 Students
in the MLIS degree program are able to focus their studies
in Academic Libraries, a growing field with numerous opportunities
for employment and career development. At this time,
there are more than 3527 academic libraries in the United
States. SIS and the University Library System (ULS)
have collaborated to develop a specialization that will
educate librarians for positions in academic libraries
of all types and sizes, with an emphasis on work related-learning
experiences for students.
The Academic Libraries track builds on the strengths of both the SIS faculty
and the ULS, a top-quartile Association of Research Libraries library system
consisting of more than 20 libraries and collections. The Library System
offers SIS faculty and students the opportunity to work with more than 50 faculty
librarians from a wide variety of units in a laboratory-like setting to develop
practical applications of the theory of librarianship.
Students specializing in this 36-credit track will follow
a sequence of courses, with opportunities for electives
for developing individual interests. Students will take
courses including Understanding Information, Retrieving
Information, Introduction to Information Technologies,
Reference Resources and Services, Organizing Information,
Managing Libraries, Government Documents, Issues in Academic
Libraries, The Library’s Role in Teaching and Learning
and Collection Development.
The Academic Libraries Track
emphasizes work-related learning experiences for students. Through
the Partners' Program or other field experiences, students
will gain hands-on experience in the daily operations of
academic libraries in many of the ULS facilities including
Bevier Engineering Library, Frick Fine Arts Library, Hillman
Library, and the University of Pittsburgh Archives Service
Center. Students
will develop practical applications of the theory of librarianship
that they study in the classroom, experience which will
stand them in good stead when they graduate and begin to
seek out a job.
Internships have been available at Bevier Engineering
Library, Chemistry Library, Frick Fine Arts Library, Hillman
Library Reference, Music Library, SIS Library, and the
University of Pittsburgh Archives Service Center.
Students
interested in the Academic Libraries track also have the
option of doing the program part-time and completing internships
in other academic libraries in the Pittsburgh region.
In
addition to the core MLIS curriculum, students will take
courses on “Government Documents,” “Issues
in Academic Libraries,” “The Library’s
Role in Teaching and Learning,” and “Collection
Development.” The partnership between SIS and
the ULS is a unique feature of the specialization and gives
students a chance to gain practical experience in a major
research university’s library system. |
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