THE SYLLABUSES for the undergraduate courses in library and information science of all universities in our country comprise only those disciplines, which have a direct bearing on the organisation and administration of the library. Apart from purely technical subjects like classification, cataloguing and information science, the curricula include the management, history and structure of libraries. This reflects the mindset of the University authorities and that is steeped in an antiquated idea of librarianship, which looked up on the librarian as merely a keeper of book. But today much more is expected of the librarian. The syllabus needs to be revised, keeping in mind the modern concept of librarianship.

  Consequent upon the unprecedented expansion of library movement leading to the emergence of diverse types of libraries like, for example the public, juvenile, school, college, university, research and specialised ones, the librarian may be called upon to manage any of the above types. The topics that constitute the present syllabus do not take into account certain specific requirements of these various types as a result of which a graduate in library and information science is not sufficiently equipped to effectively play the roles required of him in these different types of libraries.

  As in all spheres of human activity and institutions, the impact of computers is felt in libraries too and today we have computerised libraries. It is gratifying to note that all universities have recognised this fact and have included information science in the courses of study although undue stress is laid on certain topics the raison d'etre for which is a moot point. In the field of information science, what the prospective librarian needs to have primarily, is a firm grounding in any of the programming language and the expertise to develop programmers not only to prepare a catalogue but also to meet the demands of all sections of the library. The librarian should be able to guide the readers (many of whom may be wasting time browsing at wrong Internet sites) to the right search engine. It is essential that the librarian familiarises himself with all (general/specialised/meta) search engines. So the thrust in the syllabus has to be on the application of computers to library management and service to readers.

As already stated, the librarian is more than a keeper of books and their function is not confined only to classifying, cataloguing and shelving books. They are expected to interact with the readers and ensure that not only the readers and ensure that not only the readers get their books but books 'find' their readers too. It must also be borne in mind that there are children's sections in most public libraries and in due course more and more exclusive children's libraries may spring up all over the country. Indubitably, in the not too distant future, all schools too, will have well-equipped libraries and the librarians who are likely to be employed in those libraries will have to deal with children and faculty members. As such, the librarians of public and school libraries will, inevitably, have to deal with adults as well as children. It is therefore, imperative for them to have a good grasp of the fundamentals of psychology, particularly child psychology.

  But unlike a public library, which is an independent unit, the school or college library subserves the institution of which it is an adjunct. Similarly, the university library, though apparently an independent unit, is, in fact, an auxiliary of the university, primarily intended to cater to the academic department of the parent university besides serving the affiliated colleges. These three types of libraries are thus constrained to dovetail its policies and programmes with the educational system and so the librarian must be aware of the pattern and content of educational system of the country. As such, the curriculum should encompass a course in national educational system, its organisation, methods and objectives, besides, pedagogy.

  Lastly, it may be pointed out that the duties of the librarians of research and specialised libraries inevitably call for literary skill for it will be incumbent upon them to prepare abstracts of research papers appearing in the learned journals that those libraries procure. A flair for language or a good command of the language alone does not help in preparing intelligible and comprehensive abstracts is an art per se, which can be mastered only by intensive training and practice. And so precis writing should find a place in the curriculum and must be compulsory question in the relevant paper.

  That the present syllabus is already quite vast cannot be denied. As such, it may be argued, if more subjects are incorporated, the curriculum will become unduly cumbersome and will overburden not only the students but also the teachers who may find it difficult, well-nigh impossible, to cover the syllabus in one academic year, which is the duration of the course. But the present syllabus contains many topics that are redundant and could be deleted without adversely affecting the efficacy of the course. These may be replaced by the topics that are suggested here for inclusion in the curriculum.

In short, the syllabuses of all universities for undergraduate courses in library and information science cry for revamping and this has to be carried out taking into cognisance the requirements of the different types of libraries that a librarian may have to manage in the course of his service.

Courtesy : The Hindu