The influx of expatriate workforce into the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries over the last four decades is now causing social, cultural, and economic problems. To reduce dependence on the foreign workforce, the governments of the Arabian Gulf Region have introduced the localization policy with the sole purpose of preparing skilled indigenous workforce through education and training, including continuing education (CE). A number of CE programs in all major subject fields, including Library and Information Science (LIS) are in place in the region. The purpose of this study is to review these programs and to see their potential for contributing towards the common goal of localization in the GCC countries. The problems, which inhibit maximizing the benefits of CE programs and making them effective and result oriented in developing human resources in the Arabian Gulf Region, are also discussed. The results of this study reveal that the LIS CE programs in the Arabian Gulf Region have potential for preparing nationals as part of the localization initiatives of the GCC countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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