Mission, Goals and Objectives

Mission of the MLS Program

Our mission is to prepare professionals to employ the unique perspective of library and information science about the ways in which information can be generated, organized, accessed, preserved, used, and transformed into knowledge without bias of format. Our students will be able to use this perspective to address current conditions and to adapt to future situations, while understanding the historical context in which this perspective is grounded. Our MLS graduates will be able to apply their knowledge, perspective, and skills to the design of systems and services to address the needs of culturally and technologically diverse societies.

Goals and Objectives of the MLS Program

Goal #1:

Provide our students with the understanding of the enduring principles of library and information science.

Objectives: Graduates will be able to:

  1. Help protect intellectual freedom, intellectual property, and the individual reader's/viewer's and listener's right to privacy
  2. Demonstrate respect for, and sensitivity to, the diversity in our society including age, culture, economic means, ethnicity, language, physical ability, race, and sexual orientation
  3. Promote equity of access to library and information services for all members of society.

Goal #2:

Provide our students with an understanding of the values that guide our practice.

Objectives: Graduates will be able to:

  1. Promulgate the essential role of libraries in actively meeting the educational, informational, and enrichment needs of the diverse communities that they serve
  2. Advance social responsibility as articulated by the Social Responsibilities Round Table of the American Library Association
  3. Confirm the instructional roles of librarians in promoting multi-modal literacies
  4. Use creative inquiry, critical thinking, and informed decision-making
  5. Participate in continuing professional development and lifelong learning
  6. Promote library and information science to individuals and groups outside of the profession.

Goal #3:

Teach our students the bodies of knowledge and skills that will enable them to be successful LIS professionals

Objectives: Graduates will:

  1. Develop and maintain collections of informational, educational and entertainment resources in print, nonprint, and digital media that reflect the needs of the library community
  2. Understand knowledge organization and access to critical and valued information resources
  3. Plan, provide, evaluate, and advocate of information services for a diverse society
  4. Remain up to date in information and communication technologies
  5. Successfully lead and management of libraries and information agencies
  6. Understand and contribute to LIS research methodologies
  7. Locate and use research in library information science
  8. Communicate effectively through listening, speaking, and writing

Accepted March 27, 2008