LIS undergraduate education in New Zealand: Development and contemporary issues.

Abstract

This chapter reviews and discusses Library and Information Science (LIS) undergraduate education in New Zealand over the past 30 years, and identifies issues and research needs. It examines contemporary issues facing LIS education in a rapidly changing information environment, affected by a particular historical and social context and changes to the higher education sector nationally and internationally. Issues include professionalization, the tension between education and continuing professional development, the difficulty of keeping programmes up to date and reflective of industry needs in times of fiscal restraint, and the complexities of the particular student body, as well as changes in the LIS sector more generally. It highlights research needs and shows how professional associations and LIS educators are addressing these issues through a range of solutions designed to strengthen the library, records, and archives professions.