Current trends in library and information studies curricula around the world: Looking for the user-centred approach

Introduction The advent of the internet and the quick and easy access it provides to vast amounts of digital information sources have greatly affected the ways users interact with information sources and have make them more independent information savvy users. Libraries, once having a monopoly on the delivery of information were now considered by users as a very small piece of the information pie. These developments have prompted a radical change in the “information paradigm” that has shifted from a systems-oriented approach that focuses on how the systems work and get used to a user-centred approach that examines the system only as seen by the user and centres its attention on the users’ information needs and behavior. This paradigm shift has transformed the provision of information and the roles of the information professionals and the nature of their work. In response to the changing nature of information work, library and information science (LIS) education has undergone significant changes over the years. The aim of this study was to investigate to what extent this shift in the 59