Training For

Information
Professionals
CONTENTS

o INTRODUCTION
o NEED FOR ENHANCING COMPETENCIES
o BLENDING TRADITION WITH TECHNOLOGY
o INFLUENCE OF OTHER DISCIPLINES
o NEW APPLICATIONS
o TRAINING OF IPs
INTRODUCTION

 Profession is in search of identity

 Sufficiently endeavored to partner in societal & economic

Transformation

 To adopt & adapt contemporary Technology Innovations

 Many convergent factors have influenced the profession

 In this context structuring a dynamic curriculum for manpower

development is a complex task

 This has been a consistent concern of Information Science Schools

 Exercise to review the status of Inf. Science education is on the anvil

 London International Study Centre (LISC) (UK) recommended to
review the future manpower training requirements for Inf. work

 Persistent efforts are made in the task of development of education &

research in Inf. Sc. globally

 Experts opined that now the schools of Inf. studies are not playing the
role they might be expected to play in the emerging Information
Society

 There is a need to review the developments which have taken place in

teaching & research and also need for enhancing competencies
 Human resources is the most valuable resource
 It enables the identification, selection, development & control of
other physical & intellectual resources
 Any plan-sectoral or over all should give emphasis to
development of manpower with appropriate professional
knowledge & skills
 In this fast changing world, there are new demands & influences
on Inf. services - educating & training for Inf. works has focused
upon recordable information, & knowledge, & services &
technologies to facilitate its management & use
 Started with apprenticeship mode to formal degree programmes
FUTURE INFO ROFESSIONALS
ARE EXPECTED TO ASSIST
THE USERS:

by providing them with careful and well organized information,

specially in electronic form

by providing information which has been evaluated & repackaged to

meet their needs precisely

by facilitating their use of both technology & information, so that

information professionals can play a significant part in a “Learning
Society”

Task of Inf. Sc. educators to impart education which transfers

professional skills of acquiring & using inf. in networked society
 The list of positions
below in emerging
careers is suggestive
but not inclusive.
• (Management Information Systems) MIS director • Intellectual and structural capital specialist
• Chief Information Officer (CIO) • Abstractor
• Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO) • Data mining/miner
• Strategic information specialist • Scientific/Technical information specialist
• Imaging (optical imaging, scanning) specialist • Proprietary information specialist
• Micrographics (specialist) • Document accountability specialist
• Legal information specialist/trainer/librarian • Ontologist
• Records manager/ records and information
• Documentalist/documentation specialist
manager (RIM)
•
• Commercial records center
Information scientist
owner/operator/manager/director
• Webmaster
• (Information Resources Manager) IRM
• Indexer
• Marketing research specialist
• Taxonomist/thesaurus developer
• Metadata specialist
• Information broker
• Expert systems specialist • Competitive intelligence specialist
• Medical informatics (informaticist) [related: • Public information officer (or “specialist”)
bioinformatics] • Information manager
 The list of positions
below in emerging
careers is suggestive
but not inclusive.
• Manuscript curator (aka historical manuscripts
curator/librarian)
• Electronic/digital services specialist/librarian
• Cartographic information specialist
• Geographical Information System (GIS) specialist
• Instructional technology specialist
• Database applications specialist/designer
• Hypermedia products developer
• Internet service provider
• Audiovisual specialist
• Visual resources specialist
• Book (or serials) vendor representative
• Information systems/services trainer (internal; e.g.,
training employees in use of systems)
• Online services trainer (external, online customer
training; e.g., Lexis, Dialog)
• Reprography specialist
• Grey literature specialist
• Library consultant (architecture/building OR
automation)
• Bibliotherapist
• Antiquarian book seller/researcher
• LAN (local area network) manager
• Preservationist/conservator
• Public records researcher (or related title)
• Museum librarian
• Bibliographer (subject specialist working in large
research libraries)
• Archivist
• Information architect
• Information designer
• Health information manager (patient records; not to be
confused with medical librarians or clinical librarians)
• Electronic mail manager
• Information center manager
• Information officer (privacy) or Chief Privacy Officer
• Information center manager
Blending Tradition
with Technology

 Scenario of information centres, & services provided by

them, undergoing a transformation due to emergence of
new media
 Information needs of user community taking place due to
need based adoption of IT
 Factors invite serious attention of departments of
information science who produce manpower for managing
information centers
 Till recently more emphasis on teaching of traditional
subject, but teaching with emphasis on IT & practical
aspects of automation received little attention in the
syllabus
Information
Industry has 3
components :

1. Information Content Industry

2. Information Delivery Industry
3. Information Processing Industry
 Functions of the Information Industry
Production

•Many of the producers of information fall outside the bounds of the

information industry proper; these include authors, illustrators, inventors,
and so on.
•However, information is also produced within the industry itself; for
example, companies specializing in data mining use large collections of
data to create usable information products such as customer profiles or
product purchasing trends.
•Also, some of the products generated in the processing of information are
sufficiently novel that processing becomes a form of production
Processing
• Information processing comprises a large portion of the activities
within the information industry; processing transforms information
into products that can be packaged and sold as usable goods.
• For example, publishing a journal involves processing a number
of articles into an edited and integrated package.
• Creating an electronic database of journal articles involves
assembling citations and abstracts for articles from a carefully
selected group of journals and integrating them into a large,
usable database system
 Distribution
• Distribution of information also comprises a large part of industry activity; distribution
includes marketing the information products that were processed and delivering the
products to the customers who purchase them. For example, once an electronic
database of journal articles has been assembled, proper distribution ensures that
potential customers know it exists and that they can access it after purchase.
• When the product is delivered to the customer, that individual might be a librarian or
other information professional.
• This person, who then distributes information to specific information users, is often
called an "intermediary."
• For nonprofit segments of the information industry, such as libraries, this may be
referred to as "access"; rather than delivering information products to customers, they
are making them available to people for their use.
The building of infrastructure
• Such an infrastructure may include, for example, computer hardware
and software, database systems, data science, telecommunications
systems, marketing channels, and other technological and social
structures.
• An important piece of infrastructure that has had a great effect on
the information industry is the Internet; this widely available and
standardized means of transferring electronic information (including
text and graphics) has allowed organizations to move away from
proprietary, dedicated delivery systems and toward integrated,
multiproduct, multivendor access to electronic information products.
 Information Content Industry primarily concerned with developing
products for Web & on-line environment

 Information Delivery Industry consists of creation & management of

telecommunication networks through which Information is transferred &
delivered

 Information Processing Industry consists of products of hardware &

software

 Information Content sector accounts for nearly half of the Information

Industry & is still growing
New Applications are
based on

The three fold transformation,

 Objective of preserving recorded
human knowledge
 Adopting the motto that knowledge is
for use
 Providing global access to information
 The profession has adopted contemporary societal,
economic, technological & educational changes in
its applications
 It has been enabled to acquire capabilities of
adopting them in teaching due to imminent
application in practice
 In modern economy importance of information has
increased & calls for better use of existing services
& continuous improvement of information service to
meet the explicit & implicit needs
 Computers are found successful in
processing & retrieval of information
 Impact of Internet on information services
& concept of digital and virtual are
recognized as emerging fields of study
 Hence need for examining adequacy &
appropriateness of present curricula
Training of IPs

From Diploma level to PhD level

►Local
– UiTM
– UKM
– UIA
– UM
– UNISEL
Functions and
roles of IP
organization
 IFLA (International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions)
 ARA (The Archives and Records Association)
 PPM (Persatuan Pustakawan Malaysia)/Librarians
Association of Malaysia
 PIKOM (Persatuan Industri Komputer dan
Multimedia Malaysia)
 IASL (International Association of School
Librarianship)
 The International Council on Archives (ICA)
Common
Objectives

►Advance the knowledge and

understanding of the information profession
►Promote and maintain high promotional
ethical standards among its members
►Encourage IPs to assemble and to
discuss common issues
►Promote the exchange of information
among IPs and various organizations
from other professions
►Keep the public informed of the
profession and the responsibilities of the
IPs
Professional
associations
►Malayan Library Group -1955
►Library Association of Malaya and
Singapore – 1958
►Persatuan Perpustakaan Malaysia -1963
►Persatuan Pustakawan Malaysia - 1999
Objectives of
PPM
1. To unite all IPs and to formulate standards in all
aspects of the library profession
2. To provide training, improve the status and
prestige of the library profession
3. To observe legislation, to conduct & support
research, publications and communications
pertaining to libraries and librarianship.
Objectives of
IFLA

►Promotes high standards of provision and

delivery of library and information service
►Encourage understanding of the value of
good library and information service
►Represent interest of members throughout
the world
The Archives and Records
Association

What does the ARA do?

• It represents the interests of the record-keeping profession nationally
in discussions with central and local government, with allied
information professionals and with the archive user community.
• It sets standards of professional conduct including maintaining a
professional register.
• It provides, monitors and develops training for present and future
members of the profession.
• It promotes the exchange of expertise and experience among its
members.
• It markets the skills of its members to potential employers
 IASL (International
Association of School
Librarianship)

The objectives of the Association are:

•
To advocate the development of school libraries throughout all countries;
• To encourage the integration of school library programs into the instruction and curriculum of the school;
• To promote the professional preparation and continuing education of school library personnel;
• To foster a sense of community among school librarians in all parts of the world;
• To foster and extend relationships between school librarians and other professions in connection with children and
youth;
• To foster research in the field of school librarianship and the integration of its findings with pertinent knowledge
from related fields;
• To promote the publication and dissemination of information about successful advocacy and program initiatives in
school librarianship;
• To share information about programs and materials for children and youth throughout the international community;
• To initiate and coordinate activities, conferences and other projects in the field of school librarianship and
information services.
PIKOM

►Association of the Computer and Multimedia

Industry
►Formed in 1986
►Objectives
– To create an environment that is conducive to
the health, prosperity and competitive nature of
the Malaysian ICT industry.
The International
Council on Archives
(ICA)
The objectives of the ICA are to:
Advocate
•Encourage and support the development of archives in all countries, in co-operation with other
organisations, including international agencies, governmental and non-governmental.
Professionalise
•Promote, organize and co-ordinate best practice, the development of standards and other activities in the
field of records and archives management.
Connect
•Establish, maintain and strengthen relations between archivists of all countries and between all
institutions, professional bodies and other organisations, public and private, wherever located, which are
concerned with the administration or preservation of records and archives, or with the professional
training of archivists, especially through the exchange of information.
Promote
•Facilitate the interpretation and use of archives by making their content more widely known and by
encouraging greater access to them.
Take action
•Undertake any relevant activities which support its aim.