Library and Information Studies (LIS)

Mission, Goals and Objectives

Message from the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Library and Information Studies and to the Graduate School of Education. We are here because information transforms lives. We invite you to embark on an intellectual, social, and emotional journey to a place where you can transform lives through information:

• Give a fifth grader a book that raises her curiosity and launches her on a path to become a scientist.
• Help an older adult to find reliable medical information on the Web so he can improve his health and stay independent.
• Give information to a budding entrepreneur that teaches her the ins and outs of starting a business.
• Point a scientist to a source of data and convert the data into the right format for analysis that will lead to a scientific advance.
• Design a Web site that will draw people into joining a cause.

The program engages you in understanding the nature of information and its use, the conceptual foundations of information organization, the requirements of a variety of user groups and sources of information to meet these requirements, cutting edge technology to store and find information and to support communication and collaboration among users in an information commons where the roles of information producer and information consumer meld, issues of management and information policy, and intellectual freedom and equity of information access. This will prepare you for many jobs: Chief information officer, information broker, school library media specialist, reference librarian, cataloger, law librarian, editor, Web designer, information architect, ontologist, to name a few.

Immerse yourself in the program, allow your mind to be stretched, be open to new possibilities, and become that person who can transform lives through information. It takes both brains and heart: knowledge of how information is organized to be found and empathy with users and their problems. The department is committed to intellectual force and social engagement. Come join us!

Dagobert Soergel