Middle East: Cataloging Instruction in Israel

Despite its young age compared to similar programs in the United States, cataloging instruction in Israel has also been transformed to reflect the changes in the work done in libraries based on technological innovations and conceptions held by those involved in academia. Cataloging instruction in Israel is marked by a number of factors: There has always been a division, carried through to today, between distinct and independent courses on various aspects of cataloging: a course on classification, a course on descriptive cataloging, and a course on indexing. Even today, these courses are requirements in all of the instructional frameworks, though the length of the course has been reduced over the years. Over the years additional courses have been introduced as a reflection of the technological developments and work in the field. The majority of courses are now taught in computer labs. There has been a switch to instruction by academics and not by librarians, workers in the field, as was customary for many decades. Focus of instruction in university departments is on theory and understanding of concepts.