Research Publications (Accounting and Informatics)
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://ir-dev.dut.ac.za/handle/10321/212
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Item ILS: towards an alternative qualification model for information and libraries in the African context(2007) Raju, JayaraniIt is important for Africa to blaze its own unique path in terms of developing ILS qualification models that would be realistic and relevant to the African context and, importantly, add value to African library and information services which have a crucial role to play in the growth and development of the continent. Towards this end, a research project is currently being undertaken in South Africa where, as part of the project, work environments in other disciplines such as journalism, health care and engineering are being empirically investigated and compared with LIS services in terms of job functions and higher education qualification types required to fulfill these job functions. The intention is to see if perhaps there are any innovations, lessons or best practices that the ILS profession can draw from these disciplines in terms of staff structures in LIS services, job functions of incumbents, and qualification requirements defining these structures and functions. The purpose of this paper is to report on some of the preliminary findings in an initial and novel comparison involving public, academic and special libraries, and engineering firms, newspaper houses and health care services in an African city. The findings, in the main, reveal that other disciplines seem to embrace vocational institutions, such as universities of technology, in the work place much more than the LIS work environment. The paper recommends that African models in ILS education and training should break the traditional alignment with western grown qualification models. It needs to draw lessons from work place practices in other disciplines and from innovative work place behavior within the ILS discipline evident in the preliminary findings presented in this paper, and more fully utilize qualification products from non traditional university institutions which often are the only tertiary level institutions many African school leavers are able to access. At the same time African ILS qualification models should afford articulation means that provide opportunities for further education and development of these individuals. In reporting these initial findings the paper also interrogates issues such as vocational higher education institutions like the emerging universities of technology and the value and role of their ILS qualifications in the African context vis á vis those of the traditional universities, the role and contribution of the ILS paraprofessional to African LIS services, and the issue of articulation between higher education qualification types and the relevance of this for ILS education in Africa.Item Re-thinking boundaries in the African LIS work place as a contribution to the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals: reflections from a South African study(2008) Raju, JayaraniPurpose - In the context of the historical influence of British and American trends on the African LIS context, the current knowledge society, as well as Africa’s challenges in terms of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), this paper reports on the work-in-progress in an aspect of a wider study currently being undertaken in South Africa. The aim in this aspect of the study is to interrogate how current technology trends are impacting on LIS work place qualification and competency requirements. The intention is to re-visit traditional boundaries and demarcations in the interest of the growth and development of African LIS workers who in turn may contribute to meeting the Millennium Development Goals in a number of creative and innovative ways. Design/methodology/approach - A qualitative research approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews to collect data from purposively selected managers and staff from a sample of academic, public and special library services in South Africa. Findings - The paper emphasizes the need for LIS in Africa, particularly in the context of the current knowledge-based society and the harsh realities facing African communities, to contribute to the attainment of the MDGs in Africa. In attempting to make this contribution, the paper recommends that the African LIS work place must not allow itself to be constrained by qualification and other work place boundaries that are legacies of the past, as evidenced in the limited study reported in this paper which demonstrates lessons of innovation as well as instances of restriction. Originality/value - The paper calls for a paradigm shift in terms of qualification and other work place boundaries in African LIS work environments so as to allow African LIS services to make a meaningful contribution towards the attainment of the MDGs. In doing this the paper also offers lessons for other developing parts of the world.