Re-Envisioning Library and Information Science (LIS) Education in India: Curricular Transformation, Pedagogical Disparities, and 21st-Century Competency Integration

Abstract

Rapid digitalization, algorithmic retrieval and changing information ecosystems have revolutionized modern libraries from being merely physical stores to being hybrid, ubiquitous learning hubs. It is imperative to critically rethink Library and Information Science (LIS) education in particular in a developing country with institutional readiness and curricular delivery range. In light of the structural, infrastructural and pedagogical picture that Parvez and Basavaraj (2021) have constructed based on descriptive analysis and keeping in mind the wider empirical and comparative data, the study examines the context of LIS education in India – including its structure, infrastructure and pedagogy.
When convergent methods of synthesis are used that combine descriptive empirical institutional data (N = 13 University Departments), thematic faculty analyses, and frameworks of faculty training preferences (N = 144), the paper assesses curriculum-workplace conjunction, laboratory infrastructures, and faculty capacity. Results show a significant structural fragmentation; with 61,5% of institutions maintaining legacy ‘truncated’ degree structures (one-year BLISc/MLISc programs), and 38,5% of institutions implementing modern integrated two-year MLISc programs. While access to basic ICTs is high (92.3% utilizing instructional digital tools), there are significant gaps in computer expertise and infrastructure (e.g., computer labs, integrated library systems), digital repository systems, and computer–educator integration for practice. Advanced ICT applications also become the main professional development need for practitioners with 85.4% identifying it as a CE imperative, thus creating the need for a vital remedial bridge of CE. Finally, the paper offers an evidence-based strategic framework for the Indian LIS education system to meet the 21st-century information competencies, evolving accreditation standards and the international requirements for the 21st-century workforce.