Education for librarianship in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea : a comparative study

미국, 영국, 한국 사서직 교육의 비교

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the Korean situation of education for librarianship by comparing library education in the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Korea. The qualifications of librarians, educational institutions and the present trends of education for librarianship in the three countries are described and compared. It was not intended to find out similarities and differences as the three countries share no similar cultural and historical backgrounds. Compared with the education of the two countries, Korea has more ways to qualify librarians, more library schools, and lower academic levels for librarians. Library Associations or Institutes of the U. S. A. and the U. K. are involved in library education by accrediting library schools or library school curricula, but the Korean Library Association has nothing to do with library education. In case of present trends in library education, Korean institutions seem to lag behind in coping actively with the changes occurring in the modern society. Based on the findings, some suggestions are recommended.