Simmons offers several opportunities to focus your studies on a particular area through the following topical tracks:
All students, regardless of what track they choose, must complete the core courses. The “Key Courses” listed below for each track represent those highly recommended for that subject area. “Recommended electives” can increase the breadth of knowledge in the subject or service area.
Note: While all tracks are available to SLIS West students not all courses may be available at SLIS West or online. Depending on the track SLIS West Students may need to take classes in Boston. Please see the most recent Projected Two-Year Schedule of Courses to identify courses available online and to learn more about when courses are taught online or in person on the Boston campus. See SLIS West Academics for courses generally offered at SLIS West.
Information Organization is at the heart of library and information science. It is the infrastructure that supports activities and services we provide to our users and helps people find resources to meet their information needs. Information organization, in its many forms, is central to the work of information professionals in libraries, archives, museums, and other information settings.
Information organization is library and information science’s unique contribution to the world. Its roots can be traced back to ancient times, but information organization is always looking toward the future. While many of the basic tenets of information organization are universal, practices have been adapted by a myriad of different communities in order to meet the needs of widely varying users, changing information environments, and the diversity of resource types and formats emerging today.
Key Courses:
Recommended Electives:
Careers:
With amount of information increasing at an unprecedented rate on the Internet, in print, and in electronic databases, there is an increased demand for skilled professionals who can access, organize, disseminate, and retrieve data. Categorizing information to make it accessible continues to be one of the great opportunities and challenges of the 21st century librarian. Possible career opportunities include:
Simmons has long been associated with Management and Leadership in the masters program. Many Simmons SLIS graduates end up as managers and leaders both within their institutions and throughout the professional community.
Because management and leadership is a part of every area of the discipline, there is no set path to prepare. However, the courses listed provide a broad foundation from which to launch your career.
Key Courses:
Recommended Electives:
Careers:
Today, there are a multitude of opportunities for librarians to establish themselves as key influencers in a variety of fields, including technology, education, law, medical, among others. Program graduates are equipped to demonstrate competency in a full range of leadership skills to make visionary decisions. As the next generation of library leaders, SLIS graduates are experienced in evaluating library services, as well as assessing the management and leadership of those services.
Preservation managers are responsible for the care of collections which may include paper-based materials, digital records, time-based media, and objects. These professionals focus on the aggregate care of collections. Their responsibilities may include environmental monitoring, disaster preparedness, collections maintenance, digitization and other reproduction strategies, user education, planning, and grant writing. Preservation managers work with conservators and experts in new and time-based media to assure the best treatment and reproduction strategies for their collections.
Simmons SLIS has the distinction of being the only LIS program in the country to have been offering preservation courses continuously since 1981. Working closely with the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) and the North Bennet Street School, the Simmons SLIS preservation program combines hands-on practical experiences with the theoretical underpinnings of preservation and conservation. Simmons SLIS also draws on a strong pool of preservation professionals in the Boston area as adjunct faculty and internship supervisors. Our array of courses is unmatched with content that covers the continuum of analog to digital.
Key Courses:
It is recommended that students interested in the Preservation track take at least five of the twelve courses listed below. If this is not possible, students should work with their advisors to select the courses that best fit with their programs.
Careers:
Students following the Preservation track may be interested in working in archives, libraries, or other collection institutions. They take courses that develop expertise in understanding the role of preservation in the storage and handling of collections, managing preservation programs, and the newly emerging challenges of preserving materials in digital form. They are also encouraged to take additional classes in the preservation challenges of specific materials, such as photographic materials and books. Students who graduate with courses in the Preservation track typically find employment in preservation management positions in libraries and archives or collection management in other cultural heritage institutions.
User Services professionals generally work in front-line positions interacting directly with users, as well as designing and managing collections, programming, instruction, and other resources for their communities. Some typical titles include Instruction Librarian, Adult Services Librarian, First-Year Experience Librarian, Outreach or Communications Librarian, Reference Librarian, Public Services Librarian, and Liaison Librarian.
All types of information settings employ user services professionals.
This document outlines a suggested program of courses for students interested in becoming a User Services Professional in any setting, in addition to the core courses required of all MSLIS students.
Key Courses:
Careers:
While some have suggested that the Internet is reducing the need for libraries, the reality is libraries are now needed more than ever in different ways. Although information is now at the fingertips, it is often unfiltered and unreliable. Questions have become more challenging to answer. Support is necessary to obtain the information patrons need. User services are evolving to meet the changing demands from providing subject specific consulting services to embedding librarians in the greater community.
User services provide the foundation necessary to assess, evaluate, and retrieve information based on patrons’ needs. Whatever the setting—public, academic, corporate, or special library—the opportunities below show there is still a demand for such services.
Youth Services librarians work with children and young adults, most often in public library settings. (Note, although many students are interested both in school librarianship and in youth services, they are two separate areas — the School Library Teacher Program requires a specific course of study in order to obtain the certification necessary to work within a school system, where as the youth services area is more a recommended set of classes to take.)
Simmons SLIS has a long history of excellence in Youth Services and is currently ranked among the top ten in the country among LIS programs who offer courses in the area of Services to Children and Youth.
Key Courses:
Recommended Electives:
Careers:
As children’s literature has re-entered mainstream discussions of adult and youth reading, librarians, teachers, booksellers, and publishers are becoming more interested in critical and pragmatic discussions of diverse texts. SLIS offers specialized literature and services courses to those students interested in increasing their familiarity with these materials with an eye toward professional youth services in libraries.
