SIS announces a new specialization in its MLIS degree
program, enabling students to focus their studies in Academic
Libraries, a growing field with numerous opportunities
for employment and career development. 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 new 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 incorporates the highly successful
ULS Interns Program which calls for interns to work approximately
10 hours/week as student assistants assisting with a variety
of academic library functions. In addition to those duties,
interns participate in special projects that focus on the
connections between their job duties and the broader roles
and operations of academic libraries. Interns participate
in training sessions in their respective libraries to learn
more about reference service processes and other aspects
of academic librarianship. The interns also develop
personal portfolios over the course of the year that includes
descriptions of each of their job areas and reflections on
how those activities relate to the overall operation of an
academic library.
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. Students who work part-time,
for either 10 or 20 hours a week, in paid positions
in academic libraries also will have the opportunity
to participate in the Partners Program, for which the
LIS Program offers tuition scholarships of three or
six credits and the library provides an hourly wage
depending on hours worked.
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