More than 'Stamping Books': Library Education
and Training in the USP region.
Donita V. Simmons and Esther Williams
The training of library assistants in the USP region has made remarkable
progress since discussions first began in 1969 between Dennis Edwards,
then Librarian, Fiji Library Services and Harold Holdsworth, the former
University Librarian of the University of the South Pacific.
However, some things have not changed. Programmes for training
library assistants in the South Pacific still exist only in Fiji and Papua
New Guinea. Papua New Guinea has for many years offered formal
training to non-professionals through two residential courses run by the
Government of Papua New Guinea Administrative College — the
Library Assistants course of one year and the Library Officers course of
over two years which in 1976 was elevated to a diploma course at the
semi- or para- professional level. Papua New Guinea has always maintain-
ed that there is a need for two levels of training below the professional
level.
Likewise, no provision for professional training exists in the University of
the South Pacific region. A school for training professional librarians is
not justified because of the lack of employment opportunities. Con-
sequently trainees are sent to Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom,
United States, Philippines, West Indies, etc. This training can take two
forms — non-graduates with some working experience can enrol in a
three or four year course towards a bachelor's degree in librarianship.
The other alternative which is now becoming generally accepted is for
graduate recruits to pursue a one-year post-graduate course. At the
University of the South Pacific Library, fourteen persons have qualified
in this way.
The situation in some countries where libraries are poorly developed and
not a priority in government development policies, is such that emphasis
has been placed on developing. non-professional training programmes to
train not graduates but semi- or non-professionals.
14
Fiji Certificate in Librarianship
The Fiji Certificate in Librarianship Course which began in 1972, was for
some years the only formal non-professional training programme offered
in the USP region. It was introduced by the Library Services of Fiji and
held at the University of the South Pacific Library in four short full-time
sessions during the University vacations throughout one year.
The Certificate was a practical course for library assistants from all types
of libraries. It was especially geared towards the assistant who would
work under professional guidance and supervision rather than the
assistant working alone in a small library or with someone at a lower level
and without guidance at most times.
Its generalist courses aimed to produce librarians capable of working in
any type of libary and in any type of work situation. It was a course of
pure library instruction and excluded non-library subjects in its 300 hours
of tuition. Assistants attending the course had to have passed New
Zealand School Certificate, and have not less than two years practical
experience.
The Fiji course was remarkable in that it never had a budget, and all
lecturers were voluntary or honorary. USP Library staff participated as
teachers and all coordinators were aid-funded overseas volunteers. When
it ended in December 1980, 72 library assistants had gained Certificates.
The Fiji Certificate aroused interest among those employed in libraries in
the region. Many wished to enrol but there were difficulties in accepting
regional entrants because of the entry requirements. Many did not have
school certificate and the lack of qualified colleagues meant that assist-
ants employed in regional libraries did not have continual professional
guidance or supervision. Therefore the length of their employment was
not necessarily a measure of the quality of their experience.
Finance was another constraint and attendance by the few regional
persons who enrolled was only possible through aid. Because the Fiji
Certificate in Librarianship was a four-part residential course, it was
expensive and the enrolment of regional assistants was difficult and
restricted. Nor could many assistants be seconded to Fiji for one year to
attend course sessions and to gain practical experience in Fiji libraries
during the periods between sessions.
15
USP Certificate in Librarianship
Since 1981, the University of the South Pacific has been involved in the
training of library assistants. Interest in a regional course run by USP
was expressed as early as 1973. In 1974 USP staff outlined a course that
could be offered to the region by correspondence. Although it would lead
to a Certificate, it would not be accredited to further USP studies. It
would be a qualification that would be recognised regionally by
employers, on a par with the Fiji Certificate. Ministerial support was
sought as this was seen as prerequisite for mounting the course.
The University recognised the need for some form of intermediate
training for library assistants in the South Pacific. In July 1981, the USP
Senate approved a Certificate in Librarianship to be offered under the
auspices of Extension Services and the Institute of Education as both
were involved with regional instruction through workshops, seminars
and distance teaching. The support for the USP Certificate in Librarian-
ship which was to begin in Semester 2 1981, was a formal commitment by
the University to library education in the South Pacific. The USP Library
staff administered, coordinated and taught the programme.
Up till the present time, most library development, including the training
of librarians in the region, has been heavily dependent on foreign aid.
From 1981-1983, the University obtained the assistance of two US Peace
Corps Volunteers and one person from CIDA (Canadian International
Development Agency) in writing three courses. CIDA personnel co-
ordinated the programme from 1982-1984. Until 1984, CIDA provided
funds for the writing and printing of all course materials and for two of
the three regional workshops which were held.
Since 1984, the USP Library has absorbed the costs of running the
programme into its own budget. Since that time too, the Senior Assistant
Librarian, who is also the Coordinator, and the University Librarian
have been responsible for administering the programme; writing new
courses and revising old ones; course assessment and student evaluation;
conducting fortnightly face-to-face tutorials with Fiji students, and
regional students when on work assignments; and conducting fortnightly
satellite tutorials for the regional students — all this in addition to their
duties in the Library.
In May 1983 an interim assessment prepared for CIDA revealed that
16
in numbers alone the programme had far exceeded expectations. (See
Table 1.) It had been anticipated that at the end of the three year project
which began in July 1981, approximately 35 to 40 library assistants
would have qualified for the Certificate. Table 1 shows that one year
before the project was completed, these expectations were exceeded.
Table 1
Enrolments (July 1981
May 1983)
No. enrolled Withdrawals No. completed Failed, Total
in Sem. 1 1983 before exam, course, to to Sem. 2
to Sem. 2 1982 Sem. 2 1982 1982
Introduction to the
Library
39
13
81
24
120
Building the
Not offered
Library Collection this term
11
54
23
54
Special Librarianship
School Option
Not offered
this term
21
5
21
Public/Special
Option
23
23
Basic Library
Operation
38
16
97
13
135
Organizing the
Not offered
Library Collection this term
9
56
22
56
Technical Operation
23
13
30
6
53
Total
123
71
339
93
462
Numbers have continued to increase since 1983. Table 2 details enrolment
figures by country from 1984 to 1986. These figures are taken from the
beginning of the semesters and do not take into account any withdrawals
or dropouts during the semester. Table 3 gives the number of passes by
country from 1984-1986.
The regional interest in the programme is evident from Tables 2 and 3
where enrolment and pass figures have been tabulated by country.
Students from outside the USP region have also been admitted to the
programme, namely from New Caledonia and the Marshall Islands. USP
continually receives enquiries from other countries — Papua New
Guinea, New Zealand and early this year from American Samoa.
17
Table 2
Course Enrolments 1984-1986
Year
Cook
Fiji
Kiribati
Nauru
New
New
Niue
Solomon
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Western
Total
Islands
Caledonia
Zealand
Islands
Samoa
1984
12
123
7
1
4
2
7
2
17
-
-
28
203
1985
14
147
10
-
2
-
6
3
25
-
18
19
244
1986
10
130
4
5
-
-
2
15
10
-
16
24
216
Total
36
400
21
6
6
2
15
20
52
-
34
71
663
Table 3
Course Passes 1984-1986
Year
Cook
Fiji
K iribati
Nauru
New
New
Niue
Solomon
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Western
Total
Islands
Caledonia
Zealand
Islands
Samoa
1984
7
91
2
-
4
1
3
-
8
-
-
17
133
1985
5
88
2
-
2
-
3
1
10
-
12
12
135
1986
5
81
2
2
-
-
1
7
2
-
5
17
122
Total 17 260 6 2 6 1 7 8 20 - 17 46 390
The programme produced its first graduates, a total of 15, in December
1982. By the end of 1986 a total of 86 graduates had been awarded the
USP Certificate in Librarianship. (See Table 4.)
Table 4
Number of graduates (1981-1986)
Country No. of individual No. of students No. of students still
students ever enrolled graduated taking courses
Cook Islands
19
3
7
Fiji
196
61
49
Kiribati
18
NONE
1
Nauru
5
1
1
New Caledonia
1
1
NONE
New Zealand
4
2
NONE
Niue
8
1
1
Solomon Islands
12
NONE
5
Tonga
27
8
2
Tuvalu
2
NONE
NONE
Vanuatu
8
NONE
5
Western Samoa
40
9
9
Total
340
86
80
This library course has been very successful and at the request of libraries
and governments in the region, a diploma level course in library and
information studies is going to be offered by USP. It will be a higher level
than the Certificate course and will require students to study academic
subjects as well as library topics.
The Diploma is an exciting new educational development in the South
Pacific. The call for such a programme reflects the need in the region for
competent semi-professional librarians with higher levels of skills.
Changing needs in non-professional training
The information needs of South Pacific countries are becoming increasing-
ly complex and they require higher levels of competence and skill from
librarians/information workers who provide services to policy makers,
governments, research institutions, universities, schools, international
and regional organisations, private enterprises and the general public. It
19
is vital for those who provide information services in the South Pacific to
possess a high level of competency because of their isolation from
accessible sources of professional assistance and guidance. There is a
need for change in the depth, standard and level of knowledge and skills
library assistants need today in order to administer, manage, and
maintain a desirable standard of library and information services
compatible with the evolving information demands of a changing society.
The demand for qualified, competent semi-professional librarians in the
various libraries of the South Pacific region was expressed in November
1985 at the Pacific Information Centre (PIC) Advisory Meeting in
Rarotonga, when representatives from the Cook Islands, Solomon
Islands, Kiribati, Tonga, Western Samoa and Fiji voiced interest and
support for a programme to meet the requirements for advanced
information skills in the region. Currently, there is no programme of this
nature available in the USP region.
Earlier, in 1983, the interim assessment by CIDA had also recommended
that long range planning be undertaken to explore how the Certificate
could be upgraded to a diploma, so that the market would not be
saturated with graduates of a certificate which was terminal. A diploma
would provide graduates of the Certificate programme with the oppor-
tunity to increase their qualifications, thus also giving library assistants a
career/'education pattern.
The USP Library, because of its interest and commitment to providing
library education training in the region, is now commited to developing a
diploma programme in library education.
Diploma in Library/Information Studies
The experience and knowledge gained in running the USP Certificate in
Librarianship was invaluable in planning the direction the Diploma
programme would take.
Preliminary work was done in various areas to facilitate planning —
assessing the need for upgrading the current Certificate in Librarianship
to a Diploma in Librarianship; analysing the Certificate in Librarianship
programme by identifying the instructional components in each of the
course books currently being used; identifying instructional components
20
not included in the Certificate in Librarianship that should be included in
a Diploma programme; identifying academic courses to recommend to
students in the Diploma programme; compiling statistics on the Certi-
ficate programme, such as those detailed in Tables 1-4; identifying
additional topics/subject areas in librarianship to be included in the
Diploma programme; and obtaining input from practising librarians on
the need for a Diploma programme, its content, and methods of making
it available to potential students.
In August 1986, a consultant from the University of Hawaii was invited
to work with the University Librarian and the Coordinator of the USP
Certificate in Librarianship programme in planning the curriculum and
preparing the proposal for a Diploma in Librarianship at the University
of the South Pacific.
Initial decisions were made to expand the concept of the programme
from 'librarianship' — a term which implies the study of activities related
to a library building — to that of'library/information studies', 'libraries/
information centres', and 'librarians/information specialists', which more
accurately identifies the field of study and the role of the information-
professional, and provides a wider concept of knowledge and information
as a creation of the human intellect. The 'library/ information' concept
successfully captures the dynamism inherent in the library/information
profession.
The functional approach to library/information studies education was
chosen as appropriate for the structure of the diploma programme.
Planning a structure for the diploma programme must begin with the
awareness that the knowledge required to build library/information
centre collections, organise resources so as to make information ac-
cessible to library/information centre users, and to give quality service to
anyone in need of information, is basic to the library/information studies
profession. Three courses were developed to cover these functions:
Building the Library/ Information Centre Collection; Organising
Library/ Information Centre Resources; Library Information Services.
Effective management of these three basic functions is necessary for the
library/information centre to meet its objectives. In order to provide for
this effective management, there is a course in theories and principles of
management as related to library/information centre practices. Another
21
course included in the functional approach is an introduction to the field
of library/information studies. Finally, a course relating these functions
to a library/information centre specialisation, which can include a field
study or a practical attachment provides the student with in-depth and
specialised knowledge of library/information centre functions and
management.
The functional approach allows the design of a library/information
studies education programme that provides a sound theoretical
foundation as well as the practical knowledge needed to operate a
library/information centre.
The proposed Diploma in Library/ Information Studies at the University
of the South Pacific consists often undergraduate courses, six in library/
information studies and four academic courses.
The Diploma at USP will consist of an introductory course, courses in
selection, organisation and service, one in management, and one in a type
of library/information centre specialisation. Students enrolled in this
proposed programme will learn computer applications in information
services, database design and creation, networking through bibliographic
databases, storage and retrieval of information, telecommunications and
automation of libraries/information centres, managing small libraries,
actively identifying and recording of documents.
The library/information studies courses for the Diploma programme are
HU101 Introduction to Library/Information Studies; HU102 Building
the Library/Information Centre Collection; HU103 Organising Library/
Information Centre Resources; HU104 Library/Information Centre
Services; HU205 Management of Library/Information Centre; HU206
Libraries/Information Centres Specialisation HU206(a) The School
Library/Information Centre; HU206(b) The Academic Library/
Information Centre; HU206(c) The Public Library/Information Centre;
HU206(d) The Special Library/ Information Centre.
All students will be required to enrol in the first five courses. For the sixth
course students can select one of the Libraries/ Information Centres
specialisation courses. Students can choose from the academic subjects
offered on campus and through Extension Services to complete the
required 100- and 200-level courses.
22
The Diploma will be run initially on the USP Campus in Suva for three
consecutive semesters commencing Second Semester 1989 and ending
Second Semester 1990. From First Semester 1991 the Diploma will be
offered via distance learning only through USP's Extension Services.
Students who have successfully completed the USP Certificate in
Librarianship can be admitted to the programme. These students may be
exempted from two of the Diploma courses. Intending students without
these qualifications or its equivalent must have passed the New Zealand
University Entrance Examination and LLF11 Communication and Study
Skills 1. Candidates who have passed examinations or obtained credits at
University towards a University degree or diploma can also be admitted
with certain credits or exemptions as the Senate considers appropriate.
Conclusion
The changing role and status of libraries and librarianship in the South
Pacific and the increasing recognition of their importance by govern-
ments, educators and the private sector, has placed greater demands on
library assistants.
Library training at this level has moved from a localised basic course to a
regional and higher level programme; and now to the actual planning and
development of a regional diploma programme.
The Diploma programme, will give librarians/information workers in the
South Pacific the opportunity to acquire knowledge that will enable them
to keep pace with the technological advances of the information age. This
depth of knowledge is essential for librarians/information workers to
provide service commensurate with the needs of contemporary users of
information.
It will meet the information needs of the region by upgrading the
competencies of those who now hold the USP Certificate in Librarianship
and by providing a semi-professional education to persons who wish to
enter the field of library/ information studies. The Diploma will enable
library assistants to advance to higher level positions within the library/
information field thereby bridging the education gap between the library
assistant and the professional librarian/information specialist. The award
of the Diploma acknowledges the additional skills and expertise required
23
to assume more complex and demanding responsibilities in libraries/
information centres.
It will also answer the need to provide an academically recognised and
accredited programme from which a degree could be developed. Provision
has been made within its structure to use the Diploma as a stepping stone
in pursuing advanced professional qualifications. The Diploma will
provide an appropriate prerequisite for academic work toward the
bachelor degree, post-graduate diploma, and masters in library science
offered by accredited library schools overseas. Accredited undergraduate
library training programmes exist in the United Kingdom, United States,
Australia, New Zealand, etc., but none of these programmes cater to the
educational needs of the library assistant in the South Pacific, especially
those who are dependent on distance education. Offering the Diploma by
distance education will allow students enrolled in the programme to
obtain the initial academically recognised qualification in the library/
information profession with a minimum of personal dislocation and loss
of income. A Diploma in library/information studies through distance
education will not only be cost-effective but will also reach the largest
number of people living within the USP region.
Bibliography
Bard, Therese Bissen (1986) Planning the Curriculum for a Diploma Programme
in Library/ Information Studies at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji. A
report submitted to Asia Foundation.
Bentley, T. Roy (1983) Interim Assessment: South Pacific Regional Certificate in
Librarianship. Prepared for the Canadian International Development Agency.
Holdsworth, Harold (1980) 'Certificate in Librarianship (USP).' Fiji Library
Association Journal A, Dec, 44-48.
Holdsworth, Harold (1980) Training of Library Staff in the South Pacific.' Fiji
Library Association Journal 4, Dec, 26-43.
A Proposal for a Diploma Programme in Library/ Information Studies offered
by the University of the South Pacific Library in association with the
Institute of Education and Extension Services, USP. Submitted by USP
Library, October 1986 lv.
Simmons, Donita. USP Certificate in Librarianship Reports, (annually from
1983 to 1987)
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