Global study on graduate curricula in library and information science

Library and Information science is an ever evolving field. Its evolution is of much interest to the academic community of information professionals. Also, much has been discussed in the recent years about the field’s disciplinary breadth. This study aims to contribute to the body of knowledge of evolutionary research in the field of LIS and thereby provide a comprehensive understanding of the disciplinary breadth of the field by examining the graduate level curricula offered in educational institutes around the world in the field of Library and Information Science, and thereby contribute to the body of knowledge of evolutionary research. Data has been gathered from educational institutes located in ninety-three countries and in five major geographical regions. Program webpages and the respective curriculum webpages of these educational institutions, offering graduate programs in the field of Library and Information Science have been analysed using the method of content analysis. Given the vast number of specialisations and courses obtained in the research findings, this The results of the study empirically support the claim of the disciplinary breath of the field, given the vast numbers of specializations and courses obtained in the research findings. Thise study also analysed if there were global regional variances in the curricula offered. The findings show that only a minority of the courses varied significantly on a global scale. Further more thise study discusses region- – wise top most offered courses and specialiszations offered and their implications. OverallIn totality, the objective of this study and its findings emphasisze that to obtain a thorough understanding of the evolution of the LIS field, it is imperative to conduct studies with education as an indicator of the evolution.Master of Science (Information Studies