Our Vision, Mission, Goals & Instructional Objectives

Vision

The School of Library and Information Science will be one of the nation's 20 best Schools for information professionals, excelling in teaching, scholarship, and professional service.

Mission

Through teaching, to prepare students for an ever-expanding array of careers in the information field; through scholarship, to contribute to society's fund of information and knowledge of ways to store, retrieve, and use that information; through professional service, to assist in the transfer of the discoveries of research to the improvement of lives.

Goals

1. To provide a strong and flexible educational program that is responsive to the immediate and long-range needs of students, the profession, and those the profession serves.
2. To attract and admit a diverse, talented and promising student body.
3. To provide an educational environment that fosters effective teaching and learning.
4. To produce competent information professionals who can facilitate the flow of information in a rapidly changing society.
5. To contribute to the advancement of theory and practice through systematic and continuing research and publication.
6. To expand research and development in library and information science for faculty and student scholarship.
7. To develop an infrastructure for collaborative research involving library and information science faculty, students, other UK departments and Schools and the professional community.
8. To increase visibility through faculty and student leadership in professional associations, conferences, networks, and consortia at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
9. To contribute to professional practice and the activities of professional organizations through continuing professional service.
10. To recruit, develop, support and retain a diverse, talented and promising faculty and staff.
11. To develop and maintain collaborative relationships with individuals and units within the College and University to further the mission of the School.
12. To develop and maintain a program of financial and other support that will supplement the financial support provided by the University in order to advance the School’s mission.

Instructional Objectives of the Master's Program

Upon completion of the master’s program in library and information science, graduates will:
1.2.1a Understand the essential character of the field of library and information studies and its processes associated with knowledge creation, communication, identification, selection, acquisition, organization and description, storage and retrieval, preservation, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, synthesis, and dissemination of information.
1.2.1b Utilize knowledge of the nature of information, information needs, information seeking behavior and use in society to develop, manage and effectively use information systems and sources to match information to clients’ needs.
1.2.1c Apply management concepts, including effective problem solving and decision-making, to the management of information and information services.
1.2.2 Understand and apply the philosophy, principles, ethics, policies and information-related laws underlying the provision of information in all relevant types of operational contexts.
1.2.3 Critically analyze and evaluate professional issues and problems in all relevant types of operational contexts, particularly by appropriating applicable policy statements, standards and guidelines of pertinent professional organizations.
1.2.4 Appreciate the value of teaching and service to the advancement of the field.
1.2.5 Understand the importance of research to the advancement of the field’s knowledge base and be able to interpret and apply research results in practice.
1.2.6 Make interdisciplinary connections to related fields and understand the importance of contributions of library and information studies to other fields of knowledge.
1.2.7 Make interdisciplinary connections to related fields and understand the importance of contributions of other fields to library and information studies.
1.2.8 Recognize the role of library and information services in a diverse global society, including the role of serving the needs of under-served groups.
1.2.9a Understand the role of library and information services in a rapidly changing technological society.
1.2.9b Understand the foundations and applications of information technology as it pertains to all facets of information creation and management.
1.2.10 Study and respond to the needs of the constituencies served by the program, including students, employers and other external communities.