As the result of a comprehensive review of the Master of Library Science (MLS) program, the required core courses for all students seeking an MLS degree have been revised to better reflect the current and future state of practice and service across the information professions. If approved by the University, beginning in Fall 2013, all students admitted to the MLS program will be required to complete a new set of four core courses, and students must maintain a 3.0 GPA within the core requirements. The new core courses are:

Within the first 18 credits of the program:

• LBSC 602 - Serving Information Needs
• LBSC 631 - Achieving Organizational Excellence
• LBSC 671 - Creating Information Infrastructures

After completion of 24 credit hours:

• LBSC 791 - Designing Principled Inquiry

New students in the School Library or Archives specializations will continue to be required to take LBSC 640 (School Library) or LBSC 605 (Archives) in addition to the new core courses.

Below you will find the catalog description for each new core course.

LBSC 602 - Serving Information Needs
An introduction to the skills necessary to interact directly with individuals through the exploration of user behavior theory; strategies to locate and evaluate information from print and electronic resources; and policies and procedures to ensure that all individuals can become information literate. 

LBSC 631 - Achieving Organizational Excellence
An introduction to the principles, practices, and techniques of leadership and management as they apply to information-based cultural institutions.      

LBSC 671 - Creating Information Infrastructures
Foundations of acquiring and managing collections, information structures, indexing and discovery systems in Library and Information Studies. An introduction to the theoretical concepts, trends, systems, and technologies central to organizing and managing information resources. Students will create, index, and produce their own objects and descriptive metadata for physical and digital contexts.

LBSC  791 - Designing Principled Inquiry
Critical analysis of the roles of information professionals and institutions in integrating theory, methods, practice, policies, and values of the field, and applying them to the design of future information systems and services.