mariabrioso

Preferences for course delivery in library and information science programs: a study of master’s students in Canada and the United States

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Table 2. Delivery Preferences for LIS Core Content Areas (n=891)

Objectives: This paper reports on Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) students’ preferences for course delivery (online, blended or face-to-face) and how their preferences differ based on demographic variables. This research is part of a bi-national study that investigated the motivations and experiences that MLIS students had with online education, while completing their graduate degree in an American Library Association (ALA)-accredited institution.

Methodology: The study used an online survey to gather data from Master’s degree students enrolled in LIS programs accredited by ALA, a professional association which accredits programs in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada. The online questionnaire was administered with the assistance of the administration and their student associations of LIS programs. Thirty-six programs from Canada and the US were represented by the 1,038 students who responded to the online survey. Respondents who had taken and completed at least one online course constituted the sample (n=910) that was used for analysis and the reporting of the results.
— Results: The findings show that there were five statistically significant indicators associated with preferred instructional delivery for MLIS core courses: age (generational cohort), employment status, metro status, commute distance, and program modality. The results show that younger students who had part-time employment, resided in urban areas, and lived closer to the campus showed greater preference for a course delivery mode that required some form of in-person instruction (face-to-face or blended) than their older peers who had full-time employment, resided in rural areas, and lived farther from campus.

“Participating in what? And for whose benefit?”. Notes on collective participation and creation

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  [Versió catalana] [Versión castellana] Antoni Roig Lecturer Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences Universitat Oberta de Catalunya aroigt@uoc.edu     As the title of an essay written in response to Martin Butler’s discussion of the “precarious alliances” that constitute participatory cultures, cultural theorist Henry Jenkins’s pithy “Participation? It’s Complicated” (Jenkins, 2015) makes the situation … Read more

The evolution of the Web of Science from the Science Citation Index

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  [Versió catalana] [Versión castellana] Eugene Garfield Doctor Honoris Causa Universitat de Barcelona eugene.garfield@thomsonreuters.com     A month ago, I was informed by Professor Ernest Abadal that I should prepare a brief comment for this occasion. Since I was not told what subject to address, I assumed that it would be relevant to discuss the … Read more

Change and Innovation in European Library and Information Science Education

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This review article examines current trends and developments in higher education and considers how library and information science institutions have responded to these. The contribution of LIS institutions to innovation and change in Europe is examined through institutional case studies in the following institutions: the Institute of Information Science and Information Systems, University of Graz, Austria; the Institute of Information Studies of Tallinn University, Estonia; the Department of Library Science and Information Systems, the Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece; the Faculty of Communication of Vilnius University, Lithuania; and the Swedish School of Library and Information Science, University of Borås, Sweden. This paper follows up the study conducted in 2003 by Virkus and Wood (2004, 2005), who analyzed trends and developments in higher education and the responses to these by LIS institutions. The findings of the study are used to identify the main challenges for LIS education.

Library and Information Education in Europe: an overview

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The article describes the current situation of Library and Information Science (LIS) education in the European Union. European centres offering LIS-related programmes were identified using an IFLA directory and were classified in eight disciplines. The characteristics of the undergraduate and graduate programmes offered by these schools and departments, and any experience of domestic or international collaboration, were recorded through visits to their websites. The results show the absence of a common European approach to LIS education and a very low level of activity in domestic or international partnerships. Most undergraduate degrees combine a grounding in general culture with courses in technology, languages and practical training. In many cases there are no clear differences between undergraduate and graduate programmes; the programmes have similar names and no target audiences are specified. In addition to the general postgraduate degrees in librarianship and archive studies, most programmes revolve around digital curation, business information services and data analytics.

New career opportunities and their impact on Library and Information Science degrees, an exploratory study

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In the USA and Canada, there has been considerable effort on the part of program providers of professional degrees in Library and Information Science to expand job opportunities for graduates of their programs beyond the traditional placement in libraries. This has led to the development of specializations in topics such as Data Curation and Data Analysis. In other cases, new degrees in Information Management and Knowledge Management have been developed and offered in the effort of improving job placement results of graduates. Expanding placement opportunities for graduates of programs educating information professionals is often referred to as developing alternative career opportunities to the traditional jobs for information professionals in libraries and related organizations such as archives and museums. Such programs often focus on the broader term information and promote education and research for the information professions beyond the traditional LIS professions in libraries and related institutions. A number of schools no longer offer LIS degrees, but offer degrees in Information instead. This paper examines the patterns of name changes found in degrees and programs in schools with American Library Association accredited programs and presents an analysis of the reported impact on alternative and/or new career opportunities on the graduates specifically with Information Management degrees. Suggestions are made for further research needed to determine the success of these new degrees as well as issues related to the relevance of accreditation of programs by the American Library Association in the context of the changes taking place in LIS education.

Research challenges: The pathway to engagement and progress

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  [Versió catalana | Versión castellana] Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D Senior Research Scientist OCLC Research connawal@oclc.org   When I was invited to speak about the challenges of library and information science (LIS) research at the III International Seminar on LIS Education and Research (LIS-ER) I was honored but as an optimist wanted to also call … Read more

The knowledge hierarchy: does DIK really lead to W?

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  [Versió catalana | Versión castellana] Julià Minguillón Lecturer Computing, Multimedia and Telecommunications Studies Universitat Oberta de Catalunya jminguillona@uoc.edu     In today’s information society our intangible assets count for more than our tangible ones, and knowing how to use a product or service is considered more important than understanding how it was conceived or … Read more

The Filmoteca de Catalunya: conservation and dissemination of film culture

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Figura 1. Seu de la Filmoteca de Catalunya a Barcelona

La Filmoteca de Catalunya té com a missió principal recuperar, conservar, investigar i difondre les pel·lícules i les obres audiovisuals, així com els materials, documents, equips i qualsevol altre element que sigui d’interès per a l’estudi del cinema i l’audiovisual en general, i del cinema català en particular. En essència, conservar i difondre la cultura cinematogràfica. Es descriuen les àrees que contribueixen a aquesta fita i es reflexiona sobre la necessitat d’oferir un servei fiable i professional a la ciutadania, les institucions i les empreses amb interessos en el sector cinematogràfic.

The digital restoration of film

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Aquest article tracta sobre la conservació i la restauració de pel·lícules amb tecnologies digitals. Les pel·lícules, com a expressió de la memòria col·lectiva, formen part del patrimoni comú de la humanitat, i mereixen ser preservades i difoses. Per això, la qüestió de la preservació dels materials cinematogràfics està guanyant pes, sobretot si tenim en compte la fragilitat estructural i la curta durada de l’estoc de pel·lícules.

L’estat actual del mitjà audiovisual és de transició: a poc a poc l’element analògic i fotoquímic és substituït pel sistema digital. I això influeix molt en les pràctiques de producció i distribució del cinema, i també en els debats teòrics sobre el mitjà: els criteris d’arxivament i els processos de restauració no són una excepció a aquesta lògica.