The Review and Prospect of Library and Information Science Education in China

Abstract

The LIS education in China was started in 1920. In the past century, the LIS education completed its localization process and has been serving for the construction of an emerging state. By now, a comprehensive and professional LIS education system has been established. The literature review revealed that the development of LIS education in China can be classified into three stages: (i) the initial establishment stage, (ii) the slow development stage, (iii) and the rapid development stage. By analyzing the data collected through literature review and webpage investigation, three points were emphasized in the future development of LIS education in China. In the first place, inheritance and innovation should be adhered to in the specialty construction by strengthening the blending of traditional and emerging disciplines and finding out an inheriting and innovating path that integrates library science, archival science, and information science. Secondly, in professional education, importance should be attached to generality and specialty at the same time. The LIS-related colleges and schools should provide basic and general courses to broaden the students’ knowledge as well as the specialized compulsory and elective courses to lay a foundation for expertise acquisition. General education and specialized education should be combined to cultivate specialized talents. Thirdly, evaluation and certifications should be highlighted in developing the major. Some practical measures should be taken such as enhancing the educating institution’s evaluation and librarian certification, formulating certification criteria, raising the level of professional requirements, and improving the sense of recognition towards the profession to orderly and professionally develop our LIS education.