Pakistan Library and Information Council: A Proposal

Pakistan Library and Information Council: A Proposal

Midrar Ullah (National University of Sciences and Technology, Pakistan) and Khalid Mahmood (University of the Punjab, Pakistan)
Copyright: © 2012 |Pages: 21
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61350-335-5.ch002
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Abstract

The aim of this chapter was to propose a Pakistan Library and Information Council (PLIC) to regulate the LIS profession and to draft the Act of the proposed PLIC. Acts of councils of other professions in Pakistan were studied for this purpose. Websites of ALA, CILIP, and ALIA were also consulted to get the idea of the working of professional bodies in the field of LIS. The proposed PLIC will be a statutory professional body set up under an Act of parliament. It will register the professionals and will establish code of conduct for their members. The council will be responsible for accreditation of professional training institutions. It will also devise and maintain standards for the professional organizations. A draft of Act of proposed PLIC is presented as an Appendix to this study for suggestions from LIS experts. It is recommended that a Committee may be formulated to review the draft before presenting it to the competent authorities.
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Educational accreditation is the process, which provides independent evaluation of the integrity and competence of the educational institutions according to the requirement of the applicable standards. According to Wikipedia (2009) the education accreditation “is a type of quality assurance process under which services and operations of an educational institution or program are evaluated by an external body to determine if applicable standards are met.” Accreditation is necessary to improve the quality of education, training and services. It builds confidence of employers, enhances the credibility of the organization and promotes quality culture. It also ensures through regular surveillance the continuous improvement in the standard of education and keeps the curriculum up to date according to the needs and demands of the market. Degrees received from unaccredited organizations are not acceptable for financial aid, civil service or other employment.

In the developed countries, i.e., USA, Canada, Australia and UK following library associations are responsible for the library education standards and accreditation of LIS schools:

  • 1.

    American Library Association (ALA)

  • 2.

    Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA)

  • 3.

    Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)

The Council of the American Library Association (ALA) has designated the Committee on Accreditation “to be responsible for the execution of the accreditation program of the ALA and to develop and formulate standards of education.” This committee has prepared standards known as “Standards for accreditation of Master’s programs in library and information studies” (ALA, 2008).

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