NOMENCLATURE CHANGE FOR LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE (LIS) SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH AND EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE 21ST CENTURY

This paper provides a synopsis of the evolutionary changes in the nomenclature of Library and Information Science (LIS) programme in different countries and makes a case for LIS Schools in Nigeria to adopt Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) as their new name in line with current trends. It highlights the specific factors which make this transformation of LIS to IKM imperative. Various institutions that changed the nomenclature of their LIS programme and those that prefer IKM were listed. The scope and content of an IKM programme were outlined. In addition, the implications of IKM for interdisciplinary research and emerging opportunities in the 21st century were discussed. Finally, a proposal was made for a bachelor degree programme in publishing and multimedia studies/technology, which is highly entrepreneurial in nature. The push for other information-related disciplines was used to justify the argument for a distinct faculty for these courses in the Nigerian tertiary education sector. This has implications for the change to IKM as it underlines the strategic importance of this rebranded discipline in the educational systems of the knowledge economy.