University of Illinois Offers Advanced Degree and Fellowships in Digital Librarianship

[Molly Dolan]

Apologies for cross-posting.
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University of Illinois Offers Advanced Degree and
Fellowships in Digital Librarianship 

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN, IL—Beginning in the 2005–2006 school year, the
Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will offer a structured
Certificate of Advanced Study (CAS) in Digital Libraries. Five
one-year, non-renewable fellowships will also be available to CAS and
MS degree students wishing to focus on digital libraries. The program
aims to give students a thorough and technically focused background in
digital libraries that will enable them to serve as designers,
decision-makers, and creators of digital collections.

Students may choose to enroll in the CAS program either on campus at
Urbana-Champaign or at a distance via GSLIS's LEEP online education
option. The core courses for the program will be offered via LEEP,
while elective courses may be completed via LEEP or on campus, as
offered. By making use of the LEEP option, GSLIS will be able to offer
classes taught by distinguished practitioners from other institutions
in the field of digital librarianship.

The CAS degree is a program of advanced course work intended for those
who hold a master's degree in library and information science or a
related field. Librarians, information scientists, and others in
information management can enroll in the program to refresh and update
their skills and gain greater specialization in digital librarianship
and related issues. To earn the degree, students will be required to
complete 40 hours of course work, including 8 hours focusing on an
individual project related to digital libraries.

Students may focus their studies in one of many directions, including
theory and implementation, information organization and access tools,
learning environments, community information exchange, and more.
Students will gain advanced-level knowledge of digital asset
management, information and collection modeling, design of
human-centered, digitally mediated information services, and
information policy. The program assumes existing MS-level knowledge of
Library and Information Science, including basic information
organization, indexing and cataloging, information needs and uses,
reference and user services, and the role of libraries in society.

With support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS),
GSLIS will be recruiting and placing a total of five fellows to pursue
digital librarianship studies in the 2005–2006 academic year, and
another five in 2006–2007. To apply for the fellowships, students must
apply for either the CAS degree program in Digital Libraries, or the
MS degree program in Library and Information Science. MS students
should indicate on their applications that they have an interest in
digital libraries. After being accepted to the program, students will
be encouraged to write an essay explaining their interest and goals in
the study of digital librarianship. Students who are offered and
accept the fellowship positions will be required to fulfill their
fellowship requirements at the Urbana-Champaign campus.

GSLIS, the number-one ranked LIS degree program by U.S. News and World
Report, will be the first in the nation to offer an advanced degree
targeted at professionals in the growing field of digital
librarianship. The program will be conducted in close partnership with
the University's world-renowned libraries, including Grainger
Engineering Library Information Center, which is home to
groundbreaking research in digital libraries and metadata harvesting.

Additional information about applying to the program can be found at
http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/gslis/degrees/cas_dl.html; information about
digital projects of the University Library can be found at
http://www.library.uiuc.edu/digproj/digprojt.html.

Contact for questions regarding the degree programs and fellowships:
Linda C. Smith, Associate Dean, lcsmith at uiuc.edu.