Ivan Stojanović
Gradska biblioteka Vršac
ivanstojanovic76@gmail.com

doi: 10.19090/cit.2019.34.2-13
No. 34 (May 2019), p. 2-13

Professional Titles in Library and Information Activity
in the Republic of Serbia

Summary

The Law on Library Activity of 1994 was being applied in Serbia for more than two decades, in complex socio-political conditions that were burdened by a deep economic crisis and war. At the same time, there were major changes in library and information activity, caused primarily by the rapid development of information and communication technologies. The new law was therefore necessary, but it was passed only in 2011. Together with the new defi nition of library and information activity, the types of material and resources it deals with, the role of librarians has changed, too. Thus professional titles became the subject of interest of the library public again. The paper presents an overview of the regulations that apply to them, as well as a series of problems and issues arising from the change of legal acts. Special attention has been paid to the valid Law on Library and Information Activity and the Rule Book on Detailed Requirements for Obtaining Higher Professional Titles in Library and Information Activity.
Based on the presented analysis, the importance of formal education, continuous professional development and systematic development for the professionalization of the library and information profession is emphasized once again, as the only way for Serbian librarianship to reach the level of other professions and scientifi c disciplines. Overcoming personal and professional vanity and the unity of the entire professional community in order to protect and promote the library profession can improve the current position of the profession in a society that probably will not look on this activity favorably in the future either.

Keywords:

professional titles, library and information activity, Serbia, laws, bylaws

Submitted: 5th April 2019
Correction to the manuscript: 16th April 2019
Accepted for publication: 18th April 2019

Ivan Stojanović by Professional Titles in Library and Information Activity in the Republic of Serbia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.