Fostering Sustainable Career Development and Employability Among Library and Information Science Students with the Help of Internship Education

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the impact of internship education on the Library and Information Science (LIS) students and working professionals in the Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University region. The internship programmes were conducted by Knowledge Resource Center (KRC) and college libraries are taken into consideration. For the present research survey conducted and the questionnaire were distributed to the students, ex-students of the LIS teaching department and affiliated colleges and working LIS professionals in the Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University. The research study data was consisted of 45 LIS students who completed their internship programme after completion of Bachelor of Library and Information Science (BLISc.) final semester examination, 136 ex-students which are the alumni of the LIS department and 78 working professionals from academic libraries within the university region. The research study was used structured questionnaire having different types of questions and responses were assessed using 5-point Likert scale. The research study employed descriptive analysis to evaluate demographic information. The central tendencies, scale measurement analysis and chi-square test is used to interpret data. The distribution normality of primary data and reliability of the questionnaire is tested. The purpose of the research study is to study the scope of existing internship education and policy available for LIS science students in the university region. The various tasks and activities run under internship education are also studied. From the result it is found that, overall impact of internship education on the career development and employability of the LIS students is positive. The students get benefits from internship and them opinioned that the probability of success in the interview process for the various posts in the library is increased due to get practical knowledge and hands-on training in internship. On the basis of result it is concluded that, fostering sustainable career development and employability among LIS students, internship is important and it plays a big role in their career development.

Keywords: Internship Education, Internship Programmes, Career Development, Sustainable Career Development, Employability, Library and Information Science (LIS) Education, etc.

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