Online Master's Degree in Library & Information Science

Curriculum

The program consists of 45 credits (15 courses) and is organized in 10-week quarters.

SELECT ONE CONCENTRATION
(or select  “No Concentration Option” and choose 5 Free Elective Courses (15 Credits):

INFO520 Prof and Social Aspects of Info Services
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.

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INFO510 Information Resources and Services I
Presents applied information retrieval as the foundation for information services. Provides an overview of the present-day online resources and their printed counterparts. Focuses on the design and structure of tools used for answering questions and satisfying subject interests for clienteles. Emphasizes techniques for building effective strategies for searching large-scale retrieval systems, including the Internet. Gives opportunities to compare search engines and to evaluate retrievals.

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INFO511 Information Resources and Services II
Relates the applied information retrieval of INFO 510 to the larger conceptual structures of library and information science: literature-producing communities, the process of publication, publishing on the Internet, subject domains and form classes, systems for physical and intellectual access to literatures, problems of bibliographic control, and social and psychological factors affecting use of information services. Develops practical skills in creating resources such as abstracts, subject indexing, reviews of literatures, bibliographies, and websites.

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INFO515 Action Research
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 literatures.

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INFO503 Intro to Info Systems Analysis
Presents information systems development as a life-cycle process, incorporating problem definition, modeling and analysis, system design, implementation, evaluation, support, and maintenance. Provides an introduction to those modeling and analysis tools and techniques necessary for leveraging information and information technologies to achieve business objectives. Gives students practice in modeling information systems with respect to functions (functional decomposition), processes (dynamic modeling), and data (data-flow diagramming).

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INFO640 Managing Information Organizations
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.

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INFO 650 Public Library Service
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.

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INFO 683 Resources for Children
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.

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INFO 684 Resources for Young Adults
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.

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INFO 652 Internet Information Resources
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.

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INFO 665 Collection Development
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.

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INFO 688 Instructional Role Information Specialist
Examines the instructional role of the information professional. Emphasizes the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instruction for the purpose of information education.

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INFO 652 Internet Information Resources
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.

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INFO 660 Cataloging and Classification I
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.

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INFO 665 Collection Development
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.

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INFO 650 Public Library Service
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.

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INFO 651 Academic Library Service
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.

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INFO 672 Resources in the Humanities
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.

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INFO 673 Resources in Social Sciences
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.

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INFO 674 Resources in Science and Technology
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.

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INFO 675 Medical Bibliography
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 non-profit). Covers medical reference information, including the analysis and synthesis of available resources.

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INFO 677 Resources in Business
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.

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INFO 680 US Government Publications
Studies the nature of United States federal government documents and techniques for their acquisition, organization, and use.

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INFO 681 Legal Bibliography
Introduces the fundamentals of legal research, including sources and research strategies.

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INFO 663 Technical Process in Libraries
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.

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INFO 664 Library Automation
Provides an overview of information technology applications in library settings, focusing on underlying concepts and management issues.

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INFO 652 Internet Information Resources
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.

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INFO 653 Digital Libraries
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.

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INFO 622 Content Representation
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.

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INFO 624 Information Retrieval Systems
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.

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INFO 608 Human-Computer Interaction
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.

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INFO 605 Database Management I
A first course in database management systems. Covers database design, data manipulation, and data-base 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.

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INFO 658 Information Architecture
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.

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INFO 643 Information Service in Organizations
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.

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INFO 678 Competitive Intelligence 
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.

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INFO 674 Resources in Science and Technology
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.

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INFO 675 Medical Bibliography
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 non-profit). Covers medical reference information, including the analysis and synthesis of available resources.

Back to course list

INFO 677 Resources in Business
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.

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INFO 681 Legal Bibliography
Introduces the fundamentals of legal research, including sources and research strategies.

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INFO 612 Knowledge Base Systems
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.

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INFO 650 Public Library Service
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.

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INFO 651 Academic Library Service
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.

Back to course list

INFO 660 Cataloging and Classification I
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.

Back to course list

INFO 664 Library Automation
Provides an overview of information technology applications in library settings, focusing on underlying concepts and management issues.

Back to course list

INFO 665 Collection Development
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.

Back to course list

INFO 683 Resources for Children
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.

Back to course list

INFO 684 Resources for Young Adults
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.

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INFO 688 Instructional Role Information Specialist
Examines the instructional role of the information professional. Emphasizes the planning, implementation, and evaluation of instruction for the purpose of information education.

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EDUC 520 Professional Studies in Instruction
For students who lack professional-level classroom teaching in grades K to 12. Examines and develops skills in instructional planning, pedagogy, motivation, classroom management and discipline, interrelationships among diverse populations within school settings, and identification of instructional resources. Discusses current principles of developmental and learning theories and instructional design applied to teaching.

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EDUC 522 Evaluation of Instruction
Provides study and experience in quantitative and qualitative assessment. Methods for assessing student learning include informal test procedures such as rating scales, checklists, observations, and student self-assessment and formal test procedures such as essay tests, developmental criteria and rubrics, teacher-made objective tests, and standardized tests. Authentic alternative assessments include journals, portfolios, and performance assessments. Processes and problems in test construction and analyzing, summarizing, and reporting student outcomes are examined. Standards for validity and reliability are studied. Qualitative research includes gathering data through observations, interviewing, documentation, and triangulation in field settings. Includes a field component.

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EDUC 524 Current Research in Curriculum & Instruction
Examines the relationship of curricula and instruction to current research in learning and knowledge construction, developing higher-order thinking in specific disciplines and content areas, and the role of understanding and metacognition in learning. Complex problems of pedagogy are identified and analyzed (e.g., interdisciplinary curricula, team teaching, collaborative learning), with attention to designing learning goals and outcomes with effective instructional strategies.

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EDUC 525 Multimedia in Instructional Design
Investigates learning theory and its implications for interactive multimedia formats, including the relationship of instructional design principles to selection of media elements (text, video, sound, animation, and graphics) for high-quality design. Examines human-computer interface principles, navigation features, and visual thinking using a wide range of educational software examples. Criteria for software assessment and virtual classrooms are reviewed. Students design and write a software prototype as a group design project. Complex issues and concepts in technology and education are analyzed.

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EDUC 526 Language Arts Process
Applies contemporary research to processes and problems in teaching oral and written communication, with the basic assumption that listening, speaking, writing, and reading are integrated processes and should be taught as such. Covers analysis and use of instructional strategies for teaching developmental reading and writing, reading and writing in content areas, written correspondence, research reports, journal writing, poetry, and appreciation of children's literature.

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INFO 891 Field Study
Designed for students who lack experience in managing and teaching in a media center. Provides supervised field experience in a selected school media center or classroom in the Delaware Valley area. Discussion sessions accompany the on-site experience.

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