The Prospects of Library Education in Korea

한국 도서관학 교육의 전망

The purpose of this paper is to forecast the future of library education in Korea. Toward this purpose, first, the historical events of library education in the United States of America and in the United Kingdom are introduced along with the IFLA Standards for Library Schools and the Unesco's General Information Programme. Secondly, the theoretical foundations of library education are extracted from the events. Thirdly, the factors influencing library education as well as library developments are identified, and, finally, the prospects of library education are forecasted in the light of the various factors in the Korean society and the theoretical foundations. The prospects are forecasted as follows: 1. The education for information science will be incorporated in library education. 2. The number of courses related to library services and uses will be increased. 3. The students should be provided with enough hands-on experiences to be familiar with new information technology. 4. The cooperation between library schools and libraries will be reinforced. 5. The departments of library science will cooperate with other departments in the universities in order to utilize the expertise and facilities. 6. The education of graduate schools will be specialized to produce subject specialist librarians and the undergraduate education will produce public and school librarians. 7. Opportunities for continuing education will be provided more and librarians encouraged to participate in those activities. 8. Library association should actively be involved in library education as a provider of continuing education or as a liaison between library schools and libraries. 9. The courses of foundations including library history, library research and preservation of culture will never be neglected.