THE PANDA-SYNDROME - AN ECOLOGY OF LIS EDUCATION

The fundamental changes that are shaping the future environment of edu cational programs in library and information studies (LIS) are explore d in the context of two overlapping ecosystems, the rapidly changing i nformation universe in which the LIS profession operates and the unive rsity settings in which the LIS educational programs are housed. We us e ecological theory-biological, organizational, and professional-and t he sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu to describe the radical natu re of the change facing LIS education and to identify adaptive strateg ies. We warn that survival of LIS education does not necessarily mean the survival of current programs, and certainly not in their current f orms. We warn that the increasing value of information is bringing oth er professions into the information field and changing the boundaries and rules of competition. We suggest that LIS education needs to furth er substitute an information-centered focus for its traditional instit utional focus. Finally, we suggest that the habitus or system of dispo sitions of LIS, derived from libraries and the public sector, may disa dvantage LIS in its competition with professions and their associated educational programs that are more accustomed to competition for domai n. Because habitus consists of largely unexamined assumptions and inte rpretations, an awareness of it is the essential first step to determi ning whether it is conducive to the survival of a profession's knowled ge basis, values, and practices.