Library Science Studies in Latin America and the Caribbean

1
Library Science Studies in Latin America and the
Caribbean

• A Numerical and Interpretative Approach
• Adolfo Rodríguez

2
The socio-historical background

• Aboriginal population culture, language,
  religion, folklore
• The colonial period
• Cultural diversity between conquerors
  Anglo-Saxon, Hispanic-Portuguese, Dutch, Germans,
  French
• The independent life (democratic government,
  conservative government and dictatorships).

3
The educational system as a colonial heritage

• The Anglo-Saxon System
• The higher education begins with general studies
  in order to be able to get a master or a
  doctorate in a specific field
• The Hispanic-Portuguese System
• The higher education begins after 12 years of
  studies and constitutes the first professional
  level (Licenciatura), after that, there is the
  postgraduate level master, doctorate and post
  doctorate.

4
The Library Science Studies in Latin America and
the Caribbean

• Its main characteristics are
• There is a high variety in the level and scope of
  the curricula
• The curricula is designed to focus in different
  aspects of the discipline
• There is curricula focused on preparing special
  librarians (school, public and academic
  librarians or only in training personnel).

5
Todays objective

• To present a clear panoramic on the current
  situation and trends of the library science
  studies in Latin America and the Caribbean
• In order to accomplish the above, this study
  compares the available directories of the library
  science schools in the area.

6
Data dispersion

• There are several Web sites that listed
  Departments and Schools of library science
  worldwide, but the information corresponding to
  Latin America and the Caribbean is obsolete and
  incomplete
• On the other hand, there are a few printed
  directories and although they have not been
  updated recently they seem to be more complete
  and reliable
• There are great difference between sources about
  the number of schools, programs and the
  countries they belong to.

7
The main sources are

• Fang and Nautas International guide to library
  and information science education (1985)
• Fang, Stueart and Tuamsuks World guide to
  library archive and information science education
  (1995)
• Maris and Giuntis Planes de estudio de las
  escuelas de bibliotecología, archivología y
  museografía de Iberoamérica (1999).

8
Comparison between Fang (1985), Fang (1995) and
Maris (1999)
Source Schools Schools with known Programs Countries
Fang (1985) 71 69 18 countries
Fang (1995) 47 43 11 countries
Maris (1999) 88 75 16 countries
-24
-26
17
6
32
41
9
LIS Programs' Level According to their Source
Source Total programs Technical (Less than 3 years) Post-Secondary Tertiary Undergraduate Tertiary Graduate Tertiary Postgraduate
Fang (1985) 96 (100) 1 (1) 25 (25 57 (59) 14 (15)
Fang (1995 59 (100) 7 (12) 41 (69) 10 (17) 1 (2)
Maris (1999) 128 (100) 23 (18) 32 (25) 51 (40) 17 (13) 5 (4)
10
Web Directories of LIS Schools
Source Schools
Associaçao Brasileira de Educaçao em Ciencia da Informaçao 79
Directorio de Instituciones sobre el Área de Bibliotecología y Ciencias de la Información en Iberoámerica y el Caribe (INFO LAC) 51
Centro de Servicios y Recursos para Bibliotecas y Bibliotecari_at_s 40
Escuelas y Departamentos de Bibliotecología 36
UNESCO Libraries Portal 21
World list of Departments and Schools of Information Studies, Information Management, Information Systems 21
11
LIS Schools established per decade
Decades Fang 1st ed Fang 2nd ed Maris
Without date 2 4 29
1910-1919 1
1920-1929 1 1 1
1930-1939 2 1 2
1940-1949 14 19 11
1950-1959 10 7 14
1960-1969 15 6 6
1970-1979 25 17 15
1980-1989 1 2 13
1990-1999 7
Total 71 47 88
12
The influences

• The American School
• The European School
• UNESCOs Programs.

13
LIS Programs Level by Country, Maris (1999)
Country Total programs Technical (less than 3 years) Post-secondary Tertiary undergraduate Tertiary graduate Tertiary (post-graduate)
Argentina 56 16 28 7 3 2
Bolivia 2 1 1
Brazil 24 17 5 2
Chile 4 2 2
Colombia 5 1 4
Costa Rica 6 1 4 1
Dominican Republic 3 2 1
El Salvador 1 1
Guatemala 1 1
Mexico 13 2 7 3 1
Panama 1 1
Paraguay 2 1 1
Peru 5 2 2 1
Puerto Rico 2 2
Uruguay 1 1
Venezuela 2 2
Total 128 (100) 23 (18) 32 (25) 51 (40) 17 (13) 5 (4)
14
LIS Teaching Levels and Characteristics (1)
Level Characteristics
Training 18 Remedial, On-the-job training of employees. During a few months. It is not clear whether it begins after 12 years of schooling. It does not offer disciplinary bases
Technical 25 It covers 3 years of study as a post-secondary school. In some countries it is equivalent to a professional level
43
15
LIS Teaching Levels and Characteristics (2)
Level Characteristics
Tertiary Undergraduate 40 It is the first professional level. It requires 12 years of previous studies. It usually extends from 4 to 5 years. A thesis is required to conclude this level
Tertiary Post-graduate Masters 13 It requires 16-17 years of previous schooling.Its duration implies 2 or 3 years.While in a few countries it has a professional character, in others it is an initiation to a disciplinary research
16
LIS Teaching Levels and Characteristics (3)
Level Characteristics
Tertiary Post-graduate Doctorate 4 It develops the ability to perform research work independently. It takes 4 to 5 years. There are 2 options To perform research with the help of a tutorial committee, or To attend several courses In both cases the student has to submit a dissertation that implies a disciplinary advance
17
Archival Science (AS) Study

• It is separated from the library science studies
• It is taught in institutions and schools
  different from those of library science, as if
  there were no connection between them
• There are three levels according to their
  duration
• Less than 3 years
• 3 years
• More than 3 years.

18
AS Schools and Programs According to the Source
Source Schools Programs
Fang (1985) 3 4
Fang (1995) 7 7
Maris (1999) 18 24
Associaçao Brasileira de Educaçao em Ciencia da Informaçao 19 19
UNESCO Archives Portal 4 5
19
AS Programs Level According to their Source
Source Total Programs Technical (less than 3 years) Post-secondary Tertiary undergraduate Tertiary graduate (Masters degree)
Fang (1985) 4 (100) 1 (25) 3 (75)
Fang (1995) 7 (100) 6 (86) 1 (14)
Maris (1999) 22 (100) 5 (23) 13 (59) 4 (18)
20
Conclusions

• The educational system has affected the main
  features of teaching in library science
• Latin America followed the European pattern at
  the beginning of the 20th century and the
  American pattern at the mid-twentieth century
• Information about the quantity of schools and
  programs varies largely
• There is no agreement regarding the number of
  schools and programs

21
Conclusions (2)

• Programs levels vary from only training to
  postgraduate
• The most common of all is the Bachelors degree
  (20 years of study)
• Except Jamaica, the less developed area is the
  Non-Latin Caribbean, where they do not have any
  library science college
• A census must be done about schools and programs
  in Latin America and the Caribbean in order to
  learn more about the teaching situation in
  library science in the area.