1. University of Cape Town
Library and Information Studies Centre
15th LIASA Annual Conference: libraries in dialogue for
transformation and innovation, Cape Town International
Convention Centre, Cape Town, 8-11 October 2013
Bridging the theory-practice gap in
LIS education: a UCT experiment
Jaya Raju & Gwenda Thomas

3. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Overview
• Introduction
• Purpose of the paper
• Methodological approach
• Conceptual framework: theory and practice in higher education
• Bridging the theory-practice gap in LIS education: UCT Libraries
• Bridging the theory-practice gap in LIS education: LIS School at UCT
• Lessons, the way forward and conclusion
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4. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Introduction
• Recurrent tension between theory and practice in
LIS – well documented (Chu 2010; Lynch 2008)
• “Inclusive” rather than a dichotomous
conceptualisation of relationship between theory
and practice is a “holistic necessity for
professional development” (Stigmar 2010)
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5. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Introduction
• LIS graduates entering a world of work (higher
education) - transformed by “the revolution in
scholarly communication”
• These changes have dramatically affected all
aspects of academic library operations (Davis &
Moran 2005)
• Do LIS schools “really understand the
increasingly complex … academic libraries … in
the digital environment…? (Barthhorpe 2012)
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6. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Purpose of the paper
• Universities globally restructuring themselves for
efficiency purposes in a highly competitive higher
education environment (Raju 2013)
• UCT LIS School: organisational locus within the
university libraries; academic home in the
Humanities Faculty
• Paper uses a conceptual framework to mount a
critical evaluation of the implementation of this
model
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7. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Methodological approach
• Evaluative approach
• Evaluation as a research tool aims to assess the
“impact of social interventions” within a particular
“social context” (Babbie 2013)
• ‘Evaluation indicators’ drawn from the experiences
of Executive Director of UCT Libraries and the
Head of the LIS School at UCT - qualitative element
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8. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Theoretical framework: theory and
practice in higher education
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Theory and practice: from segregation to integration (Source: Stigmar 2010)
theory
practice
theory and practice

9. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Bridging the theory-practice
gap in LIS education: UCT Libraries
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10. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
LIS education at UCT: past & present
• UCT School of Librarianship established in 1939
• University Librarian was head of the Library and the
Library school until the mid-1970s
• Senate decision to close the school in 2011
• LIS education re-established in 2012 as the Library
and Information Studies Centre (LISC) with a three
year window of opportunity
• LIS School located organisationally in the UCT
Libraries & offers its qualifications through the
Humanities Faculty
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11. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Re-establishing the partnership
• The organisational model facilitated the way for a close
relationship between academic project and practice
• Vision developed over two years to grow the next
generation of librarians able to enter the workplace with
a sound understanding of scholarly communication
systems, associated specialisations and contemporary
issues
• Resulted in some tough exchanges and debates to
recognise and respect what was expected of both the
Libraries and the LIS school – the social intervention and
social context of the partnership
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12. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
UCT Libraries & the Library School:
challenges of a new social context
• Quality of the graduates needs to improve to meet the
workplace requirements as determined by the
practitioners
• The student cohort would need to grow over the next 3
years and attract a different calibre of student if the LIS
school is to be sustainable
• Student, academic and practitioner research productivity
would need to increase
• National imperative to produce the next generation of
academic librarians
• Urgent need to address the theory-practice gap in LIS
education
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13. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Academic libraries are located in a
new ‘social context’
• Academic Libraries are framed in & defined by all the
cross-cutting influences of the knowledge economy &
globalization;
• They have become “unhinged” from their traditional
frame of reference based on functions (user services,
acquisitions, cataloguing);
• Academic libraries find themselves between two
missions:
-an old traditional order focused on functions
-a new transformational order shaped by
globalisation, the knowledge economy, user
expectations and institutional priorities
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14. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Towards a transformational mission
for librarians
• R. David Lankes in “The Atlas of New Librarianship” (2011)
advances that the new mission of librarians is:
“to improve society by facilitating knowledge creation in
their user communities.”
• Shift from an old traditional order where library missions
were function-based to a new mission shaped by 3 drivers
of transformation:
- knowledge creation
- people and skills
- using knowledge & skills to improve society to the
benefit of all communities
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15. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
The “three pillars” of transformation are
shaping the mission of academic libraries
• LIS schools to LIS departments
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PILLARS CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS
PILLAR 1: KNOWLEDGE & INNOVATION
Facilitate knowledge creation
ACADEMIC LIBRARIES
Academic library as a “commons” within the
user community where knowledge is
produced/created
PILLAR 2: PEOPLE
People & skills development
USER COMMUNITIES
Foremost, libraries are communities of users,
physical or virtual
ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS
Librarians as facilitator, liaison, connector &
disseminator of universal body of knowledge
PILLAR 3: SOCIAL GOOD
Improve society
NATION & CITIZENS
Body of Knowledge disseminated & used to
bring benefit to all in society

16. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Scholarly communication system:
core to the academic enterprise
• Scholarly communication is more than scholarly
publishing
• It is sustained by both formal and informal networks
• Scholars develop ideas, exchange information, build
and mine data, cite and give credit, certify research,
publish findings, disseminate results and preserve
outputs
• It is a vast and changing system
• Central to the academic enterprise and therefore,
• Central to the work of academic librarians
∼ACRL 2012∽
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17. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Towards scholarly communication
librarianship: a new social context
• Journal of scholarly communication & librarianship launched in 2012
• Recognises increasingly prominent role of librarians in shaping
future of scholarly communication
• Scholarly communication librarianship is becoming a core service
area for academic librarians
• Important that there is an institutional and intellectual home that
becomes the centre for policy, direction and procedure to bring
stakeholders together – librarians, academics, technologists,
publishers and research funders
• Scholarly communication librarianship is the “new librarianship” in a
new social context
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18. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies 18

19. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Through the transformation lens: a
reality check
Transforming academic libraries in the global context
SA academic libraries in a context of cross-cutting
influences
Global impact of new mission for academic libraries
National imperatives to transform South African society
Institutional strategic priorities and outcomes
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Higher Education within the context of a
transforming South African society and economy

20. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Strategic priorities Critical success factors
Pillar 1: People & skills
Produce next generation of academics for SA
& the rest of the continent
• Graduate & train next generation of academics for SA,
the continent & beyond
• Grow number of academics with PG qualifications
Pillar 2: Knowledge creation
Establish HEIs as leading, globally
competitive, research-led institutions but
with a competitive edge rooted in the African
continent
• Strengthen research & make SA globally competitive
•Grow the body of African knowledge
• Grow faculty research productivity
• Increase research oriented degrees
• Grow research intensive teaching-learning
• Successful student education & graduation
Pillar 3: Improving society
Transformation in broader society to improve
the quality of life for all communities across
South Africa, & beyond
• Diverse & talented workforce within an inclusive &
nurturing institution
• Deliver on high level knowledge & skills requirements of
marketplace
• Graduates who are critical thinkers & leaders &
confident users of information
HEIs Strategic outcomes: advancing
transformation of South African society

21. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
UCT Libraries: the challenge of the
new social context
• Transformational mission has placed Libraries &
LISC at intersection of new librarianship and
national imperatives for South African higher
education
• LIS School required to frame its curricula to
embrace and advance scholarly communication
librarianship
• Libraries are confronted with the demands and
complexities of technologies, digital environment
and scholarly communication system
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22. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Role of the educator in scholarly
communication librarianship
• New graduates have to be equipped for jobs in
academic libraries
• Educators need to understand the complexities of:
• - technologies
• - digital environment
• - scholarly communication system
• Curricula should include more content about IPR,
publishing, data management to produce graduates
who offer relevant services, lead discussions and
conduct useful research
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23. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
UCT Libraries: the challenge of the
transformational mission
• Advance research and scholarship by:
- develop the research workforce
- partnering & engaging with
researchers & scholars in the
production, dissemination &
presentation of knowledge
- provide support at all stages of the
research cycle from idea generation
to research process & publication
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24. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Roles and skills required to advance
research & scholarship
• Building new research information infrastructure
• Optimising researcher access to resources
• Developing digitisation strategy as integral part of
supporting unique and distinctive collections (large
scale digitisation as well as physical preservation)
• Being a responsible steward of unique and local
collections
• Playing an integral role in integrating special
collections in curricula
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25. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Roles and skills required to advance
research & scholarship
• Investing in institutional repository development &
open access hosting
• Developing digitisation strategy to sustain local and
unique collections
• Providing leadership in research data management
services
• Providing leadership in metadata creation and
management
• Develop specialist skills in financial management,
statistics, web design, spatial planning and project
management
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26. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Bridging the theory-practice gap: the
LIS School at UCT
• 2012 - radical review of teaching and research
programmes
• Firmly located within a strategic framework
• Curriculum renewal informed by trends re-defining
the LIS sector
• progamme enriched by dove-tailing
epistemological grounding with application input
from specialist practitioners from UCT Libraries
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27. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Bridging the theory-practice gap: the
LIS School at UCT
• Seamless access to expertise from Library
specialists without any budgetary implications for
the School
• Positively influenced qualification outcomes and
quality of entry-level graduates being produced
• Curriculum designers - a close-up view of
knowledge, skills and competencies required of
practising professionals in a digital age information
environment
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28. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Bridging the theory-practice gap: the
LIS School at UCT
• School’s research too benefitted from its inclusive
relationship with UCT Libraries
• Proximity of the School to a practising
environment transformed by technology - has
impacted on the School’s research agenda
• Steadily increasing registrations for research
degrees focusing on new areas in scholarly
communication in the digital environment
• Cohort and team research projects
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29. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Bridging the theory-practice gap: the
LIS School at UCT
• Champion to recognise the work and contribution of
the LIS School
• Not just ‘a bed of roses’ - challenges
• Two different worlds informed by different priorities
and with philosophical differences in our approaches
• Respect for each other’s space, expertise and working
cultures
• Inclusive working relationship between the two
domains
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30. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Bridging the theory-practice gap: the
LIS School at UCT
• LIS School - significant strides
• Student registrations and throughput rates
• Exceeded projections in the School’s business plan
on which its budget allocation is based
• Robust marketing and branding
• Attracting young graduates who have just
completed bachelor degrees
• Budget and other support from UCT Libraries
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31. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Lessons, the way forward and
conclusion
• Inherent tension between LIS practitioners and
educators/theory and practice - likely to continue
• But “LIS educators and practitioners working
together can ensure that tomorrow’s professionals
will be well prepared to enter the field” (Davis and
Moran 2005)
• Evaluative accounts - drawn qualitatively from
respective ‘head’ roles - does, despite inherent
challenges, point to a positive trajectory
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32. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Lessons, the way forward and
conclusion
• Lesson from this unique experiment:
theory and practice, in any professional discipline, are best
conceptualised ‘inclusively’ rather than ‘dichotomously’
• Whatever our prevailing ‘social contexts” in the
institutions we find ourselves
LIS educators and practitioners should make a tangible
effort to bridge the theory-practice divide
• “Theory and practice vitally interact, and one renews
the other” – theory and practice are “tied inseparably
to each other” (Boyer 1990)
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33. A school of choice in Africa for
Library and Information Studies
Thank you!
Jaya Raju & Gwenda Thomas
Library and Information Studies Centre/UCT Libraries
University of Cape Town
jaya.raju@uct.ac.za/gwenda.thomas@uct.ac.za
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