We are pleased to announce that as a result of the Emporia State University (ESU), School of Library and Information Management regular comprehensive program review in fall 2015, the American Library Association (ALA), Committee on Accreditation granted Continued Accreditation to the program leading to the Master of Library Science (MLS) at Emporia State University and scheduled the next visit in seven years, 2022. As stated in the American Library Association, Accreditation Process, Policies, and Procedures (AP3), “Continued accreditation status is granted to accredited programs that continue to demonstrate compliance with the Standards following a comprehensive review” (ALA, AP3, 4 ed., I.12).
ESU’s library science program began as a 10-week extension of Kansas State Normal’s teacher education program in 1902, receiving full ALA accreditation as a Class III senior undergraduate library program in 1932. The Kansas State Teachers College (formerly Kansas State Normal) approved a master’s program in library science in 1951. In 1967 the undergraduate program in library science was phased out and the Department of Librarianship of the Kansas State Teachers College, formally became the School of Library Science, a distinct unit, in 1975. The program changed its name to the School of Library and Information Management in 1983. The library program has grown and developed over the course of 113 years to embrace an expanded view of library service, information management, and information technology.
Today SLIM’s student-centered learning environment is integral to graduate school education at ESU. In 2014 at the time of the Program’s self-study leading to accreditation, the MLS degree program (36 credit hours) was the largest ESU graduate program in total enrollment (315/2,190, 14%).
SLIM offers the MLS degree program, a Master of Science in Informatics, and a Ph.D. in Library and Information Management as well as certificates in Archives Studies, Leadership and Administration, and Informatics. In addition, a pre-licensure program in School Library Media prepares students to take the State of Kansas Praxis Test for licensure. The license is conferred by the State of Kansas Board of Education.
SLIM launched its first out-of-state instructional program in Sioux City, Iowa in 1988 at the invitation of the State Library of Iowa. In response to invitations from other state librarians, SLIM now offers MLS degree courses to cohorts in Colorado, Oregon, and Utah. As in its flagship program in Kansas with courses offered on the Emporia and ESU-KC campuses, the regional programs offer required blended courses (online plus weekend-intensive face-to-face classes) that are supplemented by online electives.
SLIM’s MLS curriculum is focused on information resources and the services and technologies to facilitate their management and use. The curriculum prepares professionals who assume leadership roles; emphasizes basic and applied research; integrates technology and the theories that underpin its design, application, and use; responds to the needs of a diverse and global society, including needs of underserved groups; provides direction for future development of a rapidly changing field; and promotes commitment to continuous professional development and lifelong learn including skills and competencies that are needed for the practitioner of the future.
For more information about earning the MLS, or any degree offered at SLIM, please contact Dr. Mirah Dow, Professor and Interim Dean, mdow@emporia.edu or Dr. Andrew Smith, Associate Professor and Interim Associate Dean asmith37@emporia.edu or any regional program director.