Trends in LIS Education in Singapore
Christopher Khoo Soo Guan, Associate Professor
Division of Information Studies, School of Communication & Information
Nanyang Technological University

Overview of LIS Education History in Singapore
The history of library and information science (LIS) professional education in Singapore is a relatively recent one.
The only LIS professional education program in Singapore is the MSc in Information Studies program, establishedat the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in 1993. A Certificate and Diploma program for training
paraprofessionals was also established at the Temasek Polytechnic at about the same time. Prior to that, LIS
professional training could be obtained through the postgraduate diploma program in library and information science
conducted by the Library Association of Singapore from 1982 to 1992 (Thuraisingham, 1984 & 1989). The
instructors in the diploma program were a combination of lecturers engaged from overseas library schools in United
Kingdom and A ustralia, and local practis ing librarians. Many librarians also went overseas to obtain theirprofessional library qualification, mainly in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the U.S. Others obtained
their qualifications through the external Library Association (U.K.) and Australian Library Association professional
examinations to obtain an A.L.A. (Associateship of the Library Association) or A.A.L.A. (Associateship of theAustralian Library Association), until these programs were phased out around 1980.
The establishment of the MSc in Information Studies program at NTU was a culmination of three decadesof effort by the library profession to establish a library school (Wee, 1980; Sabaratnam, 1989). According to Wee(1980), the first proposal for a library school was made in 1960 by the librarian of the University of Singapore toestablish a library school in the university. Over the years, numerous manpower surveys were carried out to project
the number of professionals needed in traditional libraries as well as non-traditional information environments, topersuade various authorities of the demand for professional library and information science training.
Sabaratnam (1993) reported that finally in 1989, at the request of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministryof Community Development, the National Computer Board set up a high-level committee called Programme forInformation Management (PRIM) to review the issue. A task force was set up, led by the director of the IT
Manpower Department, National Computer Board, to conduct a national manpower survey. The results of thesurvey confirmed the demand for information professionals in non-traditional settings. The PRIM report wasendorsed by the Committee on National Computerisation, and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) offered
to set up a part -time Master’s program in the School of Applied Science. At the same time, two important policy
documents were issued by high-level committees led by the National Computer Board:•

the IT 2000 Report (1992), which charted the development of Singapore’s national information
infrastructure to transform it into an intelligent island•

the Library 2000 Report (1994), which charted the development of library services to support Singapore asa learning nation and as a knowledge hub.

The MSc in Information Studies program is then seen as part of the “manpower infrastructure” development
program to provide the trained information personnel to help transform Singapore into an Intelligent Island and alearning nation. With the setting up of the MSc program at NTU, LIS professional development has now centered on
the MSc program.

Trends in LIS Curriculum in Singapore
The Division of Information Studies was set up in NTU School of Applied Science with 5 faculty members to offer
the MSc in Information Studies program. This was a 2-year part-time program, in which students had to complete 6
core courses and 2 elective course, as well as a dissertation. A chronology of the milestones in the history of the
program is given in Table 1. The major trends in the curriculum have been:•a move from a predominantly library science program in 1993 to an information science program withparticular strengths in information technology•

the development of a number of areas of concentration/specialization, and spinning them off to become
separate MSc programs.
Khoo & Al-Hawamdeh (2000) identified the following factors that contributed towards strengthening of the

IT component of the program:
1.

The university environment and the parent school

2.

The background and expertise of its faculty members

3.

The local economy and job market

4.

Student demands and expectations.

Table 1. Milestones in the development of the MSc in Information Studies program at NTU

1993 MSc in Information Studies program started as a 2-year part-time program, requiring
students to complete 6 core courses + 2 electives + dissertation. 50 students wereadmitted to the program each year.
1997 Part-time “day-release” program for staff of Natural Library Board was introduced.
1998 New curriculum with 4 core courses + 4 electives + dissertation was introduced.
2000 A full-time program was introduced with 30 full-time students, in addition to 60 parttime students. A new curriculum was introduced with 3 core courses + 2 Group A
electives + 4 Group B electives + dissertation. The number of applicants to theprogram rose to 400, and to 700 in 2001.
2002 The Division of Information Studies moved to the School of Communication Studies,and the school was renamed School of Communication & Information. An MSc in
Knowledge Management program was introduced, in collaboration with the Civil
Service College. The areas of concentration in the Information Studies program wasrevised.
2004 The dissertation requirement was made optional. In place of the dissertation, students
can take 2 courses, 1 of which is Criticial Inquiry involving a group research project.
The core course, Information Users and Society, was changed to a Professional
Seminar series with pass/fail grading.
2005 A new MSc in Information Systems program will be offered, in collaboration with the
NTU School of Computer Engineering. A proposal for a multidisciplinary
undergraduate program in Information is being developed.
The first two were internal factors. The School of Applied Science, in which the Information Studies
Division was situated, was an IT school which was later renamed School of Computer Engineering. This and thefact that NTU was an engineering and technological university influenced the Information Studies program tobecome more IT-oriented rather than social science-oriented. The strength and interest of the faculty members in IT
also contributed to the nature of the program.
In addition, several external factors have influenced the program. The limited number of library-related
jobs made it necessary to train graduates for non-traditional information positions. The emerging knowledge-based
economy, growth of the IT sector and government support for IT development gave rise to new-age or “neweconomy” information-intensive jobs which tend to require more IT skills. The perception of librarianship as a lowpaying unglamorous job also made it necessary to focus on the new-age information professions to attract more andbetter-quality students.
The fact that many of the new-economy professions are really information professions has spurred theDivision of Information Studies to “stake a claim” to the new professions, by devising a curriculum that equips ourstudents to work in the new areas , and compete effectively with computer science and management graduates forthese jobs.
Annual surveys of applicants to the Information Studies program found only a small proportion who
intended to work as librarians after graduation. Of the applicants for the year 2000 admission, only 12% selected thelibrary science concentration. Of the applicants who were actually offered admission in 2004, fewer than 20% had
selected the library and information service concentration. Fig. 1 shows the proportion of applicants admitted to the
pro gram who selected the various areas of concentration.

School media
Unknown
3%
5%
Library & information
service
19%

Archival informatics
7%

Information
management
35%
Information systems
31%

Fig. 1. The proportion of applicants offered admission in 2004 who selected various areas of concentration

From the beginning, the program has attracted both students who want to be librarians as well as IT
professionals who want to learn the softer side of IT , including user aspects, applications and management. The
library science-oriented students felt that there was not enough library science content in the program, while the IToriented students felt there was not enough IT. To meet the needs of these two groups of student, the curriculum wasrestructured in 2000 to offer two broad areas of concentration, and within each area a number of specializations:
Library and information services concentration•

Public libraries•

Academic libraries•

School libraries and media resources•

Corporate information services

Information management and systems•

Internet and multimedia-based information systems•

Information systems and products development•

Document and records management•

Knowledge management.

As a result, the number of applications to the program shot up to 400 in 2000 and 700 in 2001! More details of thiscurriculum revision was reported in Higgins & Chaudhry (2003).
In 2002, the areas of concentration were simplified into the following five areas:•

Archival Informatics•

Information Management•

Information Systems•

Library and Information Science•

School Media Resource Management
The decision to define areas of concentration and specialization has been a controversial one in the

Division of Information Studies. The areas of concentration and specialization were defined to serve a number of
purposes :1.

as a marketing tool to give the public a clearer idea what the program was about and what the strengths ofthe program were2.

as a guide to students to help them define a coherent program for themselves

3.

as strategic directions for the program to focus on and develop more advanced courses in4.

as a guide in recruiting faculty.
A three-tier programme structure was designed to gradually prepare students for more advanced courses.

The tiers were:1.

Core courses (3 courses): foundation courses that define the skills and competencies common to all theinformation professions

2.

Group A electives (students select 2 out of 5 courses): foundation courses for the various concentrations/specializations

3.

Group B electives (students select 4 courses): more in-depth courses in an area ofconcentration/specialization.
The popularity of the revised program and the rising number of applicants exerted pressure on the Divisionof Information Studies to admit more students to the program. It was decided that the best way to develop the
program further, provide more advanced courses as well as admit more students was to spin-off the knowledge
management and the information systems specializations into separate MSc programs , since these specializations
attract a high proportion of applicants. The MSc in Knowledge Management program was launched in 2002, and the
MSc in Information Systems program will be launched in 2005. The MSc in Knowledge M anagement program is
more management-oriented and more oriented towards corporate organizations, whereas the information systems
program will be more technical, with more programming and system development. A proposal for a multidisciplinary undergraduate programme, BSc in Information, is also being developed.
With the establishment of separate information systems and knowledge management MSc programs, there
is a need to chart a new direction for the Information Studies program. Perhaps the program can refocus on its corebusiness of library and information services. Possible areas of focus include:•

School media, information literacy, information services for children and young adults•

Records management, information management, archives•

Information and knowledge organization, metadata, classification, information architecture, ontology
construction and use•

Digital libraries, digital information and electronic resources•

Digital information services, environment scanning, information analysis, information packaging,
abstracting•

Information security•

Information entrepreneurship.

Profile of Students

A major strength of the Information Studies program is the diverse backgrounds of the students. Khoo &Chennupati (2004) and Khoo, Higgins, Foo & Lim (2004) carried out in-depth analyses of the profile of applicantsand students in 2000 and 2001, as well as their subject interests and selected areas of specialization. Overall, 58% of
the applicants were male , the majority of applicants were aged 25 to 34 years (71%), and they came from a crosssection of industry, mainly education, engineering and IT, and from a wide range of educational backgrounds. Only
about 13% were from the library and information services sector. There were a substantial number of nonSingaporean applicants from Malaysia, China and India, though many were Singapore permanent residents orworking in Singapore.
A statistical analysis was performed to identify the characteristics or applicants selecting the various
specializations. Applicants selecting different specializations had different profiles and educational and employment
backgrounds. Applicants tended to select the specialization that was related to their educational and employment
background. Teachers tended to select the school libraries specialization, people with finance, business andaccountancy background tended to select corporate information services and knowledge management, and IT
workers tended to select information systems. The library specializations tended to be selected by Arts & Social
Science graduates, whereas science and technology graduates preferred information systems and the Internet
specializations. However, the Internet specialization appeared to cut across all sectors, with applicants from every
industry selecting it.
Gender and age differences were also found. The public library and school library specialisations tended to
attract female a pplicants. The library specializations also attracted older applicants than the information systems andInternet specializations. Men and younger applicants were more interested in IT subjects, and the knowledge
management area tended to be selected by slightly older applicants and male business/accountancy graduates.
Students with a particular background bring with them a particular set of knowledge, skills, perspectives
and attitudes. These are likely to influence classroom dynamics, group discussions and the students’ learning
experience. It will also have an impact on the type of graduates produced for each specialisation. We feel that a goodmix of students from a variety of backgrounds is desirable for each specialisation. In particular, it is not desirable forlibrary science students to be predominantly female and Arts & Social Science graduates. Something should be done
to encourage male students from other educational backgrounds to join the library profession.

However, the mix of student backgrounds in a particular class can also limit what the class can accomplish
and what teaching methods can be employed. For example, it is difficult to pitch an IT-related course at a level thatcan be handled by students with an arts and social science background and at the same time satisfy the needs ofstudents with a technical background. Students from a non-technical background need more guidance and step-bystep instructions in programming/scripting and use of software. On the other hand, students with a technicalbackground tend to be younger and have less working experience. In non-technical courses, they tend to be quieter
and have more difficulty engaging in discussion at a high level.

Accreditation and Licensing
There is no system in Southeast Asia for accrediting LIS education programs. However, the Library Association ofSingapore has set up a Standards and Professional Committee, chaired by the author, for developing accreditationand competency standards and procedures for Singapore. It has adopted the International Federation of Library
Associations and Institutions (2002) Guidelines for professional library/information educational programs – 2000,
and is in the process of developing procedures for accrediting LIS education programs in Singapore.
The issue of accreditation of LIS professional programs has been discussed in regional LIS education
conferences and workshops for a number of years. In 2000, Majid et al. (2002) carried out a questionnaire survey of
LIS schools in Southeast Asia to explore the perceptions of the LIS schools about a regional accreditation scheme .
12 of the 14 schools surveyed agreed there is a need for developing an accreditation scheme for LIS degrees inSoutheast Asia. 13 of 14 schools expressed interest in participating in a regional accreditation scheme. A majority of
the respondents agreed that a joint committee of representatives from CONSAL (Congress of Southeast Asian
Librarians) and LIS schools should be responsible for developing and coordinating a regional accreditation scheme.
CONSAL is a conference series held every 3 years (http://www.consal.org). Majid et al. (2002) also outlined amodel for developing and implementing an accreditation scheme under the auspices and oversight of CONSAL. The
issue of accreditation and certification was raised at the CONSAL XII (2003) conference in Brunei, and a proposal
for the development of a regional accreditation and certification scheme was included in the conference resolutions.
For the MSc program at NTU, there is currently no credit transfer arrangement with other programmes ,except for student exchange programs. However, a regional accreditation scheme will certainly facilitate credit

transfer arrangements. There is also no formal licensing system for librarians in Singapore. The only country inSoutheast Asia that licenses librarians is the Philippines (Santos, 1996 ).

Market trends of information specialists in Singapore
It is estimated that there are about 550 practising professional librarians in Singapore. Because of the economic
downturn, there is a hiring freeze in most libraries. However, it is obvious that all organizations need some kind of
information management. Information processing and information management tasks are typically handled byadministrative officers or IT specialists. There is a lack of awareness among employers of the need for information
professionals to manage information and knowledge, and that LIS graduates can fill that role. Promotion andmarketing is needed to educate employers about the role of information and knowledge professionals.
NTU Division of Information Studies is carrying out a study of manpower requirements for Information
and Knowledge Professionals. The objectives are t o identify the main types of information and knowledge-intensive
jobs currently available and projected to be available in 5 years, the main types of information skills needed inindustry, and the projected employment numbers. The focus is on non -traditional information-related jobs. The
results of the study are expected to be ready in March 2005.
Students and alumni of the MSc program at NTU are regularly surveyed on the usefulness of the program
and the courses offered. In a recent survey with 219 respondents, the courses most often deemed useful or relevant(in reverse order of frequency) were: Information Sources & Searching, Collection Development & Management,
Information Storage & Retrieval, The Information Society, Information Organization, Knowledge Management,Internet & Web Technologies, Business Information Sources & Services, Cataloguing & Classification, Database
Management Systems , Information Users & Society, Research Methods in Information Studies, and Management ofInformation Agencies . When asked which courses were less useful or relevant, at least 10 respondents selected
Information Sources & Searching, The Information Society, and Cataloguing & Classification, all which also
appeared in the list of useful courses!

Conclusion
Within a period of 10 years, NTU Division of Information Studies has developed a vibrant, innovative and popular
Information Studies program that attracts high caliber students from diverse backgrounds from a cross-section of

industry. Graduates of the program also work in a wide range of organizations and environments. The program
defines 5 areas of concentration. The two most popular areas of concentration, information systems and knowledge
management, have been developed further into separate MSc programs. With this development, the Information
Studies program can now re-focus on dev eloping its core LIS areas , and provide leadership in the development ofinnovative library and information services. The Division is also developing the records management and archives
specialization, in collaboration with the National Archives of Singapore, and the school media specialization.
The Division is also strengthening its ties with the library profession by opening its courses to theprofession to take for continuing education, and carrying out collaborative projects with libraries. Faculty members
also run short courses and workshops for the Library Association, the National Library Board, and otherorganizations. The Division is also seeking to develop regional ties and cooperation, and to offer training programs
to the region in specialized areas.

References
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Higgins, S.E., & Chaudhry, A.S. (2003). Articulating the unarticulated elements of the information science
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Khoo, C., & Al-Hawamdeh, S. (2000). IT in the information studies curriculum: How much is enough? Howmuch is too much? Singapore Journal of Information Management, 29, 31-43.
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Appendix. List of courses in the MSc in Information Studies program at the Nanyang Technological
University, School of Communication & Information
Core Courses (Compulsory)
H6602 Information Sources & Searching
H6603 Information Storage & Retrieval
H6604 Professional Seminar
Group A Electives (to select 2)
H6611 Human-Computer Interaction
H6612 Information Management
H6613 Information Organisation
H6614 Internet & Web Technologies
H6615 Archives & Records Management
Group B Electives (to select 4)
H6631 Collection Development & Management
H6632 Cataloguing & Classification
H6633 Client-Centred Information Services
H6634 Business Information Sources & Services
H6635 Management of Information Organisations
H6636 Automated Systems & Services for Libraries
H6637 Digital Libraries & Information Portals
H6638 Evaluation of Library & Information Services
H6651 Instructional Role of School Media Specialists
H6652 Information Sources & Services for Children & Young Adults
H6661 Conservation & Preservation
H6662 Digital Preservation
H6663 Archiving of Multimedia Information
H6664 Heritage & Cultural Informatics
H6671 Database Management Systems
H6672 Web-Based Information Systems
H6673 Multimedia Information Systems
H6674 Intelligent Information Retrieval Systems
H6675 Systems Analysis & Design
H6676 Computer Programming for Information Professionals
H6677 Information Mining & Analysis
H6678 Data Communication & Networking
H6690 Special Topic: Information Security & Digital Forensic
H6691 Special Topic: Mobile Applications Development
H6699 Critical Inquiry in Information Studies

About the author
Chris topher Khoo Soo Guan obtained his PhD in Information Transfer from Syracuse University, an MSc in
Library & Information Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and a BA in Engineering &Applied Science from Harvard University.
He is an Associate Professor in the Division of Information Studies, Nanyang Technological University (NTU),
School of Communication & Information, where he has taught for nine years. He is the program director for
the MSc in Information Studies program. At NTU, he teaches courses in data mining, database management,
Web-based information systems, research methods, knowledge classification and organization, information
searching, and information storage & retrieval.
Prior to joining NTU, he worked for 8 years at the National University of Singapore Library as a reference
librarian and serials librarian at the Science Library, Medical Library and Science & Technology Reference
Department.
His main research interests are in natural language processing, information extraction, automatic categorization,text and data mining, intelligent interfaces, and information retrieval. He was the editor of the Singapore
Journal of Library & Information Management, from 1997 to 2002.