Document Type : Research Paper
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Abstract
Background: University education is an essential for library and information science with the aim of training skilled human forces for information centers. The present research aims to study the undergraduate curriculum of the field library and information science for identification of the necessary revisions to be made in regulatory and optional bachelor courses at Allameh Tabataba’i University.
Method: This was a descriptive library research with a comparative study design. The data was collected from sources of ATU LIS curriculum, Iranian Undergraduate LIS program documents, Iranian LIS Association, and undergraduate LIS programs of the universities abroad. Results: The results showed that the curricula of LIS have been revised in both Iran and world to become consistent with social and technological developments and improve human forces’ skills. Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, University of Tehran, Shahid Chamran University of Ahwaz, and Alzahra University have all made some changes to their curricula. There was a difference between ATU and the mentioned universities in their LIS curricula from 2003 to 2010, and the centralized new LIS program at ATU was carried out in the first semester of the year 2010-2011. University of North Texas and American Catholic University have jointly presented the minimum courses with 57 credits, and Hawaii University offered the maximum courses with 126 credits; while the Iranian LIS programs offer a total of 80 credits. This difference lies in universities’ various educational policies, and their program’s flexibility is originated from their needs. The course ‘an introduction to reference and information services’ rated first among courses offered by abroad universities getting highest frequency of 11, while the courses ‘information and communications technology’, ‘teaching information technology literacy’, ‘database content evaluation’, ‘interpersonal communication skills for librarians’, ‘data security’, ‘marketing of information products and services’, ‘vocabulary design’, ‘preservation management’, ‘introduction to cognitive science’, ‘introduction to multimedia technology and resources’, and ‘introduction to archival management’ jointly ranked eighth. 41 required specialized courses, and 7 optional specialized courses, i.e. a total of 121 credits regardless of public and basic courses, were suggested. The proposed LIS program with 35 additional credits is expected to create a balance between undergraduate and graduate programs.
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