Common Problems of Library and Information Science Education in Asian Developing Countries: A Review Article

Education of Library and Information Science (LIS) has several problems that are caused by the changing nature of the discipline and the social, economic and cultural contexts in which LIS departments function. The aim of this article is to enumerate and discuss some of the common problems of LIS education in developing countries of Asia and suggest solutions. We show that as Asian developing countries share some of the social, economic and cultural elements, they have similar problems in LIS education. Therefore, the same solutions could be recommended such as setting up limited number of independent LIS schools, establishing or empowering accreditation agencies, flexibility in educational systems, more emphasis on research, developing in-service training, relocating the departments in new faculties, equipping the departments with new facilities, employing new and skillful staff, encouraging collaboration among faculty members and departments, diversifying courses and degrees, updating syllabi in an ongoing manner, taking advantage of IT, and creating and publishing LIS literature in native language.