The American Library Association (ALA) provides accreditation for master's programs in librarianship across the United States, helping provide skilled professionals in many types of libraries and information centers. The ALA Core Competencies are established for all professional librarian roles. As such they are broad and cover much more content…

To understand the effect of library science coursework on student perceptions of issues related to intellectual freedom, researchers surveyed students at the start and end of their enrollment in a Master of Library Science program. When the results were compared, the percentage of graduating students who indicated that they might rethink…

This article details how reading and literacy fit into the "2019 ALA/AASL/CAEP School Librarian Preparation Standards." It outlines the differences between the 2010 and 2019 standards and discusses how other standards influenced the development of the school librarian preparation standards.

Graduate students are increasingly expected to publish peer-reviewed scholarship during the course of their studies, yet predictable mentoring and education on academic publishing is not available to all graduate students. Although academic librarians are well positioned to offer such instruction, their efforts are not always informed by…

As the need for librarians to provide instruction on information literacy and other teaching topics increases, masters of library science students, in turn, need to become better prepared to provide to serve in this role. A content analysis of courses offered by American Library Association accredited masters of library science programs seeks to…

According to the American Library Association (ALA), organizational sustainability requires social equity, and serving diverse populations is mandated in the ALA Library Bill of Rights and its Policy Manual on Diversity. Preparation to serve diverse and marginalized populations is a key ingredient in creating the type of resilient leaders needed…

Learning the essential concepts and skills of information architecture (IA) has the potential to not only significantly extend the abilities of practicing library and information science (LIS) professionals, but also to evolve their professional identities and envisioned career opportunities. An online course on IA was designed around: the…

A master's degree from an ALA-accredited institution can prepare graduates for a wide range of job functions and career paths, but the variety of jobs raises some questions about how LIS programs are meeting the wide range and evolving needs of employers in order to best prepare students for professional positions. What knowledge, skills, and…

This article is an exploratory study of graduate-level instruction on research designs and methods for pre-service school librarians (PSSLs). Using a focus group of one cohort of PSSLs, we examine students' perceptions of understanding research methods, course content and delivery, and self-reported application of new knowledge from a sequence of…

While the collaborative trend among professional social workers and librarians gains traction and attention, literature about the utilization of student social workers partnering with libraries is non-existent. Over 64,000 students are currently enrolled in master-level social work (MSW) programs throughout the United States and nearly all are…

Libraries provide invaluable services and supports to members of their communities, including school communities. Those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can receive particular benefits from their libraries, including supports in the areas of academics, social skills, communication, technology, literacy, leisure skills, and even employment…

Financial literacy came to the forefront as the 2013-2014 presidential focus of the Association of College & Research Libraries division of the American Library Association, bringing increased attention to the topic among academic librarians and encouraging an exploration into new and developing roles for academic libraries in financial…

Research librarians often have a specialty in certain discipline, and many academic libraries thrive on this type of arrangement to support their researchers. But more often, new interdisciplinary programs are developed that require the expertise of more than one subject expert for support. In particular, students in a Master of Education in the…

The author reflects on advances in academic professional education for archivists over the past 35 years, makes the case for autonomous master's degree programs in archival studies, and identifies some of the challenges archival education faces now and into the future.

Purpose: After the closing of four of the five historically Black college and university (HBCU)-based library and information science (LIS) graduate programs (leaving only that of North Carolina Central University), there is a need to revitalize HBCU-LIS degree program pathways to increase racial diversity in LIS education.…