Training and development of skills in a changing information environment
| Published date | 01 March 1999 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435129910251566 |
| Pages | 100-104 |
| Date | 01 March 1999 |
| Author | Cephas Odini |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Training and
development of skills in
a changing information
environment
Cephas Odini
Introduction
At the Library Association Conference in
1974 Peter Havard-Williams said:
Modern society is characterised by change: there
is a restless desire to modify institutions, to alter
individuals if we can, to change patterns of
organisation. Since the Second World War, we
can see an eagerness for an ever-increasing
tempo in the development of social change ...
society in general therefore is concerned to
achieve institutions that meet the challenge of
change, even if the goal to which change is
directed is not always too well defined ...
(Havard-Williams, 1974).
The challenges posed by the accelerating pace
of change in the world of information must be
examined in order to answer some of the key
questions posed to librarians and other
information professionals by this revolution as
they attempt to come up with solutions to the
new century’s information needs. As librar-
ians and information professionals in general
move faster and further into the age of
automation, for example, it becomes even
more necessary to review training needs and
development of information skills.
It is important for those involved in the
training of librarians to devote considerably
more time and energy not only to the process
of implementing change but to establishing it
and gaining acceptance of it. Managing
change means taking control of and shaping
the direction, then influencing in some way
the outcome of change.
The emerging market for librarians and
information workers in general ranges from
computer technology and records manage-
ment to information repackaging and
journalism. According to Aina (1993) the rate
at which computer technology and commu-
nications technology are being imported into
Africa is growing steadily, and the associated
use of these technologies with information is
becoming a reality. Hence, a majority of the
organisations which in the past would have
employed information professionals with
skills in traditional librarianship alone, are
beginning to hire only information profes-
sionals with combined skills in librarianship,
computer and communications technology,
and publishing.
Rosenberg (1989) conducted a study in
Kenya which revealed that out of the 191
vacancies advertised in the national news-
papers in two years, 60 per cent were outside
The author
Cephas Odini is Dean of the Faculty of Information
Sciences at Moi University, Kenya.
Keywords
Development, Information, Organizational change,
Training
Abstract
Presented at the SCANUL-ECS Conference held in Kenya
23-26 July 1998. Discusses the challenges posed by the
accelerating pace of change in the world of information,
especially in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa and
stresses the importance of managing the change in order
to meet the needs of library users. Recognises the need
for training institutions to review information training
needs, and to design an appropriate curriculum to
produce graduates with the right skills for a rapidly
changing information environment. Observes that the
curriculum should try primarily to develop attitudes rather
than to drill in techniques. But the subjects of information
science disciplines, by their very nature and because of
the students’ future needs when they enter the workforce,
must be concerned chiefly with practice. Recommends
that information on training institutions in Africa should
continue to reduce the lecture method in the training and
development of skills in education and training of
students. Stresses the importance of continuing education
and of incorporating new specialisations and new
professional practices into the curriculum, as soon as they
emerge.
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100
Library Management
Volume 20 .Number 2 .1999 .pp. 100–104
#MCB University Press .ISSN 0143-5124
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