Relevance of Library and Information Science Education in the Indian Job Market: A study of Indian Universities and Corporate Libraries

Abstract

1. INTRODUCTION The Library and Information Science (LIS) education has taken a sea change when we look at the transformations it has taken place over the years, be it in the international level or in the national level. Changes in context, technologies and organizational approaches have changed roles and functions of all types of LIS organizations. New roles demand fresh set of competencies from the professionals who have to work in LIS organizations. In today’s world, library and information science professionals occupy a very important and responsible position where they are to carry on the regular professional duties assigned to them with the expectation that they have good knowledge of the changes that are brought about by Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The challenges of providing quality information have become routine necessities in the libraries and these necessities are the accepted measure of productivity of a professional. Today’s requirements of fast and efficient service delivery have necessitated induction of ICT and digitization concepts to the present LIS curriculums. Such expectations in the work place can be met by aligning the curriculum of the concerned discipline. However, the attempt to satisfy the growing need for technological proficiency, which made in road into the work environment of different sectors like corporate and academics, still appears to have been a nonstarter. In such a case, the curriculum of LIS education stand out as the main marker of the training imparted to the library and information professionals for basic essential skills and knowledge to be qualified in the field and also to meet the challenges brought about by the dynamic information society. A pertinent question that arises here is whether the curriculum imparted to the students in the existing departments running library and information science courses are up-to-date and standardized to cope the changing job market? What is the frequency of major revisions to restructure the existing syllabus for the new age and how much of technological changes are adapted within it? The published literatures revealed negative tendencies and slow pace of changes in the curriculum. Sincere efforts are yet to be done in the national level to prepare a syllabus that took into consideration the global or national necessities of the market and thereby implement a syllabus ever since the Curriculum Development Committee (2001) modular curriculum framed by the University Grant Commission (UGC) . The various significant changes in the profession necessitates a high demand to structure a market oriented futuristic curriculum wherein the expectations are aligned with the job market and the required skill sets are introduced. Taking into consideration the above necessities this study is undertaken, which comprises of the study of post graduate curriculums of Indian Universities, and a study of the job descriptions of LIS professionals in today’s university and corporate Libraries. The study enormously focuses on the critical investigation of the course contents of the post graduate curriculums of library and information science leading to master’s degree on one hand, and a crucial look into the current job necessities arising from the job descriptions on the other hand. Out of the different universities imparting library and information science post graduate courses in India(Wallia,2008), the study examines about 78% of the post graduate curriculums (n=55; total= 72) with a thorough content analysis of the course contents. Correspondingly, the demands of the job market are critically investigated by content analysis of the job descriptions arriving at the job requirements. There are two major concerns- firstly the inclusion of ICT and non ICT course contents in the curricula and secondly the job requirements of corporate and university libraries. No doubt the requirements have changed in the workplace of university libraries with the emergence of ICT but to a certain extent the requirements of corporate libraries demands some more specific expertise in handling the library. The critical examination of the specific needs of the corporate employees should be given due consideration in redesigning the curricula. The non-lucrativeness and the non-abundance of jobs for the LIS professionals are also issues that concern the fraternity that can be solved by dealing first with the course contents. 1. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The rationale behind this study is not only to critically examine the curriculum of the post graduate levels currently followed in India and study the job requirements of university and corporate libraries but also to identify the discrepancies and thereby come up with some concrete measures. A review of the results on earlier empirical studies carried out in India indicates that the variables in the study (curriculum and job requirement) are examined from different perspectives of narrower scales but no studies of the intended magnitude and landscape are done so far. Necessities of looking at the issue with wider coverage are the main reason of why this study is so significant. There is no dearth of suggestions and proposals about the pitfall of Library and Information Science education in India, but the outcomes noted so far show no constructive steps taken to resolve the situation at the grass root level. Reformations taken at the local level from time to time do not lead to the understanding of the current job market requirements at the national level. The standards and uniformity of library and information science education in India should stipulate the levels of program, curriculum and employability. The course content of the curriculum giving different weightages to different aspects of the profession calls for a thorough investigation. Such problems should be meticulously analyzed in order to bring about justifiable comparisons in the contents of the syllabi and the demands in the job market. In view of the above problems and necessities, the study intends to look for possible solutions. It is a step towards bringing about necessary changes and adjustments required to reestablish the relevance of professional trainings. 2. CHAPTERISATION The entire thesis is reported and organized in six chapters. The citations and bibliographical references are prepared using APA citation style. Chapter One provides an overview of library and information science education in India, statement of the problem and significance and importance of the study in Indian context. The chapter also incorporates the operational definition of the terminologies and variables used in the study. Chapter Two deals with an extensive literature review of various areas interconnected to the study. Detailed historical review of the subject and its changes and development in various stages distributed worldwide till the recent that have taken place with reference to India followed by a exhaustive study on the curricular issues in library and information science in the global perspective as well as India in particular has been carried. Numerous amounts of literatures available on published job descriptions of the library and information science professionals working in academic environment and corporate environment in different capacities were also extensively studied and reviewed. Reviews on relevance of the subject to meet with the current job requirement were also collected. Literature review in the study is arranged thematically. Chapter Three deals with an extensive literature review on content analysis. The usage of content analysis in library and information science, reviews of the suitability of content analysis to study the job descriptions and job requirements as well as curriculums were extensively reviewed for the present study. Chapter Four describes the methodology of research, data collection methods and techniques, data collection tools and design of the study with concrete explanation of the variables derived from the objectives. The chapter theoretically explains the samples, design and tools adopted for the study. Chapter Five contains the detail analysis of the data. It also includes the core findings obtained from the statistical analysis and hypotheses tested were elaborated in detail in the chapter. Chapter Six contains the summary of core findings, suggestions and conclusions. Problems were identified and major hypothetical findings lead to derive at possible conclusions. Suggestions were incorporated followed by the conclusion. The conclusion based on the findings help in designing a model curriculum as the major outcome of the study. 3. OBJECTIVES Based on the issues identified, relevant literatures were critically reviewed for the study and an attempt was initiated to arrive at certain conclusions in the light of the following objectives: i. Detailed survey of the library and information science curriculums of Library and Information Science departments in India. ii. Identify areas of course contents given more emphasis by the Library and Information Science departments. iii. Study the differences between job descriptions of university libraries and corporate libraries. iv. Measure the degree of relevance of library and information science curriculum to the job requirement and job description of the employer. v. Study the type of designations and corresponding jobs performed by library and information science professionals. vi. Prepare a model curriculum based on the job descriptions and requirements of the job market in Library and Information Science. In the light of the above objectives mention above, the study is done through content analysis of the relevant data to arrive at a comprehensive model curriculum, designed on the basis of job descriptions of today’s LIS professionals. 4. HYPOTHESES Within the framework of the broad objectives stated above, the present study examined whether the curriculum of post graduate level in Indian universities has relevance in the job description of the employers. The study presumed that the job descriptions of university libraries and corporate libraries do not significantly differ from each other. It is also assumed that the course curriculum of library and information science in India do not significantly vary. With these assumptions in mind, the anticipated hypotheses to be tested are as follows:- Hypothesis # H1: Library and information science curriculum in universities does not match the job description of the employers. Hypothesis # H2: The job descriptions of university libraries and corporate libraries do not significantly differ. Hypothesis # H3: The curriculum contents of library and information science do not significantly vary across the country. 5. METHODOLOGY The methodology used for the study to achieve the above objective is mainly content analysis; although different other methods like interview and email are applied from time to time in the process. Content analysis is a detailed and systematic examination of the contents of a particular body of material in order to identify patterns, themes or biases (Leedy and Ormrod, 2005; Gomm, 2004; Babbie, 2005; Breakwell, Hammond and Feife-Schaw, 1995; Zechmeister and Zechneister, 2006; and Neuman, 2006). Content analysis is used for several reasons. Firstly, since job advertisements act as the “relatively accessible indicators of the knowledge, skills and competencies required … by employers” (Kennan, 2006). An examination of job descriptions would highlight the skills required in the work place and would act as a major instrument in finding out the percentage covered in the course content and the mismatches. The same holds true in analysing the course contents taught across various universities which determine the knowledge, skills and competencies considered valuable for students by the departments offering the library and information science courses. Statistical measures are adopted to test the differences between university and corporate library job requirements. Cluster methods using UCINET (6 versions) is adopted to determine the connection and closeness of the job designations with the job requirements. 6.1 Data Collection and Sample Size In order to arrive at the objectives of the study, two types of data are collected and analysed. They are as follows: • Post graduate library and information science curriculums and • Job descriptions based on job advertisements for identifying the job requirements from university libraries and corporate libraries. Out of 72 universities imparting post graduate regular courses in library and information science in India, the curriculums of 55(fifty five) universities are collected for the study based on the following criteria- a) The department offers a full-fledged Master of Library and Information Science course of two years duration or equivalent, and b) All the selected universities have the concern syllabus revised in the recent years (2008 is the cut off year). . A total of 134 (one hundred and thirty four) job advertisements are collected for the study. Out of these, 53 (fifty three) are from university library job advertisements and 81 (eighty one) are from corporate library job advertisements. The job description samples are collected from online job advertisements posted in different employment websites from April 2009 to December 2012, a period of about 4 years for both the university and corporate libraries. For a job advertisement to be included in the study some basic criteria were followed: They are- (a) the job advertisement should be for university library position and corporate library position only. (b)The corporate library positions were taken from the following corporate sectors: Information Technology, Infrastructure, Energy, Petrochemicals, Automobile, Pharmaceuticals, Financial service, Insurance and banking. The reason for limiting it to these sectors is due to the establishment of functional libraries in these sectors. The post graduate curriculums of the universities mentioned below in the table are used for the present study. SL. NO. NAME OF UNIVERSITIES SL. NO. NAME OF UNIVERSITIES 1. Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) 31. Shivaji University, Kolhapur 2. Andhra University, Vishakhapatnam 32. SNDT Women's University, Mumbai 3. Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu 33. University of Burdwan 4. Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow (BBAU) 34. University of Calcutta 5. Banaras Hindu University(BHU), Varanasi 35. University of Delhi (DU) 6. Bangalore University, Bangalore 36. University of Kalyani 7. Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University (BRAU) 37. University of Kerala, Kerala 8. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU), Aurangabad 38. University of Lucknow 9. Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam 39. University of Mumbai. 10. Gujarat University, Ahmedabad 40. University of Pune 11. Gulbarga University, Gulbarga, Karnataka 41. Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Orissa 12. Jadavpur University, Kolkata 42. Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, W.B. 13. Jiwaji University, Gwalior, M.P. 43. University of Calicut 14. Karnatak University, Dharwad, Karnataka 44. Mahatma Gandhi University 15. Kashmir University, Srinagar (KASH) 45. Dravidian University 16. Kuvempu University, Karnataka 46. Tumkur University 17. Madras University, Tamil Nadu 47. Pondicherry University 18. Madurai Kamraj University, Tamil Nadu 48. DRTC, Bangalore 19. Mangalore University, Mangalore 49. University of Jammu 20. Manipur University, Imphal, Manipur 50. Dibrugarh University 21. Mysore University, Mysore, Karnataka 51. Mizoram University 22. Nagpur University, Nagpur, Maharashtra 52. Karnataka State Women University, Bijapur 23. National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources, (NISCAIR) 53. North Bengal University 24. North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya 54. SMIT Berhampur University 25. Osmania University, Hyderabad, A.P. 55. Assam University, Silchar 26. Panjab University, Chandigarh 27. Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, West Bengal 28. Rajasthan University, Jaipur, Rajasthan 29. Sambalpur University, Sambalpur, Orissa 30. Saurashtra University, Rajkot, Gujarat Table.1 List of Surveyed Universities.

6.2 Statistical Tools Used The entire statistical analysis is carried out using the PASW SPSS 2.0 software and Microsoft-Excel 2010. Tabulation method is used in the entire study to produce the data in the form of tables. Various charts like bar, column and pie are used throughout the study for visual representation of the data in a more suitable way. Following statistical methods are used to test the hypothesis and research question in statement. They are- a. T-test using Microsoft-Excel 2010 is used to measure the differences between the university and corporate library job descriptions. b. Both one-way ANOVA and two-way ANOVA test is used to examine the anticipated hypothesis which states that the course contents of library and information science do not significantly vary across the country. Two-way ANOVA test is also done to examine if there are any significant differences as a whole on the course contents. c. Correlation test is also done to measure significant differences between university and corporate library job requirements. d. Pearson Correlation test is done to measure relevancies among the job requirements and course contents in the library and information science curriculums. 6.3 Classification Tools Used To maintain uniformity in broad subject categorization of the course contents and job requirements, the entire raw data of course contents and job requirements are classified using standard classification tools which are as follows:- a) Sears List of Subject Heading (SLSH), 19th edition. b) Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), 23rd edition.

6. SCOPE AND LIMITATION The scope of the study is mainly limited to the content analysis of the curriculums and job requirements of university and corporate libraries. The study is limited to the sample selected of 55 (fifty five) universities in India offering course content at the post graduate level of higher education and job descriptions of 51 university libraries and 83 corporate sector libraries. Specifically, taking the title of the thesis into account, the job description samples of university and corporate sector libraries are only considered for the study thereby omitting the other libraries, within a stipulated time frame(a period of 4 years). The researcher acknowledges that job descriptions may not fully articulate the hiring organisation's requirements and that the curriculum may not accurately reflect the course contents. Another major limitation in the study is the variables used in the study (curriculum and job requirement) are subject to changes from time to time due to technological or other external variable. Therefore, the study is limited to only certain time frame. As it can be observed that, there are lots of job designations in the market, many job designations may not be identified in the study due to the time frame taken for data collection. This can be considered as another limitation of the study. 7. FINDINGS The inferences drawn from the objectives and hypothesis is unquestionably significant in bringing out a real picture of the present curricula structure and prerequisites by the employers from the LIS professionals. Besides, the study is correspondingly notable in redesigning a model curriculum in the light of the current job requirements. The outcome of the study leads to the following observations: The reviewed curriculums at post graduate level in different universities shows no significant differences with reference to course contents. The findings reported that 6(six) curriculums have an equal proportion of ICT and non ICT course contents, 12(twelve) curriculums have more frequency of ICT based course contents and 37(thirty seven) curriculums have more frequency on non ICT based course contents. Approximately 67% of the curriculums have preferred more non ICT course contents whereas review of the literature and findings of the job market shows that the job market demand more ICT skills in the work place. These shows that the curriculums are not at par with the organizational and institutional demands from the LIS professionals. Another important finding based on content analysis show that, on an average 63% of the course contents in the curriculums are theory based and 37% are practical based. However, remarkably, 4 (four) university curriculums have equal proportion of theory and practical courses. Similarly, findings of the content analysis based on the number of occurrences of the course contents shows 58% as non ICT based and 42% as ICT based from the reviewed curriculums. Whereas on the contrary, unique ICT based course contents appears to be more than non ICT based course contents. The findings reported a total of four hundred (400) course contents extracted from the curriculums. Two hundred and twenty one (221) course contents are reported as ICT based and one hundred and seventy nine (179) course contents as non ICT based. Another major finding reflected in the analysis is, the proportion of course content preferred more in the universities are not the same ones preferred in the job market. There is a big variation of the proportion of course contents in the curriculums and the job requirements. The results thus reported that, an overall restructuring of the course contents is required to make the curriculum suitable to the market demands. The findings in the study also highlight significant variations between course title and course contents that are observed among the different universities curriculums. The major implication of these findings is, the curriculums lack uniformity and standard. This shows the unpreparedness of the curriculums to make the students proficient to compete in the national and international level. In case of two areas i.e. “Dissertation” and “Internship” it could not be identified as to whether these two papers are ICT based and non ICT based. However, findings of the study reported that numbers of occurrences of these two areas in the curriculums are dissertation-29 and internship-3 respectively. The findings of the job designation analysis retrieved twenty nine (29) different job designations out of which eight (8) are from university library job requirement and twenty one (21) are from corporate libraries job requirements. Findings of the analysis reported that, corporate librarian performs the highest number of jobs in the studied corporate sector libraries, whereas assistant librarian in university libraries is observed to perform the highest number of jobs in university libraries. A major implication that is observed from the findings of the analysis is the lack of uniformity in the job activities asked under particular job designations. The results of the university job advertisement samples identified sixty seven (67) job requirements under nine (9) different job designations. Similarly, one hundred and eighty one (181) job requirements are recognized under twenty one (21) different corporate designations. The outcome shows that fifty seven (57) of the job requirements are common for both university and corporate whereas the rest are independent job requirements. However, the findings of the comparative analysis show an enormously huge gap of changes in the number of occurrences in some subject areas like library housekeeping and library automation. These areas are found to be more challenging for university libraries. Whereas, job requirements like handling electronic reference sources and communication skill are observed to be highly favored in a corporate LIS work place. The results show various other gaps which can be identified from table 5.16. Remarkably, a few notable areas like knowledge management, personnel management and knowledge in computer storage devices are found to be equally demanded for both university and corporate set up. Another important finding of the data analysis shows 53% relevance of existing courses to the current job requirements with a mix of 23% of non ICT based course content and 30% ICT based course content. 47% of the course contents are not observed in any of the job advertisement analysed as job requirements. Thus, subject analysis of course contents in LIS curriculums with the existing job market prove that there is a huge gap of differences between the existing reviewed LIS courses and the job requirements. Most notably, the results showed that, areas like ‘database development and programming’, ‘expertise in in-house developed software’ (table 5.20) are missing in the academic course content, whereas these areas have considerable demands in the workplace of corporate set up. Review of the preceding analysis draws us to assume that, the most demanding subject categories are not adequately incorporated in the curriculums. Other major findings on the basis of the hypotheses are as follows- The findings of hypothesis H1 leads to the conclusion that a slight correlation is observed between university job requirement and course content which indicates that some kind of relation is there between university job requirement and existing curriculums. But no positive relation is observed with respect to corporate sector job requirements. The findings are stated in table 5.22. For hypothesis H2 statistical analysis shows a significant difference at 1% interval between university and corporate library job requirement. Therefore, the null hypothesis which is non-operational in the study may be rejected and an alternative hypothesis may be accepted. Other important findings reported from the anticipated hypothesis H3 is, the curriculum contents do not significantly differ across the country. 8. SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION Based upon the findings the following suggestions are made -The broad objective of the study focuses on designing a model curriculum. To bridge the gap between the existing curricula and job requirements, the findings of this work can be implemented by assigning the required weightage to specific broad categories of course contents in the model curriculum. Such exercise of job market survey should be a mandatory and on-going for all LIS departments at all times. An important area that stand out from all the concepts are ICT application in libraries which has been highly recommended in different types of libraries and library environments. This area is highly dynamic and calls for periodic update which can be handled by introducing on-the-job professional trainings. The skill required from the LIS professionals appears enormously broad which may be impossible to cover within two years’ time. However, this timeframe shall prevail, as suggested by UGC guidelines. There is need to branch out LIS courses to different branches of specializations. Internship can be considered for a period of 6 months to 1 year after completion of the course. In India, the analysis reveals an urgent need to articulate the knowledge (theory, skills, and practical), which could be packed in the Library and Information Science curriculum. This will enabled to develop a viable curriculum finding a balance between the traditional and modern practices, skills and techniques. As per the guideline of University Grants Commission, New Delhi in its eleventh plan, directed the Universities in the country to implement the Choice Based Credit System (Semester Scheme) in both the under-graduate and post-graduate programs. The Choice Based Credit System makes the product of a University at par with the global practices in terms of academic standards and evaluation strategies In the emerging scenario of Internationalization of Indian Higher Education, it is imperative that the universities in India should follow this system so that the mobility of their products both within and across the geographical jurisdiction becomes possible.