Training and development of skills in a changing information environment

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.