1. New times need new curricula: meeting the demands of industry in training information professionals in SADC Maritha E Snyman Theo JD Bothma Retha (MMM) Snyman Johannes J Britz {mesnyman / tbothma / msnyman / britzh } @postino.up.ac.za

2. IATUL© University of Pretoria SADC Angola Botswana Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Lesotho Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Swaziland Tanzania Zambia Zimbabwe Southern African Development Community

4. IATUL© University of Pretoria Overview The Information Society Global and local issues Impact on curricula of undergraduate courses in the Dept of Information Science, University of Pretoria Re-evaluation Adaptation Diversification Conclusion

5. IATUL© University of Pretoria Issues to be considered Macro level Workplace Subject field of Information Science South Africa since democratization in 1994 A continuous re-evaluation and reassessment of the training of librarians and other information professionals

6. IATUL© University of Pretoria Macro level Changes in the socio-political economical and technological environments

7. IATUL© University of Pretoria Socio-political Emergence of the Information Society Interaction between developing vs developed world Localization vs globalisation Digital divide Acknowledgement of the value of intellectual capital and indigenous knowledge An enhanced sensitivity for cultural diversity and user diversity A reassessment of especially information- related rights and ethical issues

8. IATUL© University of Pretoria Technological issues The development of ICT and Web technology Need for advanced ICT literacy Virtual communities

9. IATUL© University of Pretoria Economical Information a commodity that can be exchanged vs information as a common good A paradigm shift printed to electronic sources ownership to access pricing structures due to the Web

10. IATUL© University of Pretoria Workplace Reflects changes on macro level ICT literacy Advanced technical know-how Hardware assembly and database / programming skills Advanced end-user skills Search skills, etc. Ethical and legal issues at workplace level Information policies Management of information and knowledge as resources

11. IATUL© University of Pretoria Workplace (2) Specialization and diversification Interdisciplinary teams / project teams Information overload Customer demand Necessity of repackaging for variety of users Speed of change Employability rather than employment Entrepreneurship

12. IATUL© University of Pretoria Changes in field of Information Science Diversification because of the impact of the Information Society Development and extension of a new “discipline” Focus on ICT and knowledge management Interactive process of knowledge sharing Role of communication and prominence of user Legal and ethical issues

13. Ingwersen model

14. IATUL© University of Pretoria Packages in the Department Library Science (since 1944) Information Science (since 1991) Publishing (since 1996) Multimedia (since 1998) Information for Development (since 1998) Information and Knowledge Management (since 2001)

15. IATUL© University of Pretoria Generic components of all courses “Fundamental” modules Language, ICT and research skills Information seeking, retrieval and use Information organization and knowledge representation ICT skills Information and knowledge management (except MM) Ethics, law and economics of information

16. IATUL© University of Pretoria Information literacy Fundamental module for ALL first year students – 5,000 per year Responsibility of the Department of Information Science (in cooperation with the Academic Information Service) Focuses more on seeking behaviour and searching than on evaluation, analysis and synthesis Re-evaluate curriculum and teaching methodologies

17. IATUL© University of Pretoria Integration of theory and practice Practical components in all modules that have skills components ICT modules Multimedia and hypermedia Searching Etc. Field work in cooperation with industry Knowledge management Ethics Brief internships

18. IATUL© University of Pretoria Info seeking, retrieval and use Online industry Database structures, design and evaluation Search engines, including Web Information retrieval research Major research paradigms - traditional or systems based approach user-centered cognitive and socio-cognitive approaches Relevance Information seeking behaviour

19. IATUL© University of Pretoria Information organization and knowledge representation Structuring information objects Text, full text and DIP Databases Multimedia and hypermedia Structuring information surrogates AACR2, Dewey, LCSH Metadata schemas Including Dublin Core and RDF Ontologies

20. IATUL© University of Pretoria ICT skills and Multimedia Computer literacy Hardware and software Multimedia and Hypermedia Theory and practical skills Web design and development HTML, XSL and scripting languages Human-computer interaction 2D and 3D animation

21. IATUL© University of Pretoria Information and knowledge management Theories of Information and Knowledge management Information and knowledge audit and strategy Knowledge mapping Tools and techniques Data warehousing and data mining Sense- and decision making Competitive intelligence Indigenous knowledge

22. IATUL© University of Pretoria Ethics, law and economics of information Legal aspects, e.g. Copyright and fair use Promotion of Access to Information Act Electronic Communications and Transaction Act Privacy Information richness and poverty Cyber ethics Infopreneurship Information as a commodity

23. IATUL© University of Pretoria Information and Development Information Society Digital divide Developed and developing environments Bridging barriers to the Information Society Using ICT in development Development theories From modernisation to participation Development communication / information transfer Information repackaging Traditional media and knowledge

24. IATUL© University of Pretoria Publishing The publisher as an information professional Publishing value chain Publishing management Design Copy-editing Electronic publishing

25. IATUL© University of Pretoria Uniqueness of packages Specific modules within the Department Include the latest views and issues in the international and local IS environment Combination with modules from other departments Impossible to do everything within one department Strategic alliances School of IT: Computer Science, Informatics Other schools: Language departments, Economic and Business Management, Visual Arts

26. Other modules Own modules SIT modules

27. IATUL© University of Pretoria Library Science Departmental Library Science modules “Traditional” topics Digital libraries and DL management Consortia and resource sharing Information Science modules Other modules Combination with electives according to student’s preference

28. IATUL© University of Pretoria Information Science Departmental Generic modules for information workers Other modules Electives from a variety of subjects, e.g. Computer Science, Public Administration, Geography, Political Science, etc.

29. IATUL© University of Pretoria Information and Knowledge Management Departmental Specialized modules on Information and Knowledge Management and Information Organization, as well as sense-making and decision-making, competitive intelligence Other modules Advanced Information Systems (Informatics), Business Management/ Entrepreneurship, Communication Management, and Financial Accounting

30. IATUL© University of Pretoria Publishing Departmental The publishing value chain, publishing management, design, copy-editing and electronic publishing Other modules Languages, Visual Design and Visual Communication, Business Management, Marketing

31. IATUL© University of Pretoria Multimedia Departmental Web technologies, markup languages (HTML, XML), human-computer interaction, multimedia and hypermedia, animation Other modules Computer Science, Visual Design, Languages, Business Management

32. IATUL© University of Pretoria Information for Development Departmental Developments theories, the communication of information in a development context, ICT for development Other modules Electives from other programmes

33. IATUL© University of Pretoria Relevance of curriculum in SADC Comparable with best international schools Addresses all the latest issues Internationally competitive Addresses local issues and needs of local industry From barefoot librarian to cybrarian Locally relevant

34. IATUL© University of Pretoria Conclusion Continuous re-evaluation and adaptation Developing country within the framework of SADC and the developed world “Internationally competitive and locally relevant”

35. Thank you! Questions, comments?