Abstract

The arrival of the "Information Age" has brought competition and many challenges to the library world. The trend of these challenges requires stronger initiatives by library educational institutions to design and develop new curricula for the librarians and information professionals of the twenty first century. One such factor will be the adaptation of technologies and telecommunication systems. These will become the defect medium for the future exchanges, access, and transfer of information in the global societies.

This paper will describe issues library schools must address in order to prepare the twenty first century information professionals. It will also suggest a practical and systematic approach to library and information educational institutions in order for them to meet the continuous changes in the information world. In addition, the library curricula should include a component related to humanistic concerns.

Maximum preparation for the information professionals offers a degree of vision and the broadest resource base for technological adaptability, growth, creativity, productivity, professional and high performance. These are the attributes information professional will need to survive and thrive amid the rapid and foreseeable changes of the twenty first century. Library schools must develop a strategy of redefining, re-examining, rethinking, redesigning, and restructuring many aspects of library and information science education. Information professionals of tomorrow desire a world class education in library and information science, but they must also keep pace in the profession through continuing education for a rapidly changing world.

Library and Information Studies has survived for more than one hundred years and for most of the time it has flourished. The fact that it has flourished and that it has done so in time of rapid political, economical, and technological changes. As we are approaching the 21st century, many different challenges are ahead and the present growth of information resources will even bring a larger number of challenges in the foreseeable future.

When looking at the future of library and information science education the primary question before us is, how will library schools prepare themselves to meet those new challenges. In order to meet these challenges it is necessary that library schools should look into their external and internal environments. Library educators of the future must have a good understanding of the coming situation of the 21st century and beyond. Their students need to be equipped with knowledge and skills of technology and its usefulness to society as a whole. One of the things that library educators can do is to provide the foundation so that new professionals of the 21st century can keep their knowledge and understanding of integrating technology and other forms of information process (1) to serve their clientele (2) to make decisions or solve problems.(Malinconico 1992).

LIS Leadership is Needed

Library and information schools should also assume a leadership role in the emerging information society. This is probably one of the greatest need in the library profession. Only by assuming the leadership role can library education guaranty the smooth transition from traditional to more technological oriented library service. Various kinds of leadership is also needed in library and information science education. The schools should also take responsibility in leading the profession to the 21st century. Another area for which library educators should be leading is in the area of analyzing trends, formulating predictions, and acting as reporters to the field of changes they see coming (Lemke 1987). These changes should be included in the curriculum of the school and should also suggest how to respond to the technological as well as the social changes. Future information professionals need to understand the principles of free access which in no doubt be the major public policy issue of the decade and in to the next century no matter in what service format will be used. Library and information science students must be taught how to exploit the resources that will allow them to anticipate the future and avoid becoming obsolete and irrelevant as information professionals to the individuals they will serve in an information based society. The time of wait and see has gone. Those that strike first will be the winners. Lancaster's model of libraries without bricks and mortar and librarians functioning independently of physical libraries is becoming a virtual reality. Library and information science schools will bear responsibility and leadership to provide the training and expertise to students so that they will be able to manage such a library of the future.

Moreover, information is increasing in quantity and quality. The information manager of tomorrow should posses three sorts of traits: (1) skills in technical matters related to information handling such as indexing, programming, and cost analysis; (2) an orientation toward serving people and, (3) leadership in management skills. Management skills should include effective information resources management, both electronic and print. It should also include interpersonal skills, and an understanding of diversity values. Since libraries of the future will face a tremendous change in their structure, future information professionals should be taught how to create new knowledge such as: changing and designing of new buildings, managing new technologies, restructuring staff, organizations of new services, and eliminating services no longer needed. The information professional must work for equity by determining how to deal with the information rich and information poor issues and strategizing how to close the gap that will be created as a result of these changes.

Another concern in the education of future library and information education is attempting to determine what the future of information needs of our society will be. An important step in this process should be an assessment of the information needs of users and non users of libraries. What are the information needs of the people? In the next 20 years from now, how can these needs be met by librarians and information professionals. Without these relevant questions answered the future is difficult to forecast or predict as to what change will bring. Information professionals of the future should be educated to think and plan ahead rather than react to situations.

Need for Specialization

During the 1960s, library schools started to emphasize specialization that the profession might need. Ten years later that direction was changed to specialization by type of client served, such as: services to students, recreational users, service to business, and by type of information; students began to prepare themselves to be information managers, indexers, public librarians, special librarians and, library educators. The emerging information technology brought specialized professional positions such as : "information broker", on-line searcher, some schools offer subject specialist courses in medical informatic, law librarianship, archives, rare books, music, art, publishing and ethnic studies. There is no doubt that the future of librarianship requires many specialized professionals because of the increasingly changing nature of information in our society. Many writers such as (Supremant 1989) argues that it is difficult for public supported library schools to abandon the generalists library education program, as they are expected to educate and train librarians for all types of libraries within their states.

Many students who enter the MLS program do not think in terms of specialization. This is due to the lack of having enough knowledge of the field, well and they usually make decision or come to know about the availability of specialization at their school at the end of their program. Again even after specialization of the student, the library market dictates the availability of jobs. Since many employers seek experienced person for the position opened, new graduates of library science program take up whatever job they are offered in special or non specialized areas.

Today in the labor force more than fifty percent of the U.S. labor force is involved in the area of service or in information management area such as education, information centers, financial, health, and the newly emerging electronic information system area. In tomorrow's world, someone has said those who lack the ability to read, write, think access information will become an endangered species (Lenox 1991).

This situation is more acute for the minority group who are today undeserved by the traditional standard of today's library. It is projected that by the year 2025 the four largest minority groups in the U.S.: African Americans; Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and Native Americans will comprise almost one-third of the United States population. The changing of these demographics will require also changes by the library and information educational institutions to redefine their strategies to include members of this group in their planning. As Lenox (1991) states "It has been said that the flowers of tomorrow are born in the seeds of today. The seeds of today, are those that will bloom in the realities of tomorrow have already been planted."

As information professionals, we must not forget that the ability to access information gives people choices. For a person to feel fully free, one must have the knowledge, understanding of choices and its existence. Josey (1991) writes "we are cognizant of the fact that the information industry has the technology to control information, but its price tag on information distribution and its profit goal create a bias in what information is made available and how it is dispersed. Only the nonprofit organization, the library, dedicated to a total community service goal with trained experts, librarians, running the operation can provide the full scope of information for the total population in a fair and objective manner. Our continued existence as a democratic nation depends heavily on information made readily and freely available to our citizens." . Lenox (1991) expresses similar concern, by directing her attention to the realities of the future when she writes "In the next century, those who have information will have the power to optimize their personal and collective choices."

Libraries and Technologies

During the last 75 years, the spectrum of technologies has widened and deepened. During this time librarians and library information educators have gradually moved into adopting advanced professional technologies. Today's library and information world is on the verge of a massive societal and professional shift in the way information is accessed. These problems of change must be addressed by the library and information schools in shifting the information professionals of the future from primarily focusing on the storage and retrieval functions to that of a manager of information transfer process and the library should move from that of ownership to access. Buckland (1986) reminds us that "if storage problems diminish, problems of access become dominant." Therefore, putting technology into the proper perspective of the world information is an important function of library education. In order to prepare the information professionals of the future, library schools should focus in the area of automation and information technology to prepare their students, to handle the various types of technology to satisfy their users needs. To prepare the information professionals of tomorrow, library schools through their curriculum should provide data on different types of software, the existence and use of various databases and their management, and end-user tools in the computer and telecommunication industries. Thomas Walker (1995) looked at the courses of catalog of six schools in the Midwest and found how much impact that technologies have on library education of today. These courses are: Educational Media, Bibliographic Control of Library Materials, that includes the study and creation of MARC, Searching of OCLC and use of bibliographic CD-ROMs; Library automation that focuses on analysis and design of automated systems. Research methods, exposure to statistical methodologies and statistical software; Reference courses: focus on online public-access catalogs, CD-ROM, Legal bibliography/librarianship: use of Westlaw and Lexis; Computer courses: use of computers, programming languages, Database Design and Evaluation, as well as Database software evaluation.

The issue for library schools are integration of the use of technologies in the existing curriculum to enhance the smooth

transition of library service from traditional to electronic based services. Putting technology into the proper perspective of emerging of the world of information is an important function of the library and information educational institution. It is clear that libraries of the future will acquire more products of modern electronic technologies and will need various types of library professionals, and will require students to have knowledge of electronic information services to satisfy the needs of its users. There is no doubt that today's technologies empower people to do many things they have never imagined of in the past. These technologies should help people solve their information problems and help them access the vast information available to them.

Library information professionals of the future should be therefore adequately prepared with issues in general terms that includes understanding of organization of knowledge, knowledge of information sources in print and electronic formats, networks, teaching abilities (bibliographic instruction) abilities of negotiating and selecting of variety of electronic products.

In this rapidly changing world of information, the need for a strong cooperation between library educators and library practioners is important than ever. This need should provide mutual benefits, which will include keeping abreast in technological advances, research and, education.

Technological advances in the 21st century will also bring with it broad range of issues such as intellectual freedom, censorship, privacy protection, ownership of information etc. Library science students should be properly educated in how to deal with these issues through understanding of their ethical principles that governs free access to information as Blake (1989) suggests "despite the growing pace of technological developments in the provision of access to information, that our function is not a technocratic exercise on who should access or service to the library/information center's public."

Humanistic Concern

In the issue of access many people because of lack of technology, or socio-economic status will not have access to electronic information of the future. Thus creating the problem of the information haves and have nots information rich/information poor. Future library and information professionals should be equipped in skills related to how to deal with peoples needs and technological usage in order to maintain the librarians principle of equal access to the public. ALA President Betty Turock (1995) said, "As we approach the 21st century, a momentous telecommunication revolution is taking place. Electronic technology can help you find a job in another state or read the congressional record online. It can connect students to the local library or the Library of Congress. But what if that child's parents or school can't afford a computer? What if you don't have one in your home or don't know how to use one? The information superhighway promises vast riches of information, but it also threatens to widen the gulf between the "information rich" and "information poor".

Libraries have been involved in providing access to information for people for a very long time. They were able to integrate and deal with massive technological and societal changes that has taken place in the past. Among many challenges that libraries of the future face are those of dealing with the "served" and the "underserved" population. Some of them might represent the "technologically displaced" people such as: the economically displaced, the elderly, the unemployed or the less educated. When dealing with these problems library school curricula should include a component related to humanistic concerns that provide a foundation of library education of the future. More importantly, library schools must increase their efforts to recruit more students of color from diverse populations to make for more diversity among professionals to fulfill the information needs mentioned above.

Information professionals of the future should also continue to promote effective human relations through information to individuals, groups, organizations, and different people. As more and more societies will be dominated by the use of technology, library students must have the education and skills of working with different people of diverse background and be sensitive to their needs. Furthermore, they also need to understand other societies outside of their own, as Tyulina (1983) reminds us "We live in a time when significant efforts are made by different countries, nations, and peoples toward better understanding of each other, the knowledge that mutual understanding is the most important condition for maintaining peace in the world." she continues to say that "As technology acts as a cultural eraser, librarianship serves an increasingly important role, bringing together the records of the best achievement of humanity and the individual human being, thus helping to establish better understanding among people. In this respect our profession may be considered one of the "peace-keeping tools."

Conclusion

As we move toward the 21st century concerted effort by library educators must be made to educate library and information professionals of the future who will be able to deal with the "information age" to assist the public in finding solutions to their problems. Cooperation from employers and professional association are very important to the education of the information professional of the 21st century. The challenges the coming decade will bring is tremendous. Therefore, library and information science schools should meet these challenges by adopting strategic planning methods and moving from reactive to proactive way of looking at the library profession to accommodate the new organizational and social forms. As Martin Dillon (1995) put it "if we are to move into this brave new world prepared for the many changes that will occur, library schools by whatever name must take a strong leadership role."

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