++ etc.

Packages - word processor, dBase, CDS/ISIS Fi le structure a nd da tabas e development and manage ment , office automation .

Knowledge based systems - Expert Systems, A.1. Application of

Computers to LIS - Planning, design and Multimedia

implementation, technology and Libraries.

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R S R VARA LAKSHMI

Communication Technology - Hardware and software, Data

Transm iss ion, media and equip-ment ; Fi le transfer. ISDN techniques and services.

Resource sharing and networking

Electronic dissemination of information - E-mail. tele-computer

conferencing, telelinklvideo text , telefacsimile

Online information retrieval

Online information industry - Systems and Services.

The course contents, may be under different nomencla ture , are spelt out clearly and are designed to execute thEl objectives stipulated for the course .

Pract ical component is the back bone of any professional course . In LIS education , so far practice is being offered in cla ssific at ion , cataloguing , sources etc. However, IT demands sk ills in handling the compl ex info rmation environment. Hence, hands on practice is vital to wo rk with LANS , man aging client server environment and network access to explore data bases, create electronic information packages and distribute them electronically. The University of Madras and B.I.T. (Ranchi) are in fore front in offering practical exposure . Madras university has introduced the concept of compulory internship that has been valued as two credits besides the regular practical hou rs: while B.I.T. offers (a) software lab , (b) online information access, LAN , CDS/ISIS, Foxpro , ORACLE etc . labs and (c) Unix and C Lab as three separate practical courses. Mangalore University offers (a) computer Basics practicals and (b) Computer applications practicals as two separate papers. Andhra University specified two hours per week for cornputer practicals . Bishop Heber College regularly conducts workshops on Library Software packages for students . Other universitie s have not giv en an y addi t iona l weightage to IT practicals in the curriculum.

l OX

Realities

A close observation of the curriculum of 2 Year MLiSc integrated course indicates that much emphasis is given to IT papers/courses . The difficulties in imparting education and training on IT includes:

1. Problems regarding curriculum

Indeed the curriculum is overloaded, With too much attention on what and why aspects and little practice to know how it works. Only few Universities such as Madras, Mangalore and B.I.T (Ranchi) etc. have specified practicals as a separate paper. Others ha\'~ not made any equal division of hours for practicals ; IT courses are also overloaded w ith the inclus ion of computer la nguages , packages etc . However, the quick changes and expansions of IT make it difficult for LIS Schools to cope with the situation and the courses require restructuring within no time; In genera l, it appears that emphasis is to impart academic education rather than profeSSional education.

2. La'ck of workshop cum laboratory

In many universi ties , the course has been introduced without a we ll equipped laboratory. In A.P., only one university out of three institutions offering the course has computer lab of its own in the department premises. In Karn ataka, two schools of LIS , offering integrated course are depending on the university library. Dependence on university library or any other department is not advisable as adequate time will not be available to teach and learn. Under these ci rcumstances it may be over enthusiastic to think about modems, network facilit ies and multi -media envi ronment.

3. Lack of expertise

For effective teaching , adequate number of teachers are requ ired . But some universities do not have the staff strength as prescribed by the CDC (UGC) . Further, the advanced courses demand for expert teachers in the field of IT. Though some of the teachers have been trained for fou r weeks or six weeks by training course sponsored by UGC, DRTC/INSDOC, this is not sufficient to teach many aspects of IT and their

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competencies may not"be sufficient to produce an "Information consultant".

4. Problems faced by students

The students enter the course with different levels and backgrounds and those with scientific background are more receptive to IT courses than others. Hence, it becomes difficult to achieve the level of practice and competency expected from the students . Further, as has already been stated, though the medium of instruction is English, the students prefer to write their exams in their regional languages . The literature on LIS and specifically it is available only in English, Which the student feels is a big hindrance.

Suggestions

The LIS Schools have to equip themselves with necessary infrastructure i.e. staff and equipment before introducing the integrated programme. Practical component is of utmost importance in LIS education to acquire the basic skills required . The laboratory/library has the potential to link theory with practice. Hence, field work in existing library system or an internal lab/l ibrary training should be given priority in the LIS curriculum. This is a fact emphasised many a times by all LIS academicians and professionals .

A separate paper/course on IT practicals has to be introduced, wherever it is not existing at present. There is a dire need to develop teachers with IT specialisation or it is worth to take the help of computer specialists as part time teachers as being pract ised by some universities. English shou ld be made as medium of instruction and examinat ion . To impart technological innovation related to networks at national and international level, simulated packages as an alternate to real work situation may be developed by UGC with suggestions from the panel on LIS.

Teaching Methods

The traditional lecture method plays a major role in imparting education in this advanced course. It is widely accepted that the departments need to have the basic teaching aids and should 'be developed as 'workshop-cum -info rmation

Vol 4() No 3 September 1999

processing lab'. The practical component of the profession demands for a practical approach in teaching and supplant the lectures.

Realities

It is apparent that the departments have to rely on conventional teaching methods due to lack of funds to apply educational technologies to enrich their lectures. This makes the student do the course with little enthusiasm . Moreover, teaching computers without a computer system is like attempting to teach 'cycling ' theoretically.

Suggestions

The teachers have to supplant their traditional lecture methods with latest educational technologies. If funds are available, they may develop models to teach the courses , otherwise they may take the students to a real situation . that is, a well equipped , well organised library with IT facilities. The sincere efforts of the teachers surely inculcate the required enthusiasm and motivation among the students , Compulsory internship programme as has been introduced by University of Madras may be adopted by all the universities.

Evaluation

The method of evaluation of library schools varies . Each university conducts its own examination either in semester or year end pattern. As pointed out by Isaac [6]. what is of greatest importance is that in any system of evaluation there should be as close a partic ipation of the tacher as possible , as he is the one who can best judge his student. Table - 3 reveals the existing system of evaluation followed in the universities under study.

The duration of examination is generally 3 hours but for practicals, Mysore University has allotted 4 hours while Karnatak has allotted 2 hours for computer practical examination . Universities like Andhra, Sri Venkateswara, Nagarjuna, Karnatak have only double or external valuation , while the other universities have internal assessment marks. Here again there is no uniformity in the evaluation methods.

109

R 5 R VARA LAKSHMI

S.No.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11 .

12.

13.

14.

Name of the Univ./ Department

Andhra

B.I.T.

Bishop Herber College

Gulbarga

Karnatak

Kuvempu

Mangalore

Nagarjuna

NEHU

Sri venkateswara

Univ. of Calcutta

Univ. of Madras

Univ. of Mysore

Vidyasagar

Table 3

System of Evaluation

Nature of the Examination

Year-end examination

Exam at the enci of each semester

Exam at the end of semester





Exam at the end of each semester


Exam at the end of each semester


I.A.: lnternal Assessment; U.E.University Eixaminatiol1 (E;xternal)

I I ()

Methodof evaluation

Double valuation . 100 marksper paper

I.A.(though Quiz , Seminar& Project reports) + U.E.

I.A. 25 + U.E. 75

100 marks per paper

I.A. 20 +U.E. 80

I.A. 100 +U.E 600/650 (Iotal per year)

External valuation 100 marks per paper

I.A. 20/25 U.E. 75/80 (varies acc.to course)

Double valuation 100 marks per paper

I.A. 25 + U.E. 75

I.A. 20 + U.E. 80

Ann Lib Sc i Doc


Realities

The semester as well as year end examination methods have the ir own inherent limitations. However, the major defect of the later is evaluation taking the form of testing the capacity of the student to store data in his memory, at the end of the year. There is a need to reduce this disadvantage by giving emphasis to the students performance through out the year. Internal assessment facilitates evaluating the student's participation and performance in Quiz, Seminars, Practicals , field work etc .

Suggestion

Internal assessment, based on scientific principles, is inevitable to judge the theoretical knowledge , practical skills and professional capabilities of the students.

CONCLUSIONS

The key point in the objectives of integrated MLiSc programmes is to produce the 'Best Librarians' suitable to the changing information environment. The Best Librarian, can be defined as the one who can perform on the field adopting latest IT with user needs as the primary criterian . However, the feed back indicates that there are certain pitfalls in the implementation of the courses and achieve the objectives. It is high time for the integrated MLiS programme organisers to do the performance assessment of their programmes and to exploit the possibilities and avoid pitfalls . The attempts made by universities of India, to introduce the integrated MLiSc is, no doubt, a welcome StEW Their efforts to devise a suitable curriculum and


implement the same are commendable . But how far their efforts helped them to achieve the objectives of the course is yet to be seen . More directly, the course organisers have to pay much attention on the competencies and calibre of their products than their marks or ranks . Further, those departments or universities that are planning to switch over to the integrated programme in future, either regular or through corrspondence have to introspect their eligibility to introduce such courses in view of the experience of the sister departments

REFERENCES

1. DAVINSON. Thoughts on Model syllabus for a two year M.Sc. paper (3.2) Seminar on Library and Information Science education in India. Oct, 3-8 , 1977, at Department of Library Science., University of Delhi .

2. CDC. Report of the curriculum Development Committee in Library and Information Science. New Delhi , UGC 1993, p.1 05.

3. Ibid . p.1 06

4. Ibid. p.1 06

5. LARGE (J A). A modular curriculum in information studies prepared by J A Large for the PGI/UNISIST Paris . UNESCO. 1987.

6. ISAAC (KA) . Need for new directions in the teaching of Library Science, National Seminar on Library & Information Science Education in India: New Perspective 1 0-12th Dec. 1986, at Trivandrum.

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the integrated lis education programmes conflict...

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