The long road to local library and information education in Singapore

The problem of education for librarians in Singapore came into being in the late 1950s and early 1960s as the country prepared for independence from the British Empire. Initial plans for a library school could not garner the political support necessary for their realization so that library education was instead provided through the Library Association (U.K.) and its facility for taking exams by correspondence. When the Association decided to discontinue this facility, alternatives were sought. At first a part-time course of studies was developed by the Library Association of Singapore (LAS) and certified by the Public Service Commission, but criticism of this programme led to renewed calls for a library school in Singapore. The rapid proliferation of digital information technology gave the library community the leverage it needed to finally realize this dream in 1993.