MS Library and Information Science

Surveys the basic statistical, tabular, and graphic methods as applied to decision making, requirements analyses, user studies, and implementation of change in information organizations when generalizability of results beyond the organization is not a primary concern. Focuses on formulating researchable problems, sampling, data gathering, and computer-assisted analysis of data. Develops skills for preparing reports and presentations and for reading research literature.

Surveys the professional, social, ethical, and legal issues that affect information service professionals and organizations. Addresses such topics as information law, access, ownership, and censorship. Studies professional organizations and the sociology of professions.

Relates basic theories and concepts about information behavior to contemporary provision of information services. Focuses on the conceptual structures of LIS: User communities, factors affecting use of information services and resources, and trends in supporting information services. Develops practical skills in meeting users' information needs, such as answering virtual reference questions and creating online resources.

Presents access and applied information retrieval as the foundation for information services. Provides an overview of contemporary information services and access methods. focuses on the structure of tools used for satisfying users' information needs. Emphasizes techniques for building effective search strategies for large-scale retrieval systems. Affords opportunities to elevate sources.

Introduction to concepts and applications of Information Systems (IS) and Information Technology (IT) as applied throughout library and information science. Topics include the structure of information systems, hardware and software concepts, basic principles of system analysis and design, and contemporary applications of computers in organizational environments.

Applies theories and techniques of management to libraries, information centers, and information enterprise, concentrating on political processes, leadership, communication, human resources, organizational structure, decision making, planning, and control. Also includes elements of project management.

Offers a hands-on introduction to creating sophisticated websites to support users' information needs. Covers website design, implementation, and evaluation. Requires the student to establish a website, compose its text and graphic files, use scripts for interactive application, install a search engine, and create reports on usage.

Introduces and provides intensive practice in the fundamentals of library cataloging and classification with primary focus on modern printed materials, but also includes reference to other media. Instruction on critical reading, interpretation, and use of current professional standards and documentation for the creation of MARC records. Encompasses discussion of relevant historical and theoretical issues in the construction of contemporary bibliographic databases.

Introduces the basic steps of collection development, including community analysis, preparation of policy, criteria for selection of materials, acquisition, weeding, and evaluation. Explores a variety of related issues, including the impact of electronic access on collection development.

Surveys information services provided through public libraries, with attention to governmental and funding issues, determinants of use, extending services to non-users, and cooperation among libraries.

Examines the role of library service in higher education, with emphasis on problems of organization, administration, services, and the relationship of the library to the overall educational program.

Provides an overview of the broad range of cultural, educational, and social library programming initiatives available for children, adolescents, and adults in academic libraries, public libraries, and school library media centers. Teaches community analysis, planning, and evaluation. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of developing and implementing library programs.

Studies the major information resources in the fields of religion, philosophy, the performing arts, the visual arts, language, and literature. Emphasizes user needs, bibliographic organization of the materials, collection building, and the provision of reference and information services.

Studies major information resources in the social sciences, including history, geography, political science, sociology, anthropology, psychology, demography, economics, and education. Emphasizes bibliographic organization, collection building, user needs, and reference service.

Studies major information resources in pure and applied sciences, including the physical and biological sciences, engineering and technology, and interdisciplinary subjects. Emphasizes bibliographic organization, collection building, user needs, and reference service.

Covers the major types of reference tools, including representative titles in the basic medical sciences and clinical specialties, the history and development of medical bibliography, introduction to online searching, and analysis of the reference interview and of typical reference questions. Covers print and electronic reference tools with an emphasis on the integration of electronic tools (Internet, database, and CD-ROMs) into the reference collection. Range of materials includes representative titles from collections in hospital libraries, academic health science libraries, consumer health centers, and special libraries (including corporate and nonprofit). Covers medical reference information, including the analysis and synthesis of available resources.

Focuses on meeting user needs for specific types of business information using strategies for identification, evaluation, selection, and use of specific sources. Sources include topical dictionaries and directories; indexes and abstracts; and numeric and full-text databases. Emphasizes the use of value-added print and electronic resources to meet user needs for information related to companies, industries, and markets; corporate and international finance and investments; economic and demographic statistics; and one or more of the following topics: accounting, human resources, insurance and risk management, intellectual property, information systems, operations, and logistics.

Studies the nature of United States federal government documents and techniques for their acquisition, organization, and use.

Introduces the fundamentals of legal research, including sources and research strategies.

Focuses on management, policy, and organizational issues related to the administration of technical services in libraries. Includes acquisitions, copy cataloging, original cataloging, serials control, circulation, and preservation. Emphasizes management in an automated environment where traditional methods are being supplanted by new technologies and related organizational changes.

Provides an overview of information technology applications in library settings, focusing on underlying concepts and management issues.

Introduces the critical roles played by metadata for resource description and discovery. Provides instruction on application and implementation of current metadata schemes and tools. Provides practice in creating metadata records, analyzing the usage of metadata elements and vocabulary schemes, and evaluating the metadata quality of digital repositories.

Offers a hands-on introduction to creating sophisticated websites to support users' information needs. Covers website design, implementation, and evaluation. Requires the student to establish a website, compose its text and graphic files, use scripts for interactive application, install a search engine, and create reports on usage.

This course introduces research and development in the world of digital libraries. Focuses on intellectual access to digital information resources. Topics include foundations and architectures of digital libraries, searching and resource organizing, knowledge representations and discovery, metadata and standards, interfaces and information visualization, intellectual property rights, and electronic publishing.

Introduces technologies that enable the design and implementation of digital libraries. Focuses on hands-on activities relating to content description technologies (such as XML) systems technologies, and user interface technologies. Students learn through building components of digital libraries collaboratively.

Focuses on fundamental decisions in designing subject access systems and alternative approaches to indexing. Explores current issues in content representation: principles of subject analysis; natural language vs. vocabulary control; manual, computer-assisted, and automatic indexing; faceted indexing and classification systems; image indexing and retrieval; indexing and the World Wide Web. Includes evaluation of indexer consistency and indexing system performance.

Introduces the critical roles played by metadata for resource description and discovery. Provides instruction on application and implementation of current metadata schemes and tools. Provides practice in creating metadata records, analyzing the usage of metadata elements and vocabulary schemes, and evaluating the metadata quality of digital repositories.

A first course in database management systems. Covers database design, data manipulation, and database integrity. Emphasizes concepts and techniques related to the entity-relationship model and relational database systems. Discusses normalization up to third normal form and commercial query languages.

This course focuses on the design and evaluation of human-computer interfaces covering such topics as task analysis techniques for gathering design information, iterative design through prototyping, and formative and summative usability testing; theoretical foundations of HCI and cognitive modeling of user interactions; the integration of HCI techniques into the software development life cycle and the use of user constraints to generate new interaction designs.

Covers the theoretical underpinnings of information retrieval to provide a solid base for further work with retrieval systems. Emphasizes systems that involve user-computer interaction. Covers aspects of information retrieval including document selection, document description, query formulation, matching, and evaluation.

Introduces fundamental concepts, methods, and theories in information architecture for virtual, physical, and hybrid worlds. Focuses on organization, representation, and navigation of conceptual space. Topics include foundations, Web design, cognitive aspects, search, interaction design, knowledge organization, and user experience.

Examines various organizational structures and the influence of structure and environment on patterns of information processing and utilization by organizations. Emphasizes the role of function driving the demand for information. Focuses on the structure of information services, resources, and technology as a means of attaining organizational goals. Includes not only traditional business data but all forms of knowledge and emphasizes strategic and tactical uses.

Focuses on the nature, acquisition, and use of knowledge assets and their strategic role in organizations. Examines the role of information professionals in organizing, managing, and providing access to these important assets using formal and informal knowledge management systems.

Focuses on the analysis of existing information in order to uncover hidden knowledge about the environment internal and external to (or competing with) an organization. Examines how to analyze and integrate various types of information (patents, financial, production, market); how to use the new knowledge in strategic, tactical and operational decision making; how to produce reports; and the ethics of competitive intelligence.

Studies major information resources in pure and applied sciences, including the physical and biological sciences, engineering and technology, and interdisciplinary subjects. Emphasizes bibliographic organization, collection building, user needs, and reference service.

Covers the major types of reference tools, including representative titles in the basic medical sciences and clinical specialties, the history and development of medical bibliography, introduction to online searching, and analysis of the reference interview and of typical reference questions. Covers print and electronic reference tools with an emphasis on the integration of electronic tools (Internet, database, and CD-ROMs) into the reference collection. Range of materials includes representative titles from collections in hospital libraries, academic health science libraries, consumer health centers, and special libraries (including corporate and nonprofit). Covers medical reference information, including the analysis and synthesis of available resources.

Focuses on meeting user needs for specific types of business information using strategies for identification, evaluation, selection, and use of specific sources. Sources include topical dictionaries and directories; indexes and abstracts; and numeric and full-text databases. Emphasizes the use of value-added print and electronic resources to meet user needs for information related to companies, industries, and markets; corporate and international finance and investments; economic and demographic statistics; and one or more of the following topics: accounting, human resources, insurance and risk management, intellectual property, information systems, operations, and logistics.

Introduces the fundamentals of legal research, including sources and research strategies.

Introduces the concepts, principles, and techniques of knowledge base systems, with a focus on implementation of a working expert system. Presents the expert system development life cycle with a focus on analysis and conceptual modeling techniques.

Surveys information services provided through public libraries, with attention to governmental and funding issues, determinants of use, extending services to non-users, and cooperation among libraries.

Examines the role of library service in higher education, with emphasis on problems of organization, administration, services, and the relationship of the library to the overall educational program.

Surveys information services provided through public libraries, with attention to governmental and funding issues, determinants of use, extending services to non-users, and cooperation among libraries.

Acquaints prospective professionals with the resources published for use by and with children in grades K to 8. Provides an opportunity to develop basic standards for evaluation of resources. Includes recent research concerning children and the central role of resources in the development of their reading/viewing/listening interests and tastes.

Acquaints prospective professionals with the materials intended for use by and with young adults. Provides an opportunity to develop basic standards for evaluation of materials and to learn about recent research concerning young adults and their information needs, reading interests, tastes, and development.

Provides an overview of the broad range of cultural, educational, and social library programming initiatives available for children, adolescents, and adults in academic libraries, public libraries, and school library media centers. Teaches community analysis, planning, and evaluation. Emphasizes the collaborative nature of developing and implementing library programs.

Offers a hands-on introduction to creating sophisticated websites to support users' information needs. Covers website design, implementation, and evaluation. Requires the student to establish a website, compose its text and graphic files, use scripts for interactive application, install a search engine, and create reports on usage.

Introduces the basic steps of collection development, including community analysis, preparation of policy, criteria for selection of materials, acquisition, weeding, and evaluation. Explores a variety of related issues, including the impact of electronic access on collection development.

Examines the instructional role of the information professional. Emphasizes the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instruction for the purpose of information education.

Provides an introduction to the theory and practice of archives, including an overview relating to the elements of an archival program and the role and work of archivists. Focuses on the functions of the archives, such as acquisition, appraisal, arrangement and description, preservation, reference, outreach, and technology in archives.

Continues the introduction to archival theory and practice begun in Introduction to Archives I. Provides additional depth in several areas, including appraisal, arrangement and description, focusing on models and standards. Addresses legal, ethical, cultural, and political issues as well as the range of historical and contemporary archival formats.

Introduces students to the creation, maintenance, and evaluation of archival access systems. Covers the theoretical concepts that underlie archival description and their evolution into the current set of electronic information systems. Reviews current descriptive standards. Addresses user needs and different formats.

Introduces students to the theory and practice surrounding the core function of selection and appraisal of records and papers enduring value. Focuses on the development of methodologies as well as approaches used in different settings, for different audiences, and for various formats of material.

Explores concepts, principles, and practice for preserving digital information resources. Topics include selection, organization, and access for materials in trusted repositories. Both technological and policy perspectives are addressed.

Course Under Development