Academic Library Concentration Requirements

What does an academic librarian do? Why would you want to become one? Visit the following URL at the American Library Association website for answers to this question:
Academic Librarian ( http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlissues/acrlrecruiting/recruiting.pdf )

The forty-two (42) hour master's program requirements are:
Eighteen (18) hours of required core courses
LSC 502: Management of Library and Information Sources
LSC 503: Collection Development
LSC 504: Reference & Information Services
LSC 505: Organization of Information
LSC 508: Introduction to Information Science & Technology
LSC 557: Research and Evaluation in Library and Information Science

Twenty-four (24) hours of elective courses
All MLIS programs of study (POS) are individually designed to meet each student’s specific career goals. Each student meets with her or his faculty advisor to determine the elective courses that are best for that student. The elective courses listed here are ones that often help meet the goals of those wishing to work in academic library settings, but students not restricted to only these courses.

Experiential Learning
LSC 595: Professional Field Experience [Internship]
Highly beneficial for all students. Those who lack previous library experience or wish to change specialties should definitely enroll in LSC 595.

Electives for academic library generalists
LSC 514: Information Policy
LSC 515: Information Ethics
LSC 517: Community Relations for Libraries
LSC 522: College and Academic Library Service
LSC 525: Multiculturalism in Libraries
LSC 548: Information Architecture
LSC 593: Independent Work
LSC 597: Selected Topics: Digital Libraries
LSC 597: Selected Topics: Leadership for Librarians

Electives for academic reference librarians & subject specialists
LSC 524: Teaching About Information
LSC 528: Instructional Technology in Library & Information Services
LSC 529: Information Design
LSC 539: Business Information
LSC 540: Humanities Information and Materials
LSC 541: Social Science Information
LSC 542: Library Materials in Science and Technology
LSC 543: Government PublicationsLSC 547, Online Searching and Services
LSC 597: Special Topics: Information Literacy Tutoring

Electives for academic technical services librarians
LSC 506: Technical Services
LSC 544: Visual Information Science
LSC 545: Indexing and Abstracting
LSC 546: Computer Systems in Library Automation
LSC 549: Information Storage and Retrieval
LSC 550: Organization of Digital and Nonbook Materials
LSC 562: Administration of Special Collections, Archives, and Manuscripts
LSC 564: Introduction of Library Preservation
LSC 565: Rare Book Librarianship

Electives from other academic units
With the approval of her/his faculty advisor, a student may apply up to six graduate credits from other academic departments toward her/his MLIS degree. Students planning careers in academic libraries may find that courses in other areas such as Public Administration, Communications, or Higher Education help to advance their career goals. Students who want to become subject specialists may wish to take graduate courses in their subject field.

Dual master degrees
Many academic libraries encourage or require their librarians to obtain a second graduate degree. Cooperative programs at the University of Rhode Island enable students to pursue two graduate degrees simultaneously. GSLIS has formal cooperative programs with English, History, and Public Administration; but dual master’s degrees may be developed with any subject area in which URI offers a graduate degree.