Fall 2018

LIS 60010: The Information Landscape

• required course
• 3 credit hours
• Exploration of the nature of information and technology in information-intensive environments. Topics to be addressed include information lifecycle processes such as production, storage, sharing, and consumption; social, cultural, economic, legal, and technological contexts for understanding information processes; the roles of information professionals and agencies, and their place in the larger information marketplace; current and emerging information technologies that shape the information economy.

LIS 60020: Information Organization

• required course
• 3 credit hours
• Introduction to the theory and practice of information organization and retrieval in various information environments. Familiarity with principles, standards, tools and current systems relating to organization of information and retrieval. Exploration of supported information system functions such as searching, browsing, and navigation. Assessment and evaluation of information organization and retrieval systems.

LIS 60030: People in the Information Ecology

• required course
• 3 credit hours
• Takes a user-centered approach in exploring the information needs and behaviors of people (as individuals and in groups, communities, and institutions) in relation to the larger information ecology that surrounds them. Topics covered include an overview of information ecology; the user-centered paradigm; major information needs and information behavior theories, models, and findings; the landscape of information sources and services for users; factors that influence people’s information needs and behaviors; and user empowerment, information ethics, information fluency, and related issues.
• Featured Class Project: Information Needs and Behaviors of Museum Website Users

Spring 2019

LIS 60040: Information Institutions and Professions

• required course
• 3 credit hours
• Examines the political, social, economic, and technical forces that influence the larger environments in which information institutions are situated. This course explores characteristics of the environments in which information professionals may work, including but not limited to academic, school, public, and special libraries, museums, archives, cultural heritage institutions, government organizations, corporations across all industries, and information creators and publishers. The course explores characteristics of the information profession including core values and principles, emerging professions, and understanding possible futures in profession, and explores ideas of organizational behavior in information institutions that operate across the institution as a whole, within groups, and within individuals in the organization.
• Featured Class Project: Memo to Director - Preventing Burnout In Our Staff

LIS 60050: Research and Assessment in Library and Information Science

• required course
• 3 credit hours
• Focuses on quantitative and qualitative research methods applicable to information settings and environments. Explores research design, data analysis, proposal development, and ethical issues.
• Featured Class Project: Search Box or Archival Box: Non-Specialist Researchers' Discovery of Archives Based on Format in Genealogy

Digital Technologies Series

• LIS 60510: Data Fundamentals
  • The first of three one-credit courses in digital technologies, this course presents foundational knowledge on the principles that underlie digital resources and services in modern information society, with specific emphasis on data representation, encoding, formatting, and data modeling.
• LIS 60511: Internet Fundamentals
  • The second of three one-credit courses in digital technologies, this course presents foundational knowledge on the principles that underlie digital resources and services in modern information society, with specific emphasis on online information systems, the Internet, and data security.
• LIS 60512: Info Systems Fundamentals
  • The third of three one-credit courses in digital technologies, this course presents foundational knowledge on the principles that underlie digital resources and services in modern information society, with specific emphasis on Web-based information applications, programming logic, Linked Data, and the interpretation of data.

Fall 2019

LIS 60631: Introduction to Digital Preservation

• 3 credit hours
• Approaches and standards for preserving and maintaining access to digitized and born-digital text, images, data, audiovisual information, and web resources. Topics include longevity of digital media, selection for preservation; formats and strategies for preservation; preservation metadata; integrity and authenticity of digital materials; establishment and certification of trustworthy digital repositories; risk management; and policy development.
• Featured Class Project: Digital Preservation Data Dictionary and Crosswalk

LIS 60635: Cultural Heritage Informatics

• 3 credit hours
• Cultural heritage informatics brings a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary approach to supporting the entire lifecycle of cultural heritage information and documentation procedures for the benefit of the preservation, study, and promotion of cultural heritage. The course covers methods of creating descriptions for cultural objects, as well as organizing, delivering, and presenting the cultural heritage (tangible, intangible, and digital) resources in the digital age. The course aims to prepare students for careers focusing on or transcending libraries, archives, museums (LAMs), historical societies, and other cultural institutions by introducing them the methodologies and technologies commonly used in cultural heritage informatics and can be broadly implemented in LAMs.
• Featured Class Project: Cultural Heritage Website: Eastern Spadefoot Lithograph

LIS 60637: Metadata Architecture and Implementation

• 3 credit hours
• Principles and theories of metadata development in the digital environment. Main focus is given to the design and applications of metadata schemas for distinct domains and information communities, issues in metadata interoperability, vocabulary control, quality control and evaluation. Examination of international standards, activities and projects with the use of case study approach.
• Featured Class Project: Secondhand CDs Metadata Schema

Spring 2020

LIS 60092: Master’s Internship in Library and Information Science

• 3 credit hours
• Kent State's culminating graduate course is designed to provide students with a supervised opportunity to apply theory, technical and practical knowledge in the professional field. My focus was in metadata and digital initiatives within an academic library's special collections. My practicum site was Cleveland State University's Michael Schwartz Library's Special Collections where I worked on a variety of digital initiatives within the library and in partnership with other CSU departments and Cleveland area institutions.
• Featured Class Project: Digitial Special Collections Practicum

LIS 60614: Selection and Acquisition of Library Materials

• 3 credit hours
• Factors affecting selection in public, academic, school and special libraries (reading habits, censorship, publishing trends) community analysis, selection policies and process; selection sources; acquisitions.

LIS 60700: Foundations of Museum Studies

• 3 credit hours
• Intended for those interested in learning more about museums or specializing in museum studies. The goal is to introduce students to various aspects of all types of museums as dynamic networked systems positioned around objects, people and ideas. Covers history and types of museums, the roles of objects and ideas, structure, function, museum workers and users, and the purpose and future of museums.
• Featured Class Project: Great Lakes Science Center Biography

LIS 60280: Master’s Portfolio in Library and Information Science

• required course
• 1 credit hour
• Completed in a student’s last semester. It will include the creation of an electronic portfolio to represent and self-evaluate the student’s experience throughout the MLIS program, considering program learning outcomes and preparation for a career in the field of library and information science.