Prepared by Jennifer Cooper, Mia Kuzmic, and Blessing Linason

1. Library Training and Education:
Croatia, Nigeria, and USA
Jennifer Cooper, Prince William County Schools, USA
Mia Kuzmić, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Croatia
Blessing Linason, Kwara State University, Nigeria
Jennifer Cooper
Prince William County Schools,
Virginia, USA
Email: jennicooper800@gmail.com
Contacts
In Croatia, to work in libraries of all kinds, you are
required to hold a degree in information and library
science. Three universities offer study programmes
in information science; the Faculty of Philosophy
(University of Zagreb), the University of Zadar and
the Faculty of humanities and social studies (Josip
Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek).
Study programmes, undergraduate and graduate,
offer a combination of a single major or double
major in Information sciences, Archives, Library
science, Computer science research track,
Informatology, Museology and heritage
management, Information technology and
Publishing.
Part of study programmes are internships where
students get basic practical knowledge of working in
different information institutions. After graduating,
there is a state programme of one-year paid
internship to gain first-hand work experience which
is required to take a state exam at the National and
university library Zagreb. Besides that, to work in a
school library, it is mandatory to take extra classes
in teaching and also pass a state exam at the
Ministry of science and education.
Croatia
Croatia Perspective:
It was very interesting comparing our library experiences and education across three continents, especially
because we found there aren’t many differences. But, it stood out that there is a need for more practical
knowledge and experience, particularly in customer/user services in library training. During the pandemic,
libraries and librarians, once again, showed their skills to adjust to new situations, services, and technologies
with ease.
Nigeria Perspective:
It was exciting to learn about librarianship and librarian training in the United States and Croatia, especially
knowing that most libraries throughout the world moved to online services delivery during the pandemic. And
even meetings were being done virtually via Zoom or any other virtual space.
USA Perspective:
Learning about librarianship and librarian training in Croatia and Nigeria was fascinating. I noticed that there
were many similarities and the differences were slight. I think one thing that came out is that despite the
pandemic, all of our libraries tried to maintain services: moving online, opening with mitigation measures.
Libraries want to serve the public and each of our communities tried to make that happen: librarians adapt.
Program Format
In Nigeria, library training is divided into different
categories: on-the-job training, formal education,
participation in workshops, seminars, conferences,
and other similar events. Most libraries in Nigeria
use on-the-job training, which is training provided
in the workplace. Many Library employees were
hired without a degree in librarianship and earned
their first degree in librarianship while on the job
because they were industrious and wanted to be
recognized professionals. One is not considered a
professional without a BSc degree in LIS.
Workshops and Seminars are another type of library
training offered by the Librarians Registration
Council of Nigeria (LRCN); a regulating organization
established by the Nigerian Library Association
(NLA).
Finally, there is the Students Industrial Work
Experience Scheme (SIWES), in which Library
students are allocated to various libraries of their
choice to gain practical experience with the
academic aspects discussed in their lectures.
Nigeria
Participating in this program gave us the opportunity to meet new librarian colleagues around the world and allowed us to communicate and discuss librarianship in our
countries. We learned about each other’s libraries, experiences, interests, career paths, as well as the library profession and education in our region.
Throughout this program and our meetings, we learned that despite what country we are in, what challenges we faced during the pandemic, or in which type of library we
work, by its nature the goal of librarianship is to have access to knowledge, promote scholarly communication, and provide information to individuals irrespective of their
age, nationality, gender, or other factors.
Overall, any kind of international exchange of knowledge and experience is a great opportunity and can be a good starting point for future collaborations.
Final Takeaways
As a part of the International Librarian Networking
Program, we met bi-monthly over the course of 4
months. Our meetings were mostly conducted
online through emails. We did share social media
accounts and had some conversations through
social media private messaging systems. We also
met via Zoom to converse in more detail. Our
conversations were structured around the program
prompts which included themes of: our individual
backgrounds, the state of the profession of
librarianship in our country, and our current priority
projects and work.
Library Comparisons
Mia Kuzmić
Sestre milosrdnice University
hospital center - Central
library, Zagreb, Croatia
Email: mia.kuzmic@kbcsm.hr
Croatia Flag CC: Professorsolo2015; Nigeria Flag CC BY-SA 2.0
theglobalpanorama; USA Flag CC: Gaiole
Library training is the United States often depends
on the state. What is expected of public, special,
university, and school librarians depends on where
you live; although there are similar programs and
coursework. As a school librarian, I know that it can
even depend on the school district where the
librarian is working.
Most librarians are expected to hold a Masters
Degree. School librarians are expected to hold a
Masters in Education, whether this is in
Librarianship or another field depends on the state.
If a previous Masters Degree is held, than a future
librarian can obtain a school library certificate.
Many school librarians also hold a teaching
certificate and were classroom teachers before
moving positions.
Overall, librarian training in the United States
consists of core coursework as well as some
specialized classes. For example, I needed to take a
class in Children’s Literature as well as standard
classes on research, cataloging, library
administration, and assessment.
United States
Blessing Linason
Kwara State University Library, Malete, Nigeria
Email: Blessingsarmantha@gmail.com
Students learning at Prince William County Schools with librarian Jennifer
Cooper.
Image CC: Jennifer Cooper
User in reading room of Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center Library.
Image CC: Mia Kuzmić
Kwara State University Library.
Image CC: Blessing Linason