The University of Southern Mississippi School of Library and Information Science The University of Southern Mississippi School of Library and Information Science Program Presentation for The Committee on Accreditation of The American Library Association January 16, 2012 Program Presentation 1 Contents 1 Introduction 1.1 History…………………………………………..…..3 1.2 Related Programs and Organizations………….….…7 2 Information Section………………………………….…….…11 3 Standards Section……………………………………………. 12 3.1 Standard I. Mission, Goals, and Objectives………..12 3.2 Standard II. Curriculum …………………………....25 3.3 Standard III. Faculty………………………………...38 3.4 Standard IV. Students……………………………….60 3.5 Standard V. Administration and Financial Support...75 3.6 Standard VI. Physical Resources and Facilities….….82 4 Synthesis and Overview……………………………………… 88 4.1 Summary…………………………………… ………88 4.2 Concluding Statement……………………… ………90 5 Appendixes – Provided on USB drives 5.1 Appendices Standard I Mission, Goals and Objectives 5.2 Appendices Standard II Curriculum 5.3 Appendices Standard III Faculty 5.4 Appendices Standard IV Students 5.5 Appendices Standard V Administration and Finances 5.6 Appendices Standard VI Physical Resources and Facilities The University of Southern Mississippi School of Library and Information Science 1 Introduction This Program Presentation contains: a brief history of the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss) in the opening chapter, an expanded interview based history of the school is contained in the appendices, a brief statement of the missions of USM and SLIS, an Information Section, a Standards Section, a summary of the Program Presentation, and a brief conclusion. The Appendixes include material that applies to more than one section of the Program Presentation. 1.1 History Courses in library science were offered at what is now The University of Southern Mississippi as early as 1926. In 1957, the program in library science became a department in the College of Education and Psychology. The master's degree was initiated in 1963-64, and the School of Library Service was established July 1, 1976 as a professional school. The master’s program has been continuously accredited by the American Library Association since 1980, with full-scale evaluations and site visits in 1987 and 1995 and 2002. In July 2002, the Committee on Accreditation placed the program on conditional status. The accreditation review in February/March 2005 yielded continuous full accreditation with the next visit to be 2012. During the 1981-1982 academic years, the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning in Mississippi assigned The University of Southern Mississippi the leadership role in library science. Library science was one of ten programs at the University assigned such leadership within the State system of higher education. This was public acknowledgement of the progress of library education at the University. On July 1, 1988 as a result of University- wide reorganization, the School of Library Service became the School of Library Science in the College of Liberal Arts. This move facilitated cooperation with other departments in the College. In February of 1992, as a result of severe economic depression, which led to "downsizing" in state-supported Universities, a University Planning Team recommended that the School, as well as other units at The University of Southern Mississippi be closed. A strong campaign of supporters including alumni, employers of graduates of the School, faculty, and students convinced the University administration to retain and support the School. Since that time, SLIS has been fortunate to have the encouragement and support of the presidents and other academic officials of the University and the library community in Mississippi. To demonstrate administration and faculty response to current trends in the profession, the name of the School was officially changed to the School of Library and Information Science in the fall 1993. The degree awarded became the Master of Library and Information Science. In January 2003, the University of Southern Mississippi was re-organized from nine colleges to five and the School of Library and Information Science was moved from the College of Liberal Arts (CLA) into the College of Education and Psychology (CoEP), where it began some twenty years earlier. An advantage of moving to the CoEP for SLIS has been an increased presence and role in the college. SLIS has a representative from its faculty on the Advisory Board of the college, the body that conducts the college level evaluation of faculty for tenure and promotion. (In the College of Liberal Arts the school did not always have this Program Presentation 3 The University of Southern Mississippi School of Library and Information Science access because of the voting system employed by that college.) In CoEP each department and school has a member elected to serve. We have been active participants in all aspects of the CoEP governance; in response to the changes in the university organization new college by- laws were written; tenure and promotion policies were studied extensively as part of the university striving to ensure junior faculty would have clear guidelines for departmental, college and university support for tenure and promotion. The CoEP is in a continuous process of accreditation and review as part of its participation in NCATE and a variety of other accrediting agencies. The school has been a participant in the accreditation processes of the Department of Child and Families Studies, and the Department of Curriculum Instruction and Special Education, as well as having ongoing involvement with Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In two University wide peer and self-examinations to identify programs for support or deletion, the Academic Program Group (APG 2009) and the University Priorities Committee (UPC 2010) both identified the School of Library and Information Science programs among those to be retained and nurtured. Master’s Program The Master of Library and Information Science program is a comprehensive generalist program with a required core of courses fundamental to the profession that prepare students for a wide variety of roles in the profession. In August 2011 SLIS conducted reviews of the ALA Core Competencies in comparison to SLIS course outcomes and assessments that revealed SLIS is covering 90 percent of the competencies in our required courses. Within the curriculum there are opportunities to choose emphases that enable students to assume professional positions in school, academic, public and special libraries as well as archives. Thirty-nine semester hours are required for graduation this includes completion of a three- semester credit hour master's project, which is a capstone research activity for the graduates and a comprehensive exam. In fall 2012, credit hours for completion will change to 40 credit hours as a one hour orientation and professionalism course will be added. The demand for school library media specialists has increased enrollment in the school certification emphasis area. Two dual-master’s programs allow students to obtain coursework, research, and practical experience in such areas as museum librarianship, archives, digitization, and primary research methods. A third dual-master’s program with Political Science allows students to have significant public administration and service orientation. International Aspects of SLIS SLIS has attracted students from a number of foreign countries, including Bangladesh, China, India, South Africa, Germany, France, Mexico, Belize, Brazil, and Canada. Historically, students attended face to face classes from overseas during our summer terms; attracting students from Department of Defense sites pursuing the MLIS in a three to four summer completion format. Moving to online formats marginally increased international exposure, but decreased on-campus summer attendance. American students living in foreign countries continue to enroll in our program. The contact international students and students living outside of the states have with domestic students is valuable not only because of the opportunities to share professional information, but also because it provides cross-cultural exposure to everyone in the programs. Program Presentation 4 The University of Southern Mississippi School of Library and Information Science British Studies Program The School has participated with the College of International and Continuing Education in the British Studies program since 1981. Courses in the British Studies program have been primarily in Children's and Young Adult Literature, and Libraries and Museums. After a ten-year lapse, the LIS courses were revived in 2007; in the past five years, 93 students from USM and 25 other universities from across the U.S. have participated. This program offers students the opportunity to learn about the libraries and archives of London and Edinburgh, including the British Library and Conservation Studio in London and the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh. British librarians, archivists, and information specialists with expertise in a variety of areas within the profession have been lecturers. The content of these courses varies from year to year, but it always includes outstanding lectures and field trips to points of interest important to the field of study, such as the Bodleian Library (Oxford), Shakespeare Library (Stratford-upon-Avon), St. Paul’s