Mission, Goals and Objectives

VISION

The Vision of the Department of Information and Library Science is to provide information for life.

MISSION

The  department prepares students for proactive engagement in the information professions.

GOALS 

The goal of the department is to educate students in accessing, evaluating, managing, communicating, creating and adapting the information environment for changing user groups.

OBJECTIVES/COMPETENCIES

To meet the goals, the following student competencies have been developed. These competencies are intended to serve as a guide to faculty, students, and employers regarding the knowledge, skills and attitudes which the department expects of all of its M.S.L.S. graduates.

Each student will necessarily develop additional capabilities in their chosen specialization.  Infused in these competencies is the department's conviction, as reflected in its curriculum, that the nature and role of information in society, the appropriate use of technology in the provision of library services, and the profession's commitment to intellectual freedom are fundamental to librarianship.

 Clarion graduates will: 

• Demonstrate knowledge of the information profession by relating foundational principles, philosophy, and ethics to contemporary issues, by identifying key, on-going interdisciplinary developments in the field, and by analyzing current practices for future implications of the profession.
• Create, select, acquire, manage, and maintain the information environment by analyzing how users seek out information.
• Demonstrate and be able to explain the principles of organizing recorded information by exploring both past and present theories of organizing and representing recorded information and by understanding and applying the standards of organizing recorded information in libraries and information centers.
• Identify, explain, use and critically evaluate both current and emerging information technologies in libraries and information centers.
• Provide information services to a diverse community by analyzing, synthesizing, and disseminating traditional and emerging information resources, by developing communication and interpersonal skills for determining the information needs of all users, by creatively utilizing techniques and tools to address information needs, and by advocating for underserved audiences.
• Demonstrate an understanding of research by identifying the fundamental characteristics of quantitative and qualitative research and by analyzing the value of research literature in the library and information field.
• Develop a commitment to continuing education by participating in local, regional, and national professional development opportunities.
• Demonstrate the principles and practices of administration and management by recognizing the appropriate methods to continually measure and ensure the quality and value of personnel, services, the information environment, and physical spaces, by developing and evaluating the budget and additional sources of funding (i.e. grants) in alignment with short and long range goals and objectives, and by evaluating the advantages and disadvantages of establishing networks with libraries, consortia, community organizations, government officials, and other professional bodies, i.e. schools.