Recently, Spanish universities have been undertaking a process of updating Documentation programs. In this regard, curricula constitute one of the most powerful instruments for promoting the review and modernization of knowledge within a university degree. Moreover, they entail significant transformations and adjustments aimed at enhancing students’ preparation to play a productive role in the knowledge society. All of this underscores the strategic value of curricula and the high level of responsibility borne by the academic community involved in their development and evolution. For these reasons, their editing and critical analysis must be conducted with great care, impartiality, and scientific rigor, grounded in experience and, more than ever, in accurate information and relevant prior studies. Therefore, the objective of this entry is to share some reflections on Documentation curricula, highlighting key aspects related to the labor market, the logical evolution toward Social Sciences, and the integration of Technologies.
Market Needs and Curricula
Employability should be one of the objectives of any university degree. A revision of the curriculum can represent an excellent opportunity to align competencies and knowledge with the demands and realities of the labor market. For this reason, it is essential to periodically conduct analyses of academic progression and its applicability in professional settings. This requires a rigorous study that extends beyond the public administration sector to include the private enterprise sector as well. After all, the vast majority of employment originates from the private sector. To verify this fact, one need only examine the national civil service examinations available for librarians, archivists, and museum professionals: in 2016, these totaled only 168 positions. In contrast, during the same period, according to estimates by SEDIC (Spanish Society for Scientific Documentation and Information), more than 2,300 job offers were published related to information professionals, Big Data, SEO Web, and Information Technology profiles. The mere data on available job postings and their characterization should reinforce a teaching approach more oriented toward technologies, one that responds to market demand and advocates for the updating of curricular content. Unfortunately, this has not been the case in all universities, as illustrated by the following graph published by the newspaper El Mundo in its 2018 Education Special.