Toward the global harmonization of library and information professionals in Japan

Abstract

The society of knowledge economy, brought about by the rapid growth of information and communication technology, has drastically changed the environments surrounding libraries. The digitization and networked distribution of library materials have expanded the skills and knowledge required for librarians from those for printed materials into digital materials and their networked dissemination. In response to such demands, a system of assuring quality of education and the equivalency of professional qualifications has been developed in Europe and North America. Correspondingly, many library schools have changed their names to information schools and reformed curriculum contents. Notwithstanding such global trends, Japan’s professional education system for library and information professionals is left behind. This paper explores changes required for the library and information professional education system in order for Japan’s libraries to be able to survive as the infrastructure to support our free-access to information in the knowledge-based economy, and proposes necessary efforts for these changes to be materialized.