The education needs of information professionals for South East Asia in the digital era, with special attention to the needs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region: Preliminary results of a Delphi study

Abstract

This paper reports the results of PhD research into the future needs of library professionals for educa-tion in the digital era with special consideration to the needs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The research method used was a Delphi study and representatives from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and the United States were chosen as participants in the study. This paper outlines the special features of this method and why it was se-lected, how it was implemented and initial findings from the study. The research attempted to identify an ideal curriculum especially for use in the Hong Kong SAR, China, but also for consideration in other areas of South East Asia. It was conducted using the Delphi technique which is based upon the premise that a decision made by a group is more reliable and thus more desirable than a decision made by an individual.