Department of Information Studies
Frequently Asked Questions
Please read this FAQ carefully before contacting a course coordinator.
- Part 1 - General Information about becoming an Information Professional.
- Part 2 - Curtin Courses
- Part 3 - How to Apply and Fees
- Part 4 - Studying at Curtin
- Part 5 - Contact
Information Studies FAQ - Part 1
General Information
What is the difference between librarians, records managers and archivists?
All three of these professional groups are responsible for the organisation of information and for helping people to find and use it. Librarians mostly deal with information which is published; that is publicly available. This does not have to be in printed books - web sites, DVDs, databases and other formats all contain publicly available information. Records managers mostly deal with the records of private and government organisations; information which enables the organisation to operate and to satisfy the demands of the law. However, they are increasingly becoming involved in all aspects of corporate information. Archivists deal with older records which are judged to have historical importance and which may be made publicly available to researchers and the general public.
What is the demand for professionally qualified librarians, records managers and archivists?
The demand for librarians has been steady and, despite all kinds of predictions about the death of libraries because of the Internet, is increasing rather than diminishing. Good records managers are in heavy demand. All organisations, whether government or private, are feeling increasing pressure to be accountable for their actions, and for this good records management is needed. There has been a steady increase in the openings for archivists who concentrate only on historical records, and many records managers will also need to deal with archival records.
What qualifications do you need to be a qualified librarian?
The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) recognises two levels of qualifications, professional librarian and library technician. Professional librarians have either a degree in librarianship OR a degree in another subject followed by a graduate diploma or masters degree in librarianship. Library technicians are paraprofessionals who have diploma/associate degree qualifications taken at TAFE and some universities.
Which level of qualification should I aim for?
Many graduates of library technicians’ courses upgrade their qualifications to degree level. Some of these say that they wished they had applied for a degree course in the first place since it takes 4 years in total to become qualified as a professional librarian via the upgrade route (2 years associate diploma + 2 years upgrade degree) as opposed to 3 years for a normal degree. How do you choose?
In general, if you are qualified to enter university and feel that you will be able to develop confidence in taking a degree, you should certainly give it a go. If you are very uncertain about study, you might like to try some subjects at the library technician level first and see how you feel. You should always keep your options open and get advice if you are uncertain what to do.
What qualifications do you need to become a qualified records manager/archivist?
In records management the situation is similar to that for librarians, in that there are both degree/graduate diploma courses and TAFE-level diploma courses. However, the distinction between them is not so established as for librarianship. The Records Management Association of Australasia does not have different grades of membership automatically applied to members according to their qualifications. Choosing between these qualifications poses similar problems to those for librarianship. The best advice is to try a degree course if you feel that obtaining a degree would definitely be part of your long-term plans. Qualifications in archives have traditionally been very academic, normally taken as a graduate diploma after a degree course in a subject such as history. These courses continue but are being supplemented by courses which cover archives within, or concurrently with, records management qualifications.
Why are there no separate qualifications for archivists at Curtin?
We believe that there is no clear distinction between the two professions. Records move gradually from being current documents to being historical archives and there is often no clear break in this process. All records managers need to know about archives and all archivists need to know about how records are created and used. We therefore teach them together. Also there are still relatively few openings for 'pure' archivists, although the demand for qualified archivists is increasing with the advent of electronic records and recognition worldwide of the need to preserve cultural heritage.
Why should I choose Curtin?
Curtin has been teaching librarianship for over fourty years and was a pioneer in introducing a degree-level undergraduate course in records management. We have a reputation for emphasising both theory and practical skills and aim to produce graduates who can assume a wide range of responsibilities in a variety of information services and systems. The Department of Information Studies has an experienced and well-qualified staff.
Our courses contain a core of theory and practical skills supplemented by a range of professional areas covering such subjects as digital libraries, internet content management and public librarianship.
We have been engaged in distance education in this field since the 1970s and have students from all continents studying on-campus in Perth or in their home states or countries. All our courses are available for full-time or part-time enrolment, and fully online.
Curtin has a pleasant park-like campus with good facilities and an excellent IT infrastructure, including a good workstation/student ratio.
