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Library Education
Archive of publications
The texts gathered in this section address education and professional training in library and information science (LIS), with particular attention to the challenges faced by library workers operating outside traditional academic and institutional frameworks. Over the last decades, transformations in information technologies, digital infrastructures, and knowledge economies have significantly reshaped the competencies expected from information professionals. At the same time, many library staff — especially those working in public, school, community, and grassroots libraries — continue to face limited access to formal LIS education and professional development opportunities. The contributions included here examine these structural tensions and explore alternative approaches to librarianship education that combine theoretical foundations, practical competencies, and critical reflection on the social role of libraries. Particular emphasis is placed on open and accessible training resources, documentation languages and knowledge organization, copyright and information policy, and the development of educational models capable of supporting diverse library contexts across linguistic, cultural, and institutional environments.
Articles
2016
Civallero, Edgardo (2016). Among shelves: Librarianship for librarians. A starting project on LIS training. Information for Social Change, 36, 73-77. [Link]
(+) Abstract
This article examines structural deficiencies in professional training within library and information science (LIS), focusing particularly on the situation of library workers operating in grassroots institutions such as public, school, and community libraries. The discussion situates the problem within broader transformations affecting librarianship over the last decades, including the increasing technification of professional education, the growing dominance of digital infrastructures, and the marginalization of theoretical, ethical, and humanistic foundations within LIS curricula. The text addresses the uneven global distribution of training opportunities and the persistent gap between formal LIS education and the practical realities faced by library staff working in socially embedded institutions that provide frontline information services to diverse communities.
In response to these challenges, the article presents the conceptual framework of the "Among Shelves" project, an initiative designed to develop freely accessible training materials for library workers lacking formal LIS education. The proposed model emphasizes foundational knowledge in librarianship, documentation languages, cataloguing, classification, information technologies, and critical librarianship, combining theoretical grounding with practical guidance. Distributed as openly accessible digital handbooks under Creative Commons licensing and conceived as adaptable across linguistic and cultural contexts—including Indigenous and minority languages—the project addresses issues such as copyright, open access, knowledge dissemination, and sustainable library development. The initiative ultimately proposes an alternative approach to LIS training oriented toward strengthening community-based libraries, reinforcing professional autonomy, and supporting equitable access to information within diverse social and cultural environments.