Fregnir - 01.03.2004, Qupperneq 48

Fregnir. Fréttabréf Upplýsingar - Félags bókasafns- og upplýsingafrœða
legar upplýsingar þeim nemendum sem óska eftir að vinna rannsóknarverkefni um
starfsemi safns sem hluta af námi sínu.
Samkomulag þetta er háð því að aðstæður í almenningsbókasöfnunum leyfi á þeim
tíma sem eftir er leitað.
Hulda Björk Þorkelsdóttir
forstöðumaður Bókasafns Reykjanesbœjar
The University of Iceland: New MLIS Programme
The previous issue of Fregnir (November 2003) carried an article that foreshadowed
some changes in the programmes offered by the Library and Information Science De-
partment at the University of Iceland — see “Times are changing ... and so are needs
for professional education in Library and Information Science” (pages 55-57). The
proposed changes are the result of a long process of discussion and review within the
Department and involving other committees and groups. The changes will increase
the options available for professional education in Library and Information Science in
Iceland; it needs to be stressed that our current programme at the BA level will
continue, as will the MA as a research degree.
Our discussions resulted in a proposal for an MLIS (Master of Library and Infor-
mation Science) programme, a programme that will follow the same model as other
postgraduate professional programmes in the Faculty of Social Science such as the
MPA (Master of Public Administration) and the MSW (Master of Social Work). The
MLIS proposal was accepted in December 2003 by the Advanced Studies Committee
of the Faculty of Social Science, and by the Faculty Council of the Faculty of Social
Science (subject to budget review). It was accepted unanimously at a full Faculty
meeting in January, for commencement in August 2004. The programme will be listed
in the University of Iceland Kennsluskrá for the 2004-2005 academic year. You will
be able to read about the programme, in Icelandic, on the University of Iceland web
site at http://www.hi.is/ and click on “Kennsla” and then “Kennsluskrá”. While it is
still possible that budget constraints may result in curtailment of offerings, neverthe-
less we are planning on the basis that we will have the fírst group of students
registering in August this year.
The main aims in introducing the MLIS are twofold. First, it will better meet the
needs of students who enter the Library and Infonnation Science programme with a
fírst degree in another fíeld (currently 27 to 28 per cent of students entering the BA
programme in Library and Information Science). Secondly, it will bring our pro-
fessional programmes into line with the continuing trend towards professional educa-
tion at the postgraduate (masters degree) level in the Faculty of Social Science, where
programmes such as the above-mentioned MPA and MSW will be joined by new pro-
fessional masters degree programmes in Anthropology and in Joumalism over the
next year or so. Further, the introduction of the MLIS will bring us into line with
intemational trends — for example, the American Library Association no longer
accredits undergraduate programmes in Library and Information Science. The MLIS
programme reflects the professional education needs of what is increasingly becoming
a graduate profession (in Iceland as elsewhere).
The MLIS programme has been developed bearing in mind the Standards for Lib-
rary Schools Update: Report 1999 of the International Federation of Library Associa-
tions and Institutions (IFLA), the Standards for Accreditation ofMasters Programs in
29. árg. - 1. tbl. 2004 - bls. 48