History

17th century

Portrait of Gabriel Naudé, author of Advis pour dresser une bibliothèque (1627), later translated into English in 1661

The earliest text on “library operations”, Advice on Establishing a Library was published in 1627 by French librarian and scholar Gabriel Naudé. Naudé wrote prolifically, producing works on many subjects including politics, religion, history, and the supernatural. He put into practice all the ideas put forth in Advice when given the opportunity to build and maintain the library of Cardinal Jules Mazarin. # ISO certification in India

19th century

Martin Schrettinger wrote the second textbook (the first in Germany) on the subject from 1808 to 1829.

Thomas Jefferson, whose library at Monticello consisted of thousands of books, devised a classification system inspired by the Baconian method, which grouped books more or less by subject rather than alphabetically, as it was previously done.# ISO certification in India

The Jefferson collection provided the start of what became the Library of Congress.

The first American school of librarianship opened at Columbia University under the leadership of Melvil Dewey, noted for his 1876 decimal classification, on January 5, 1887, as the School of Library Economy. The term library economy was common in the U.S. until 1942, with the term, library science, predominant through much of the 20th century. Key events are described in “History of American Library Science: Its Origins and Early Development.”.# ISO certification in India

20th century

Later, the term was used in the title of S. R. Ranganathan’s The Five Laws of Library Science, published in 1931, and in the title of Lee Pierce Butler’s 1933 book, An Introduction to Library Science (University of Chicago Press)..# ISO certification in India

S. R. Ranganathan conceived the five laws of library science and the development of the first major analytico-synthetic classification system, the colon classification.

In the United States, Lee Pierce Butler’s new approach advocated research using quantitative methods and ideas in the social sciences with the aim of using librarianship to address society’s information needs. He was one of the first faculty at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School, which changed the structure and focus of education for librarianship in the twentieth century. This research agenda went against the more procedure-based approach of “library economy,” which was mostly confined to practical problems in the administration of libraries..# ISO certification in India

William Stetson Merrill’s A Code for Classifiers, released in several editions from 1914 to 1939,is an example of a more pragmatic approach, where arguments stemming from in-depth knowledge about each field of study are employed to recommend a system of classification. While Ranganathan’s approach was philosophical, it was also tied more to the day-to-day business of running a library. A reworking of Ranganathan’s laws was published in 1995 which removes the constant references to books. Michael Gorman’s Our Enduring Values: Librarianship in the 21st Century features his eight principles necessary by library professionals and incorporate knowledge and information in all their forms, allowing for digital information to be considered..# ISO certification in India

In more recent years, with the growth of digital technology, the field has been greatly influenced by information science concepts. In the English speaking world the term “library science” seems to have been used for the first time in India in the 1916 book Punjab Library Primer, written by Asa Don Dickinson and published by the University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan. This university was the first in Asia to begin teaching “library science”. The Punjab Library Primer was the first textbook on library science published in English anywhere in the world. The first textbook in the United States was the Manual of Library Economy by James Duff Brown, published in 1903. In 1923, C. C. Williamson, who was appointed by the Carnegie Corporation, published an assessment of library science education entitled “The Williamson Report,” which designated that universities should provide library science training.This report had a significant impact on library science training and education. Library research and practical work, the area of information science, has remained largely distinct both in training and in research interests..# ISO certification in India

21st century[edit]

The digital age has transformed how information is accessed and retrieved. “The library is now a part of a complex and dynamic educational, recreational, and informational infrastructure.”Mobile devices and applications with wireless networking, high-speed computers and networks, and the computing cloud have deeply impacted and developed information science and information services. The evolution of the library sciences maintains its mission of access equity and community space, as well as the new means for information retrieval called information literacy skills. All catalogues, databases, and a growing number of books are all available on the Internet. In addition, the expanding free access to open source journals and sources such as Wikipedia have fundamentally impacted how information is accessed. Information literacy is the ability to “determine the extent of information needed, access the needed information effectively and efficiently, evaluate information and its sources critically, incorporate selected information into one’s knowledge base, use information effectively to accomplish a specific purpose, and understand the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of information, and access and use information ethically and legally.”.# ISO certification in India

Education and training

Academic courses in library science include collection management, information systems and technology, research methods, information literacy, cataloging and classification, preservation, reference, statistics and management. Library science is constantly evolving, incorporating new topics like database management, information architecture and information management, among others. With the mounting acceptance of Wikipedia as a valued and reliable reference source, many libraries, museums and archives have introduced the role of Wikipedian in residence. As a result, some universities are including coursework relating to Wikipedia and Knowledge Management in their MLIS programs..# ISO certification in India

Most schools in the US only offer a master’s degree in library science or an MLIS and do not offer an undergraduate degree in the subject. About fifty schools have this graduate program, and seven are still being ranked. Many have online programs, which makes attending more convenient if the college is not in a student’s immediate vicinity. According to US News‘ online journal, University of Illinois is at the top of the list of best MLIS programs provided by universities. Second is University of North Carolina and third is University of Washington..# ISO certification in India

Most professional library jobs require a professional post-baccalaureate degree in library science, or one of its equivalent terms. In the United States and Canada the certification usually comes from a master’s degree granted by an ALA-accredited institution, so even non-scholarly librarians have an originally academic background. In the United Kingdom, however, there have been moves to broaden the entry requirements to professional library posts, such that qualifications in, or experience of, a number of other disciplines have become more acceptable. In Australia, a number of institutions offer degrees accepted by the ALIA (Australian Library and Information Association). Global standards of accreditation or certification in librarianship have yet to be developed..# ISO certification in India

In academic regalia in the United States, the color for library science is lemon.

The Master of Library Science (MLIS) is the master’s degree that is required for most professional librarian positions in the United States and Canada. The MLIS is a relatively recent degree; an older and still common degree designation for librarians to acquire is the Master of Library Science (MLS), or Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS) degree. According to the American Library Association (ALA), “The master’s degree in library and information studies is frequently referred to as the MLS; however, ALA-accredited degrees have various names such as Master of Arts, Master of Librarianship, Master of Library and Information Studies, or Master of Science. The degree name is determined by the program. The [ALA] Committee for Accreditation evaluates programs based on their adherence to the Standards for Accreditation of Master’s Programs in Library and Information Studies, not based on the name of the degree..# ISO certification in India

Employment outlook and op

portunities

According to U.S. News & World Report, library and information science ranked as one of the “Best Careers of 2008”. The median annual salary for 2020 was reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as $60,820 in the United States.Additional salary breakdowns available by metropolitan area show that the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metropolitan area has the highest average salary at $86,380. In September 2021, the BLS projected growth for the field “to grow 9 percent from 2020 to 2030”, which is “about as fast as the average for all occupations”.The 2010-2011 Occupational Outlook Handbook states, “Workers in this occupation tend to be older than workers in the rest of the economy. As a result, there may be more workers retiring from this occupation than other occupations. However, relatively large numbers of graduates from MLS programs may cause competition in some areas and for some jobs.”.# ISO certification in India