Mapping the Relevance of Library Science Curriculum and Graduates Competencies: A Survey

Mapping the level of relevance of the library science (LIS) curriculum with the work competency of the graduates through a survey is a kind of tracer study. The goal of the tracer research is to strengthen the connection and alignment between the output of higher education institutions – in this case, the library science graduates of UIN Alauddin Makassar – and the job competency demanded by employers. An effective way to assess the quality of the growth of graduates' work competency would be to use the necessary information by asking how relevant the courses are to the graduates' work competency (Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia, 2018). The curriculum strongly shapes the competency obtained by the graduates because it is a guideline that contains objectives, content, learning strategies, and evaluation in organizing learning and teaching activities (Quality Assurance Unit of the State Institute for Islamic Studies of Purwokerto, 2017). The contents of the teaching materials of the curriculum reflect the structure of the courses which are taught by lectures to achieve the graduate profiles of a study program (University of Nahdatul Ulama of Indonesia: 2020). The curriculum of the undergraduate program in the Library science included in this survey is only limited to 30 courses, excluding courses from university-level dan faculty level. Those 30 courses are designed to prepare students to have the knowledge, skill, and attitude related to the seven key competencies of LIS graduates stipulated in the Indonesian National Work Competency Standards (SKKNI) that employers generally require. The 30 courses included in this survey are not only technical courses but also non-technical courses as well. The curriculum, as the spirit of a study program, has to be carefully designed, consistently implemented, and continuously evaluated to ensure its alignment not only with the work competencies required by employers but also with the development of science, technology, and communication (Junaidi, 2020). Therefore, the tracer study becomes necessary for the school administrator because it enables them to foster how relevant their curriculum is to the work competency needed by industries. Tracer study is also considered an embedded element in quality management of the outputs of higher educational institutions. (Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia, 2018). The improvement of the quality of the graduates in higher educational institutions will strongly be affected by the quality management strategy. It should clearly state the steps that need to be taken to ensure the output of the higher educational institution in obtaining the knowledge, skills, and competency required by the labor market. Identifying and analyzing the curriculum relevance with the graduate's work competency through a tracer study is a preceding step to verify that the students possess such capabilities (Ministry of Research, Technology, and Higher Education of the Republic of Indonesia, 2018). From a range of viewpoints, research has been done on the degree of relevance of the curriculum. Some studies pay more attention to the issue of the curriculum's consistency between a vocational school and a higher education setting. For example, a study entitled the coherence of the vocational school curriculum majoring in sanitation building construction, the curriculum of the undergraduate school majoring in building engineering education (Rustanti, Murtinugraha, & Saleh, 2021), and the alignment of the STKIP PGRI West Sumatra history education study program's curriculum with high school students' interest in history undergraduate study programs (Mimi, 2019). The other lens used in studying curriculum relevance is the connectivity between the curriculum and the existing standards. For instance, a study on the cohesiveness between the Indonesian National Work Competency Standards (SKKNI) and the LIS curriculum of the State Islamic University of Raden Fatah Palembang (Dayantri, 2019), and the coherence between the competency standards of the undergraduate level of Library science program, the University of Diponegoro with its curriculum (Suryani & Ati, 2014). Another study by Rasyid (2018) stated the link and match between LIS courses at the Faculty of Adab and Literature in Universitas Islam Negeri Ar-Raniry Aceh. it does not elaborate in detail on how relevant each LIS course is to the work competency of the graduates because the research only explains the level of relevance of technical and non-technical LIS courses with the graduate's jobs. Therefore, this study intends to explore in detail how relevant the courses offered in LIS curriculum at UIN Alauddin Makassar are to the work competency of the graduate through a survey. In order to fully strengthen the connection and alignment between the LIS curriculum and the work competency required by the labor market. It is intended that the research's findings will be used as a guide for assessing the LIS curriculum.

This research quantitatively describes the level of relevance of the library information science (LIS) curriculum and the work competency of the graduates. 30 questions are designed to measure the relevant level of the LIS curriculum courses with graduates' work competency. The courses included in the questionnaire are only the majors-courses. The questionnaire link is distributed to participants through social media. The participants are required to rate each course's relevance level using the Likert Scale. Correlation product-moment and Cronbach Alpha formula are used to validate the questionnaires and to test the reliability of the instruments. Two questions were taken out from the survey questions as they did not meet the validity and reliability criteria. In 2021, the survey was carried out in August and September. 76 recent graduates took part in this survey. The data is administered by using the formula T x Pn, where T is the number of respondents connected with the specified Likert scale and Pn is the Likert score from 5 to 1. This yields the total score for each question of the instrument. The data is then administered using the following formula to determine the degree of relevance of the courses with respect to the graduates' level of work capability, as follows. � � = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑛 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒 Where: P Total Scores = Percentage X 100% = The total score of the Likert scale frequency multiplied by the Likert score. Maximum score = The maximum Likert score multiplied by the number of respondents (5 X 76 = 380) The result of the formula from each item questionnaire is then interpreted into the level of relevance between the LIS courses and the work competency by using the interval level of percentage as set out below: Highly relevant : 81% - 100% Relevant : 61% - 80% Neutral Not relevant So irrelevant : 41% - 60% : 21% - 40% : 0% - 20%.

Respondents Profile Seventy-six (76) graduates participate in this survey. Most respondents are female, constituting 82.8%, while the rest (32.2%) are male. Based on the types of information centers they work, more than half of the respondents (53.9 %) work in the university library, followed by (35.7%) of the respondents work in the library school. Some (5.3%) work in libraries and archival centers, and a few (2.6% and 1.3%) work in special and public libraries. Correspond to the year of graduation, the majority of the respondents (67%) are graduated in the year 2015 – 2020, some of them (25%) are graduated in the year 2009 - 2014 and the rest of them (8%) were graduated in the year 2003 – 2008. In relation to the number of years of experience, the majority of respondents (65.8%) have between 0 – 5 years of work experience, some of them (21.1%) have between 6 – 10 years of work experience, and the rest of them (13.2%) have worked between 11 – 20 year work experience. Correspond to the geographical area of places they work, most of the respondents (85.5%) work in Sulawesi, some of them (7.9%) work in Nusa Tenggara Barat, a few of them (3.9%) work in Kalimantan and the rest of them (1.3%) work in Irian Jaya and other places. Details information as seen in the table 1. Table 1: The demographic characteristics of the respondents Demographic characteristics category Percentage Gender Male 38.2 Female 61.8 Year graduated 2003 - 2008 7.8 2009 - 2014 25.0 2015 - 2021 67.1 Workplace University library 53.9 School library 35.5 Library and archival institution 5.3 Public library 1.3 Special Library 2.6 others 1.3 Work area Sulawesi 85.5 Nusa Tenggara Barat 7.9 Kalimantan 3.9 Irian Jaya 1.3 Other places 1.3 Yearly work experience 0-5 years 65.8 6-10 years 21.1 11-20 13.2 The Level of Relevance of The LIS Curriculum The research's findings indicate three levels of relevance (Highly relevant, relevant, and neutral) for the LIS courses offered in UIN Alauddin Makassar's Library Science Program. 40% of the LIS courses are highly relevant to the graduates' ability to do their jobs. 34.6% of the LIS courses are pertinent to the graduates' workplace proficiency. And just 23.3% of LIS courses have a neutral level of relevance to the graduates' ability to perform their jobs. Of the 30 major courses of the LIS curriculum listed in the survey (see table 2), twelve courses or 40 % demonstrate a Highly relevant level (81-100%) with the work competency of the graduates. Of the 12 courses in that category, three courses exhibit above 90% level of relevance to the work competency of the graduates. The courses are Cataloging for Monograph, Computer Application and Internet, and Library Internship. Of the 12 courses in that category level of relevance as well, three courses exhibit between 86% to 90% level of relevance to the work competency of the graduates. The three courses are History of Library (89.7%), Reference Services (87.1%), and Ethics for Librarian (86.3%). The rest of the courses in that category exhibit between 81% to 85% level of relevance. Those courses are Library Philosophy (82.3%), Introduction to Statistics (83.9%), Psychological Aspect of Library Users (82.8%), Preservation of Library Materials (83.9%), and Classification (82.5%). All courses that point to a highly relevant level with the work competency of the graduate can be inferred that the graduates widely use knowledge and skill gained from the courses. The table also shows that there are eleven LIS courses whose level of relevance point is between 61–80% (relevant) with the work competency of the graduates. One course of the 11 courses, Promotion and Library Services Design, reaches 80.2% of the relevance level with the graduates' work competency. Another course of the 11 courses, Library Collection, reaches a 77.6 % level of relevance with the work competency of the graduates. Four of the 11 courses point between 70%-75%. These courses are Information Retrieval System ((70.0%), Repackaging Information (72.6%), Law Aspect of Information (70.5%), and Islamic Information Resources ((71.5%). Four courses of the 11 reach points between 60% to 65% of relevance. These courses are Index Vocabulary (63.4%), Digital Library (65.0%), Archive Management (63.9%), and User Education (64.4%). The 11 LIS courses are still relevant to the graduates' work competency. Still, the knowledge and skill obtained from the courses are not as widely used as the courses whose relevant level demonstrate highly relevant level (81%-100%). The table also shows that there are 7 courses in the LIS curriculum whose relevance to the work competency of the graduates demonstrates a neutral level of relevance (41%-60%). Two of the 11 LIS courses point between 56% to 60% of relevance. Developing Reading Habits (58.4) and Library Management (58.6%) are the two courses. 4 of the 11 courses point between 50% to 55% of the relevance level with the graduates' work competency. The four courses are Graphic and Publishing (52.8%), Secondary Literature (50.5%), Bibliographic Tools (52.1%), and Cataloging for Non-Book Materials (54.2%). One course of the 11 LIS courses in this category, however, Bibliometrics point at 47.8% only. Therefore, the knowledge and skill gained from the 11 courses may or may not apply to the work competency of the graduates. Table 2: the level of relevance of 30 courses in the LIS curriculum to the graduates' work competency No Library science courses (%) Relevant level 1 Classification (DDC) 82.5 Highly relevant Classification (UDC) 50.0 Neutral Classification (2X) for Islamic studies literature 65.0 Relevant 2 Cataloging for monographs 91.5 Highly relevant 3 Library Collection Development 77.6 Relevant 4 Preservation of Library Materials 83.9 Highly relevant 5 Index Vocabulary 63.4 Relevant 6 Information Retrieval System 70.0 Relevant 7 Repackaging of Information 72.6 Relevant 8 Library Management 58.6 Neutral 9 Computer Application & Internet 92.3 Relevant 10 Digital Library 65.0 Relevant 11 Management of Archives 63.9 Relevant 12 Bibliometrics 47.8 Neutral 13 Cataloging for Non-book Library Materials 54.2 Neutral 14 Introduction to Information Organization 89.2 Highly relevant 15 Bibliographic Tools 52.1 Neutral 16 Promotion & Library Service Design 80.2 Relevant 17 Law Aspect of Information 72.6 Relevant 18 Reference Services 87.1 Highly relevant 19 Psychological Aspect of Library Users 82.8 Highly relevant 20 Secondary Literature 21 Developing Reading Habits 22 Library Automation 23 Graphics and Publishing 24 User Education 25 Islamic Information Resources 26 Introduction to Statistics 27 Ethics for Librarian 28 History of Library 29 Library Philosophy 30 Library Internship 50.5 58.4 70.5 52.8 64.4 71.5 83.9 86.3 85.7 82.3 91.3 Neutral Neutral Relevant Neutral Relevant Relevant Highly relevant Highly relevant Highly relevant Highly relevant Highly relevant

The LIS school administrators can confidently decide which courses should be included or excluded in the LIS curriculum as well as the scope and detail of each LIS course with the help of an understanding of the relevant level of the courses with the work competencies of degree holders. This will ensure that the LIS curriculum courses strongly survive and thrive with the work competency required by the labor market. Although some LIS courses (23.3%) are in the neutral level of relevance with the work competency of the graduate but the majority of the LIS courses are highly relevant (40%) and relevant (36.6%) with the. The courses designed to build certain work competencies are not automatically at the same level of relevance. For example, Monograph Cataloguing and Non-Book Material Cataloguing are the courses intended to build work competency in information organization, but the two courses' relevant levels are different. Monograph Cataloguing (91.5%) reaches a Highly relevant level while Non Book Material Cataloguing (54.2%) exhibits a neutral level. Two LIS courses, Computer Application and Internet, and Monograph Cataloguing, which reach more than 90% level of relevance with the work competency of the graduate, indicate that employers widely need the work competencies gained from the courses. Conversely, two courses, Bibliometric which is designed to build professional development, and Secondary Literature, which is aimed at building competencies associated with library services, only reach 50% below. This implicitly denotes that employers do not widely demand the work competencies gained by the graduates from these two courses. Surprisingly, the Library Internship Project, a course designed to give students work experience, also reaches more than 90% of the level of relevance with the work competency. This shows that LIS courses should significantly incorporate the practical component of what students learn in class. As the setting of this study is in the eastern part of Indonesia, the expected work competencies of graduates from employers may also be different from other employers in other parts of the world. However, the finding of this study remains relevant to other LIS study programs where the working places of their graduates have some commons with the workplace where this study is undertaken. Hence, further research on this issue is recommended to involve graduates as participants from many different LIS schools to get a more comprehensive picture of the link and match between the LIS curriculum and the work competencies needed by employers worldwide.