Now Released! IFLA Guidelines for Professional LIS Education Programmes 

The IFLA Professional Council endorsed the IFLA Guidelines for Professional Library and Information Science (LIS) Education Programmes on April 1, 2022. The Guidelines, now released, were authored by the LIS Education Framework Development Sub-Group of the BSLISE, under the leadership of Professors Clara M. Chu and Jaya Raju. The BSLISE (Building Strong Library and Information Science Education) working group is an initiative of the IFLA Section on Education and Training (SET), Section on Library Theory and Research (LTR), and the LIS Education in Developing Countries SIG.

uidelines respond to recommendations from the Building Strong LIS Education: A Call to Global and Local Action – An IFLA BSLISE Working Group White Paper (IFLA BSLISE Working Group, 2018. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.15641/0-7992-2542-6). The development of the Guidelines were informed by the published literature, existing national and international standards, expertise of the BSLISE, and consultation with LIS education and professional stakeholders across the globe. For the background on the project and more details, please visit https://bslise.org/. These Guidelines replace the Guidelines for Professional Library/Information Educational Programs, 2012 (IFLA, 2012).

The Guidelines serve as a framework for developing LIS education programmes, which stakeholders can apply in planning, developing and assessing the quality of LIS education and identify the knowledge areas LIS professionals should have in order to practice and continue to develop. They have been created to be applicable at any level of higher education. These Guidelines will assist programmes as they continue to adapt to the ever-changing needs of their community, as well as allow for greater degrees of mobility of LIS professionals across the globe.

“The Guidelines, grounded in the principles of equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility will be of interest to LIS education administrators, educators, students and policy makers,” says IFLA President Barbara Lison, “The Guidelines’ eight foundational knowledge areas (FKAs) are critical to LIS practitioners in developing their existing knowledge and skill sets for the future of libraries and the sustainability of our profession.”

For more information, go to: https://bslise.org/lis-education-guidelines/ and to download the Guidelines, go to: https://repository.ifla.org/handle/123456789/1987

Submitted July 24, 2022 by Clara M. Chu and Jaya Raju, Co-Chairs of the IFLA Building Strong LIS Education (BSLISE), a working group of the IFLA Section on Education and Training (SET), Section on Library Theory and Research (LTR), and the LIS Education in Developing Countries SIG.