The Master of Science in Library Science program prepares students for
professional employment in information and library service. The degree is
designed to educate students for work involving the collection,
organization, storage, and retrieval of recorded knowledge for a variety
of individuals and groups. Analysis and design skills are emphasized.
Required courses include:
In addition, all students must complete a master's paper or project and
must sign up for INLS 393 for 0 to 3 credits.
Two specialization areas require state certification: public
librarinship and school librarianship. To work in a public
library in North Carolina, it is necessary to
receive certification from the North Carolina Public
Librarian Certification Commission. Completion of the
MSLS, including the required course work in the areas of
cataloging, reference, collection development, technology,
and management, satisfies the North Carolina certification
requirements.
Students wishing certification as a school librarian have
more complex requirements. They must either hold current
certification as a teacher or take 18 hours of coursework in education in
a specialized distribution pattern in addition to specialized
library science courses and fieldwork in a school library media center.
Candidates for the certification
must also take and pass a specialized part of the National
Teacher's Exam. An advisory sheet available to students
describes the requirements and options (see Appendix K: School Library Media
Program). Dr. Evelyn Daniel is the School Library Media
Coordinator and advises all students seeking this
specialization.
SILS also offers the opportunity for graduates of prior years to return to
prepare for certification as a continuing education student. Dr. Daniel
advises these students as well -- about 10 a year.
A cooperative archival program
is described in the next chapter under
interdisciplinary programs. An interdisciplinary Master's program
in Medical
Informatics is also described in Chapter 5.
This past year surveys of all the students (see Appendix L for a copy of the instrument
with much of the response data provided and Appendix M: Student Opinions about the
Curriculum). A random sample of
alumni (see Appendix N) was conducted
as well. These surveys requested opinions on various aspects of both
Master's
programs -- for example, advising,
curricular offerings, quality of teaching, responsiveness of the
administration and opportunities to participate in decision-making in the
school, quality of student life, and satisfaction with the facilities,
laboratories and equipment. The alumni responses are available in Appendix N: Survey of Alumni. Sections of
survey responses have been
analyzed separately and are available in Appendix O: Alumni Employment since
Graduation, Appendix P: Relevance
of Course Work
to Jobs, Appendix Q:
Alumni
Opinion on
Relvant Knowledge/Skills Needed, Appendix R:
Alumni Continuing Education Activities.
In
general, both students and alumni(ae) appear satisfied with the programs.
Few consistent
complaints appear in the survey responses. A few issues relative to
particular courses (specifically, problems with two of the core courses --
management and communication) have been addressed by the faculty and
should not now be a concern.
Revised 10/25/99The Master of
Science in Library Science Program (MSLS)
Philosophy, Structure and
Theoretical Base
Librarianship is, first and foremost, a service profession. Librarians
are concerned with the organization of collections of documents (physical
documents such as books, journals, manuscripts, musical scores, prints,
etc.) and facilitating their use by clients. Their tasks concern
continually selecting from the growing record, organizing and maintaining
the collection (bibliographic control), developing and maintaining the
tools enabling them and their clients to determine what is in the
collection and where it is (increasingly as well determining what is
available in virtual collections and how to obtain material not owned),
and providing reference service to guide clients in their use of records
in and beyond the library's collection.
Curriculum Structure
The curriculum of the Master of Science in Library Science is a
48-credit hour program, designed
around five functional areas: organization, collection and retrieval,
communication, design and evaluation, and management. Basic
computing knowledge is an entrance requirement. Elective courses
build upon required courses in each of these areas.
Required Courses Organization INLS 151: Organization of Information
I Collection and Retrieval INLS 153: Resource Selection and
Evaluation (INLS 242: Curriculum Issues is an alternative for school
library media specialization)
INLS 111: Information Resources and ServicesCommunication INLS 180: Communication Processes
(NOTE:
Course revised in Spring 99. New name: Human Interaction Processes.
New Requirement: Must be taken in first 24 hours of program. Lab
component in public speaking added -- INLS 180L (1
credit)Design and Evaluation INLS 201: Research Methods
(Taken after 12 hours) Management INLS 131: Management of Information
Agencies Areas of Specialization
This degree program is intended to prepare students for careers in
library service in areas such as library administration, archives and
documents librarianship, cataloging, public and reference services,
acquisitions and collection management, children's librarianship, access
and manipulation of database information, special collections, and subject
areas. Graduates of the program are ready to practice within various
settings: academic, public, or special libraries, information centers, or
school library media centers. Some sample advising "grids" for
reference, children's literature and services and a new cultural
heritage specialization may be found in Appendix
J: Advising Grids.
Evaluation of Program
The evaluation of the program is carried out in a number of ways: through
student course evaluations, through oversight by the Master's Committee,
through peer observation of teaching, through periodic surveys of alumni
and graduates and, of course, through Committee on Accreditation
monitoring.