GSLIS Gateway: Courses & Registration

GSLIS MS Topic Courses

Note regarding credit hours: For students beginning Fall 2005 and thereafter, all courses are three credit courses; students who entered the program prior to Fall 2005 have the option of taking them for four credits instead. For more information, please see http://my.simmons.edu/gslis/curriculum/.

Course descriptions:

Current Topics - LIS 530

The 530 series of courses allows the faculty the opportunity and flexibility to develop courses based on current interests and trends in the field. After a course has been offered several times, the faculty vote on whether it will be entered into the regular curriculum or cease to be offered. Please note: some of these courses may be offered only occasionally rather than on an annual basis.

After being offered twice, LIS 530 courses are typically moved into the permanent curriculum and given new course numbers. If you are looking for a particular course and can't find it here, please use our Course Status page as a guide.

LIS 530J - Information Services for Diverse Users

Given the increasing diversity of information users in the United States, information professionals need to learn more about specific groups in order provide appropriate services. This course examines the special needs and potential contributions of groups that are traditionally underrepresented in information settings. Through readings, discussion, and guest lectures, students will explore diversity issues which impact information services and develop skills for planning, implementing, and evaluating programs for addressing these issues. Specific diversity issues include race and ethnicity; gender and sexual orientation; social class; national origin; physical, psychological, and learning ability; and age. Students will gain experience in addressing diversity issues in two interrelated projects. The first project will involve writing a paper on a particular group and its needs in terms of collection development, programming, or accessibility issues, etc. For the second project, students will build on the first paper in a service learning project with an information center of their choice. Examples of service learning projects include constructing a detailed program or service activity for a specific group; compiling an annotated bibliography of best current materials and digital sources for a specific group; implementing a mentoring program for a specific group; evaluating diversity programs which are already in place; or writing a staff training proposal. Prerequisite: the prerequisite for this course has been dropped.

Course details (PDF)

LIS 530M - Competitive Intelligence

Organizations and organizational units increasingly employ competitive intelligence (CI) to support decision-making, management, and to build and sustain competitive advantages. As the formal practice of CI has grown in adoption and sophistication, information professionals are often charged with intelligence-related responsibilities. This course examines competitive intelligence models, functions, and practices; the roles of information professionals in CI, and the management of CI. Discussion and practice topics include: intelligence ethical and legal considerations; identifying intelligence needs; intelligence project management, research methods, analysis, production, and dissemination; the uses of intelligence; intelligence sources and tools; managing the intelligence function; and the evolution of CI. A working knowledge of print and electronic business information sources is recommended. Prerequisite: LIS 404 and LIS 407. Please note: This course was voted back into the curriculum in October 2007 and is being offered in Spring 2008.

LIS 530Q - Southeast Asian Bibliography

The course content will be wide-ranging and designed to assist librarians from Southeast Asia in assimilating and adapting the practices and theories of the U.S. profession to the particular problems of their own institutions.

LIS 531D - Computer and Network Security

This course offers a thorough introduction to the computer and network security issues facing individuals and organizations (libraries) in an increasingly hostile and dangerous digital society. Issues relating to computing security appear in the news and trade press on a daily basis. Web site defacement, stolen credit card numbers, denial of service attacks, the effects of viruses and worms, violations of privacy, and the loss of data integrity seem to be the norm, rather than the exception. The nation's interest in cyber security, as part of our national defense, has obviously heightened in the past several years. Students will learn who the attackers are, what type of attacks they launch, defenses from attack, and how to recover if an attack is successful. In addition to learning important technologies, such as authentication protocols, access protocols, firewalls, anti-malware technology, server and client hardening techniques, and cryptographic systems, students will learn the importance of viewing security as a business problem including how to assess risk, create appropriate security policies, and manage the security function. Prerequisite: LIS 488 or permission of the instructor.

LIS 531E - Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

Introduction to a wide range of issues related to the design, evaluation, and implementation of interactive computing systems. Examines the relationship between people and computers/computer-mediated information and the impact of good and bad user interfaces. Discussion of methods of understanding the diversity of users and their tasks. Discussion and practice in developing user interface prototypes and performing usability testing. Topics of lectures and discussion also cover human cognitive and sensory factors, cost-benefit tradeoffs in design, the importance of visual design, typography, and icon design, and accessibility considerations in the design of user interfaces. Individual and group projects. Please note: This is a new course being offered beginning in the 2005-2006 academic year. Prerequisite: LIS 488

Course details (PDF)

LIS 531F - XML - eXtensible Markup Language

Please see LIS 469.

LIS 531G - Web Development and Information Architecture

Please see LIS 467.

LIS 531H - Information Retrieval

Please see LIS 466.

LIS 531I - Research for Generating Knowledge and Organizational Improvement

Students apply the principles of social research as applied to generate new knowledge and examine contemporary problems that information organizations encounter. They identify and investigate a researchable problem relevant to their concentration. They develop and execute a research proposal. All projects must secure the approval of the Simmons College Internal Review Board. Please note: this is a new course being offered beginning in the 2005-2006 academic year. Prerequisite: LIS 403

Course details (PDF)

LIS 531J - Managing Spatial Information

This course will cover the principles and fundamentals of spatial information librarianship; focusing on user communities, acquisitions, equipment, cataloging and metadata, GIS, concepts and trends in management, organization, and use of spatial data collections; including maps, aerial photography, digital data as tables, images and vectors. Emphasis is on the major types, characteristics, selection, acquisition, and procedures of American and foreign maps. Overview of geographic information systems as the primary means to enable the spatial visualization and modeling of government produced and commercially distributed digital data.

Course details (PDF)

LIS 531K - Archiving and Preserving Digital Media

Please see LIS 444.

LIS 531L - Library Programs and Services for Young Adults

Please see LIS 412.

LIS 531M - Descriptive Cataloging

This course addresses the theories, principles, and practices of bibliographic description. It covers the application of national standards to the creation of bibliographic records and to the construction of catalogs in libraries and other information environments. It teaches the fundamental concepts of descriptive cataloging including: the elements of bibliographic description, the choice of descriptive detail, the description of print and non-print resources, the choice of primary and secondary access points, the creation of personal, corporate, and geographic name headings as well as uniform and series titles, the principles and practices of authority work, and the application of the MARC21 and other encoding standards. The course also includes examinations of current trends and future directions of descriptive cataloging. May include readings, discussions, presentations, exams, and written exercises. Pre-requisite: LIS 415.

Course details (PDF)

LIS 531N - Archives for Librarians

This course is designed to introduce the basic concepts of archival theory and practice to non-archivists who are entering the information profession, and to provide a bridge between archival and library practice.   Through special collections, local history collections and web-based exhibits, traditional archival concerns, particularly in areas such as arrangement, description, authenticity, context and preservation are becoming issues of concerns in the wider information arena.   Archives and archival issues are increasingly integrated into library and information activities, archives often exist within libraries, and librarians may find themselves responsible for archival collections. The course will present a general overview of the archival profession in the United States, introduce basic concepts of archival theory and practice as well as current issues in archives management, acquaint students with the professional literature and examine the differences and similarities of the archival and library professions particularly as they relate to the current information environment. Pre-requisite: None. Please note: This is a new course voted into the curriculum in November 2006 and is being offered beginning in the 2007-2008 academic year.

Course details (PDF)

LIS 531O - Rare Book and Special Collections Librarianship

With the growth of the Internet and the proliferation of electronic applications in librarianship, the role of the Special Collections and Rare Book library has not gotten simpler. In fact, the new technology has added a layer of complexity to the life of the librarian, while many operations remain unchanged. Often, Special Collections/Rare Books Departments are like a library in microcosm, for many of these departments do all of what the parent institution does, in both technical and public services. On top of this, many administrators look to the Rare Books Department and use the department’s facilities and holdings for public relations and other fund-raising activities. This course is designed as a practical introduction to Rare Book and Special Collections Librarianship, to cover for the neophyte as well as the experienced librarian the many issues of these departments’ responsibilities. Pre-requisite: None. Please note: This is a new course voted into the curriculum in December 2006 and will be offered beginning in Spring 2008.

Course details (PDF)

LIS 531P - Foundations of Library and Information Science

This course is an introduction to the field of library and information science, exploring information professions, services, and institutions, as well as addressing fundamental concepts and theories of information. Topics which will be the subject of discussion and study include settings in which an information professional might work (libraries, information centers, archives, and the information industries), the history of the information professions, the organizational structures of information institutions, the information needs of users and their information-seeking behavior, and information concepts, theories, and practices. The class will engage with current issues and trends affecting the information professions in today's society. Assignments may include presentations, posters, papers, case studies, examinations, and written exercises. Please note: This is a new course voted into the curriculum in Fall 2007.

LIS 531Q - Special Topics in Children's Literature and Library Science

This co-taught course offers a thematic exploration of children’s and young adult literature as viewed through the sometimes complementary, sometimes contradictory disciplinary lenses of literary criticism and library science. Topics for discussion include the differences and similarities between professional reviewing and literary criticism, literary reception and the reading audience, and the intersections between theory and practice. Required course for Dual Degree in LIS/Children's Literature. Pre-requisite: None. Please note: This is a new course voted into the curriculum in Fall 2007 and will be offered in Summer 2008.

LIS 531R - Library Automation Systems

This course provides an overview to the historical, current, and future automation and technological concerns facing information professionals in a variety of library information settings. It examines various functional components of automated library systems in acquiring, harvesting, organizing, maintaining, accessing, circulating, and disseminating collections. The course covers the process and principles of managing and evaluating library automation systems, including functional specifications, needs assessment, vendor review, RFPs, system implementation and customization, systems integration, and usability testing. It also addresses state of the art library automation trends, including incorporating new technologies such as wikis, RSS feeds, user tagging, and participatory services into library systems. Class activities may involve presentations and demos from vendors and systems librarians and possible site visits. Course requirements may include exercises using components of one or more integrated library systems (ILS). Projects may include vendor profiling, comparative analysis of online public access catalogs (OPACs) and other ILS modules, RFPs for library system products, and investigative reports on Library 2.0 technologies. Pre-requisite: LIS 415 and LIS 488. Please note: This is a new course voted into the curriculum in Fall 2007.