10,000 Newly Certified Librarians, 100 Secure Jobs

This chapter discusses the status, challenges, and issues encountered in librarianship in Japan, especially school librarianship. Specifically, it focuses on the certifications for school library staff, the curriculum model, and the employability of certified librarians. Topics related to Library and Information Studies schools, training programs for certified librarians, summer and distance education, qualifications and accreditation of teacher librarians are discussed as well. Currently, librarianship and school librarianship are not close to implementing internationalization; however, this discussion cannot be avoided. Hence, this chapter argues that it is necessary to incorporate the specific trends in Japan along with global trends.

Educating the Central Asian Librarian

Why do Central Asian librarians enter the profession, and how do they decide which educational strategies to pursue in developing their careers? Using 13 conversations and 10 qualitative interviews with Kazakh and Kyrgyz librarians, this chapter finds that librarians enter the profession due to personal interest, by happenstance, or for university funding and continue when they perceive an opportunity for career growth as well as salary mobility. Central Asian librarians evaluate their educational options, including local bachelor's degrees; distance education from Russia; MLIS programs in Asia, Europe, or America; and short-term online training, while balancing family responsibilities and career prospects in and outside of librarianship. Prospects for creating a local MLIS or other improved professional training programs are discussed.

LIS Education ASEANization

Although ASEAN integration commenced in 2015, achieving its goals is a work in progress. New opportunities for growth and prosperity are likely to emerge, but the colossal challenge is to ensure quality. This chapter discusses the mechanisms, procedures, and processes towards desired quality of LIS education to be globally competitive and regionally recognized. It further explains the qualifications framework and quality assurance compliance and its impact on developing competencies and recognition in the ASEAN labor market. The discussion puts emphasis on the status of LIS education in the Philippines as an empirical case, and further discusses the future directions towards achieving a system-wide evaluation of quality, articulation of a system of pathways and equivalencies, quality assurance and harmonization of LIS curriculum.

Library Education and Librarianship in Japan and the Philippines

This chapter presents the development of library education and librarianship in Japan and the Philippines, two countries whose modern library development was influenced by and patterned after American librarianship and library education system. Extant archival documents and current literature about Japanese librarianship in the English language were the primary sources of information presented in this chapter, as well as interviews with library educators from Tenri University, Doshisha University, Tsurumi University, Keio University, and University of Tsukuba and some key officials of the Japan Library Association. Research instruments include semi-structured interview questions for the respondents. Qualitative data from the available literature and supplementary interviews were analyzed and presented in detail.

Role of Academic Libraries in the Accreditation Process

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the policies and procedures needed for the accreditation of academic institutions by various agencies. In the case of India, a number of accreditation bodies visit academic institutions to accredit the programs and to analyze various facets to assure that standard policies and procedures are in place. The policies and procedures adopted by various accreditation bodies such as AICTE, UGC, NAAC, ABET, etc. recognize the courses offered by the institutions, whereas agencies like Times Higher Education, QS Ranking, NIRF (India) are playing a key role in the ranking of the institutions. Libraries are always one of the important criteria for accreditation as well as ranking. The purpose is to identify the key expectations from these bodies for library science education and libraries in terms of collection, services, and other important aspects which help to achieve an institution's success.

Internationalization of Library and Information Science Education in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

Internationalization of education is of particular importance both for improving the quality of library and information education and for strengthening scientific, cultural, and political development in countries in Central Asia. The discussion in this chapter is divided into two parts: 1) library and information education in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan as part of the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union, which specifically provides an overview of the current policies of the higher education internationalization, current state of library development and library education, the challenges and recommendations for improvement; and 2) challenges and opportunities common in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan and a general conclusion internationalization of Library and information science education in these four countries.

Internationalization of Library and Information Science Education in Central Asia

In the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) with the total population over 50 million people, there are more than 25 thousand libraries. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan are two of the countries that made strides in economic reforms along with other areas of development, including the libraries. This chapter, which emphasizes the development of Library and Information Science education, provides an overview of the current policies of the higher education internationalization and the current state of library development and library education. From the current initiatives, challenges and opportunities are drawn, and a summary on similar internationalization practices are presented.

Globalization in LIS Education

Globalization can be seen to impact Library and Information Science (LIS) education as global processes and practices influence policies and structures, pedagogy, faculty, research, and collaboration. Globalization and internationalization are employed interchangeably in much professional literature, but the latter is a more prominent concept in LIS education. Internationalization in LIS has been discussed in Europe and the US in light of its impact on learning, academic mobility, research collaboration, and international partnerships. This chapter focuses on iSchools being in the frontier of internationalization in addressing the need in higher education to reach across national borders, specifically in South Korea and the Philippines. The discussion focuses on the development shown by two countries in integrating international and global dimensions into the curriculum, faculty composition, research, student support, and global linkages/partnership.

The Changing Curricula of LIS Education in Southeast Asia

LIS education in Southeast Asia is undergoing exciting changes. A newfound interest by LIS educators, in enhancing and modernizing the curricula, is occurring. Several factors are driving this. One is technology. Automated library management systems, online databases, websites, mobile applications, and more are all forcing LIS curricula to modernize. Another force is internationalization. As libraries in some SEA countries adapt to new, international standards and trends, libraries in neighboring SEA countries must either adapt as well or become incompatible. And still another force is new generations of library professionals. New LIS faculty in SEA countries, with exposure to training abroad, are bringing changes and ideas to reflect the new needs and opportunities of library environments. This chapter will reflect the author's own research, as well as library literature, in discussing the background, current status, and future outlook of LIS education in Southeast Asia.

Diversity, Indigenous Knowledge, and LIS Pedagogy

While the rest of the world discusses how Library and Information Studies (LIS) can best cope with the emerging trends in technology and global information platforms, there are parts of the world that do not offer LIS programs. This chapter provides insights on the development of LIS qualification that recognizes the needs of librarians in Vanuatu. The Ni-Vanuatu competency index serves as a reference for the skills required to deliver services and resources to their clients. The importance of having a functional program that integrates the uniqueness of Vanuatu's cultural diversity and indigenous knowledge is the primary discussion for this chapter. It is too early to discuss the steps for meeting the criteria for the qualifications framework as the program is not in place. Still, the focus of what kind of LIS Education suits Ni-Vanuatu librarians is the beginning of the conversation.