Enrolments in library and information management courses

There are a number of different pathways into library and information work. Courses leading to librarian qualifications are offered through universities at graduate and undergraduate level whilst courses leading to library technician qualifications are most frequently offered through the TAFE system.

Graduate level courses are offered at Graduate Diploma and/or Master degree level and are generally open to graduates in a discipline other than library and information studies. A minimum period of one year's full time study or equivalent part-time is required to complete qualification at Librarian level.

Undergraduates who wish to qualify as library and information professionals must complete a Bachelor degree in library and information studies recognised at Librarian level. Bachelor level courses are generally offered over three years full-time study or equivalent part-time.

Students wishing to qualify as library technicians usually complete the Diploma in Library and Information Services course (AQF level 5) or a course recognised as at least equivalent to AQF level 5. The Diploma course can be completed in two years full-time study or part-time equivalent.

The Association receives information from those institutions offering ALIA-recognised library and information studies courses at librarian and library technician level about enrolments in courses leading to an ALIA recognised qualification.

Enrolments in courses leading to a librarian qualification

Library and information studies are often offered as a stream within a broader course. Consequently some institutions report that it is not always possible to identify students in the library and information studies stream until they have actually completed all requirements of that stream and are ready to graduate. Therefore, when analysing enrolment numbers for courses offered at both postgraduate and undergraduate level, it is important to acknowledge that course providers have advised ALIA of the difficulties facing them in identifying total student numbers and that enrolment numbers provided are indicative only of total enrolments for any one year.

Graduate level courses 1996 - 2009

Statistics available from 1996 indicate that enrolments in graduate courses reached a high point in 1997. By 1999 a significant drop in enrolments coincided with the introduction of full-fee payment for courses, a factor which impacted not only on library and information studies courses but on graduate enrolment more generally.

In Australia universities in the main offer library courses as a stream within a broader discipline area. Since the late 1990s a number of courses, particularly in teacher-librarianship, have been discontinued, in some cases economically motivated but sometimes because a university deems that particular streams within a broad course are no longer viable.

However, by 2009, some universities were beginning to reintroduce library and information courses/streams, often available in online mode, thus offering more opportunities to graduates seeking to take up library and information studies.

Enrolments - Graduate courses

NB: As noted above, enrolment figures are indicative only

Undergraduate level courses 1996 - 2009

Enrolments in undergraduate courses follow a similar pattern to those in graduate courses although the introduction of full-fee paying places only partially explains the fall in numbers from a peak of some 1750 in 1997 to around 750 today. While some students, including overseas students, are offered full-fee paying places in undergraduate courses, many do qualify for Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs).

In general the lower enrolment numbers of 2009 reflect the loss of a number of undergraduate courses, again especially in teacher-librarianship where courses were gradually phased out during the 1990s at a time when institutions were forced to respond to changes in funding allocations that impacted heavily on courses identified as specialty courses.

In 1996 a total of ten higher education institutions were offering undergraduate courses in library and information management. By 2009 only four institutions are still offering undergraduate courses leading to the Librarian level qualification in library and information studies. There have been a number of reasons for this ranging from economically based decisions by institutions about the ongoing viability of courses to a reduction in staff numbers so that it is no longer possible to offer the courses. Qualified library technicians seeking to qualify at Librarian level have perhaps been most affected by the decrease in the number of undergraduate courses available although online access to part or whole of an undergraduate course has enabled many to continue their professional education.

Enrolments - Undergraduate courses

NB: As noted above, enrolment figures are indicative only

Enrolments in Library Technician courses 1996-2005

Similarly to enrolment numbers in Librarian level courses, it is important to note that figures for enrolments in Library Technician level courses are also indicative only. Following the introduction of the diploma course based on the National Museum and Library and Information Services Training Package in 2001 which ALIA recognises as the Library Technician level qualification, some institutions moved to different methods for recording student enrolments.

Prior to 2001 students completed a diploma course based on a National Curriculum and were counted as diploma students from the time of their first enrolment in the course. Since that date an institution may have enrolled students directly into the two-year diploma course or may have enrolled students in the diploma only after they had completed requirements at the Certificate III or Certificate IV level. Consequently the number of students an institution reports as enrolled at diploma level may or may not include students completing a course at certificate level prior to completing the diploma level course.

In 2005 approximately 2000 students were enrolled in library technician courses. This figure is comparable with 2004 (about 2150) but it is difficult to draw comparisons with following years because differences in the number of reported enrolments may be related to enrolment policies in place in a particular institution, funding and/or staff resources rather than actual demand for the course.

Enrolments - Library Technician courses

NB: As noted above, enrolment figures are indicative only