Prospects for higher library education within the context of implementing professional standards in library and information activities

Abstract

Prospects for higher library education are discussed within the context of the professional standard «Specialist in library information activities» (2014) as a regulatory document to lay down requirement to job content and conditions, qualification and competences, actual functions (required procedures, skills, and knowledge) of various library professionals are discussed. The dependence between the education content and library practical demands and the need to overcome their disparity are revealed. The expanding range of professions for libraries is characterized. The author concludes that the professional standard is an innovative and relevant document needed to reform the higher education in librarianship and the professional training curricula. Its implementation is to improve acmeological parameters of library education, to make universities’ education program relevant to professional practice. The author emphasizes that universities will have to work hard to develop new core professional programs, to integrated them with the requirements of the professional practice (including through the more efficient interaction with employers). To consolidate professional attitude toward the challenging issues of the forthcoming reform and to implement networked education technologies for deep professional training, coordination of regional higher schools activities is needed.