Library Education in the United Kingdom: Past History, Current Trends, Future Possibilities and Implications for Library Education in the United States

This paper traces the short yet rich history of formal library education in both the United Kingdom and the United States from the late nineteenth century to the present, identifies and analyzes current trends in library education in these countries, particularly distance learning and education programs, and concludes in suggesting what the future holds for library education in the United Kingdom and in the U.S. The intention of the paper was to offer a comparative analysis of library education in the U.K. and the U.S. and in so doing show how, over the past century, library educators, librarians and students in these two countries have influenced one another. In the United States, research has shown that, even in more highly ranked programs, students are largely dissatisfied with the quality of the education they are receiving in library schools. With an understanding of the history of library education in the United Kingdom and some of the recent, innovative experiments that schools of library education have taken in that country, perhaps the overall quality of education in library science in the United States could be substantially improved.