Masters in Library and Information Science Career Pathways

The School of Information at SJSU offers many career pathways for students to consider, giving them an array of options to choose from for their career path with an MLIS degree. The career pathways that will be discussed are presented only as an introduction to other careers and topics and it should be used by students as a guide for career planning and course selection within the MLIS degree program. No matter what career pathway that a student chooses, they will all earn and MLIS degree and there is no other special indications on the diploma.

Academic Librarianship- libraries that are found in higher education institutions. Digital Curation- selecting, collecting, maintaining, preserving, and archiving digital assets. Digital Services- developing new technologies for the always emerging new technologies. Emerging Technologies- Issues and Trends- using issues and trends of emerging technologies to shape their use in public life and information centers. Information Intermediation and Instruction- instructing users for retrieving and evaluating information. Information Organization, Description, Analysis, And Retrieval- structuring and indexing information for discovery. Leadership and Management- orchestrate resources to enable individuals to access and use information. Public Librarianshi– A Community Hub For Learning And Literacy- bringing together librarians, clients, stakeholders, and patrons. Special Librarianship- has a specific clientele for particular information. Teacher Librarianship- manage libraries of all levels of schools, K through 12. Web Programming and Information Architecture- use theories and techniques related to designing, building, and managing information systems. Youth Services- work as children's or young adult librarian or coordinator.

http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/classes/careerpathways/web.htm

Masters in Library and Information Science Web Programming and Information Architecture

The Web Programming and Information Architecture career pathway will concentrate on the theories and a techniques that are related to designing, building, and managing information systems and web applications. Students who choose this career path will gain skills and expertise that can be used to improve user experience when interacting with information systems through web interface. Working in this type of information system and design will require more than just gaining a practical skill set. Individuals will need to be able to alter technologies for various information communities. Students will also need to understand user information needs and have knowledge about information seeking behaviors of society.

Students will have to complete 43 units in order to graduate. This is made up of 16 units that are required for all MLIS students. Aside from that, the student is free to select their electives that will represent their individual interests and aspirations. They will be given a list of foundation courses as well as a list of recommended courses that will allow students to focus in on their education and practice for Web Programming and Information Architecture. Students will learn how to understand the principles of a user-centered design and style, and also how to choose the interaction method that is appropriate for the specific circumstances and population. Students will also be able to match specific needs in situations with the applications and functions of emerging technologies along with using data mining software tools to use and analyze research as it grows.

Masters in Library and Information Science Information Organization, Description, Analysis, and Retrieval

This particular career pathway will focus on the discovery of information including seeking, evaluating, and using it; structuring and indexing information for discovery; organizing and describing information resources in all formats; and discovering systems and information retrieval resources and tools. Students will work in these areas to understand existing and emerging shared standards for organizing and describing systems like social tagging, which does not follow any standards. Technology is vital to this career path because of the vast variety of technologies that are used to create, store, and give access to information resources. Discovery depends on organizing and describing information resources. Because of this, it is vital to have a thorough understanding of search and retrieval through the use of various technologies.

The MLIS program consists of 43 units to be completed for graduation, broken down into 16 units dedicated to courses that are required for all MLIS students of all career pathways, and the remaining units are free to be selected by the students and should be chosen based on the interests and aspirations of the individual student. Even so, there is a list of recommended courses for students to take for their chosen career paths that will help them to fine tune their degree to better suit their desired careers. Students are expected to learn effective leadership and management skills so that they are ready for all types of work environments upon graduation, so it is advised that they take one or more courses from the Leadership and Management career path to ready themselves.