Education for twenty‐first century librarians
| Published date | 01 December 2004 |
| Date | 01 December 2004 |
| Pages | 337-339 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07378830410570430 |
| Author | Michael Seadle |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
Editorial
Education for
twenty-first century
librarians
Michael Seadle
The author
Michael Seadle is Editor of
Library Hi Tech
.
Keywords
Germany, Library studies, Information science
Abstract
Humboldt University invited experts to Berlin recently to offer
advice about its library science program. While the education of
librarians for the twenty-first century needs to include practical
training, those who plan to work in a research environment, or
who want a research degree like a PhD, need to acquire a
methodology that grounds their work in an established scholarly
context.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is
available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
Introduction
Humboldt University invited me to Berlin recently
to serve as an “expert” for a group making some
fundamental decisions about their library science
program, with implications for the rest of
Germany. In reality I am no expert, at least as far as
curriculum development and teaching standards
go, but the focus of the meeting dealt with broad
issues relating to basic research, the nature of
information, and the extent to which librarians
need formal academic training.
As someone whose own research methodology
is largely anthropological, I was conscious of my
role as both a foreign expert and someone chosen
because he is familiar with German language and
German culture. Unfortunately this knowledge
included little about the education of German
librarians. I had to rely on friends to educate me
fast[1].
Library education in Germany
The German model for library education
emphasizes practical training. Most librarians
receive training at technische Hochschulen, often
translated as polytechnics or technical colleges, not
at ordinary universities. Many of the teachers have
PhDs from other disciplines, but not in library
science. Humboldt is at present the only library
school in Germany that can offer doctorates in
library science. German library schools also offer
different training, depending on what kind of job
people expect in a library.
For example, the Bavarian Library School, like
many others, offers three levels of degrees
(Bayersiche Staatsbibliothek, 2004). The lowest
level requires only ten years of schooling, and
trains people for what in the USA might be called
“support staff ” jobs. The middle level requires the
German high school diploma or Abitur, which
includes one to two years of a US college
curriculum. And the third and highest level
requires some form of completed university study
and generally a PhD. Since the administrative
ranks of German librarians come mainly from the
latter category, their academic credentials often
outweigh those of transatlantic colleagues. They
also have research specializations that resonate
with the teaching faculty at German universities.
Thus the system effectively combines practical,
hands-on, library-oriented training with serious
Library Hi Tech
Volume 22 · Number 4 · 2004 · pp.337-339
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited · ISSN 0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/07378830410570430
Received: 4 September 2004
Revised: 6 September 2004
Accepted: 6 September 2004
337
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