Department of Library and Information Studies

Course Descriptions

Core Courses

All Courses


LIS 600 Foundations of Library
and Information Science

This graduate-level course is an introduction to librarianship and other information professions. Underlying principles common to all information environments and specialties are covered, including the historical and philosophical development of librarianship and the information professions, technology and legislative trends in the field, and professional responsibilites, particularly as they relate to user access to information. Throughout the semester, an emphasis is placed socializing new students to the field. (3 s.h.)

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LIS 615 Collection Management

Study of the principles and procedures involved in the building of library collections, including collection development, collection evaluation, and collection maintenance.  (3 s.h.)

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LIS 620 Information Sources and Services

Information Sources and Services deals with the origins and characteristics of information and of information sources, and with such related issues as the negotiation of information requests, standards for ethical conduct, and the development of appropriate search strategies. (3 s.h.)

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LIS 640 Organzing Library Collections

Study of methods of organizing library collections for effective use. Introduces principles and techniques for cataloging and classification and investigates issues affecting organization. (3 s.h.)

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LIS 650 Library Administration and Management

This course integrates aspects of all the above approaches in examining the principles of management and learning how to apply them in simulated real life situations. Management, like any other endeavor that involves humans, is messy and sometimes not rational. Some principles work in some situations but not others. Things that should work do not, and things happen for no apparent reason at all. This is true not only for the principles of management, but for jobs themselves. Nothing you learn in a classroom will ever look much like the place you actually end up working.
As a result, the course will use a variety of management sources, texts, and examples from both library and non-library settings. The first half of class will be a lecture and discussion of a specific principle and the second half will utilize exercises, videos, case analyses, etc. to reinforce the material in the lectures. An emphasis on diagnosing management situations which entails describing the facts, diagnosing problems, and prescribing possible resolutions and an developing an action plan for improving the situation. Utilizing situational case studies in this manner allows students to practice managing in the relative safety of the classroom in preparation for real life management situations. The best situation that you can hope for, and the state of mind this course aims for, is to think like a manager, to have a variety of managerial techniques to draw upon, and above all to be pragmatic. Good management is what works. (3 s.h.)

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LIS 698 Capstone Experience in Library and Information Studies

The Capstone experience consists of students compiling a portfolio of work from their classes in the LIS program. This portfolio is intended to show satisfactory completion of the requirements for the MLIS degree. Faculty members will arrange to meet with the portfolio students during the semester in which they are assembling their portfolio, and will sign off on the portfolio before the end of the semester.

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LIS 693 Practicum

Supervised field or laboratory experiences in library/media center/information agency settings, with seminars. The practicum course serves as an elective for those students desiring more field or laboratory experiences in library settings. (3-core s.h.)

Note: As per Graduate School policy, only 3 hrs. of practicum credit may count toward the Master's Degree in Library and Information Studies.

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Department of Library and Information Studies
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
349 Curry Building, PO Box 26170
Greensboro, NC 27402-6170
VOICE 336.334.3477
FAX 336.334.5060
EMAIL cpfelts@uncg.edu