Transforming the Curriculum for new era Librarians in Tertiary Institutions: A study of Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the transformation of curriculum for new era librarians in the Department of Library and Information Science, Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria. The motivation for the study is to ascertain whether library schools possess resources and receive employers’ feedback of graduates. The overall objective is to transform (with little adjustment/update) the exiting program/ curriculum leading to new (LIS) program with 50:50 to 60:40 (ICT: library science components. Documentary research design was employed with the use of student handbook, a file containing employers’ rating of Library and Information Technology (LIT) graduates, National Universities Commission (NUC) 2018 Benchmark Minimum Academic standards (BMAS), and approved academic brief (Bachelor of Technology Library and Information Science, 2021). Documentary analysis was carried out. Descriptive statistical tools (frequency counts and percentages) were used to analyze the data. Tables (tabulation) were used to contain data and information. Documents that does not contain data were supported by narration, thus both qualitative and quantitative data were used to analyze the results of the study. The major findings reveal high level of performance on the part of LIT graduates and that the existing and approved curriculum contain ICT components. The conclusion is that the approved curriculum will equip the 21st century librarians with required ICT skills and competences that would enable them to compete with their counterparts in other parts of the world and enable the graduates to work in organizations other than libraries and information centers. It was recommended that: modern ICT facilities and current textbooks and references books be acquired.