While students choose Dominican University’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) for its academic challenges and outstanding reputation, they also select it for flexibility and accessibility of courses. The majority of GSLIS students are working adults who manage significant job and family responsibilities while pursuing their graduate education. With courses scheduled in convenient time blocks and offered at multiple locations, part-time students can pursue a course of study that meets their time constraints.

The basic courses in the The Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS), Certificate of Special Studies and combined-degree programs are offered during fall, spring and summer terms in mornings, afternoons, evenings and on some weekends.

When you choose Dominican University for your professional graduate library and information science degree, you will enjoy a rigorous academic challenge as well as the satisfaction of knowing you are earning a master’s degree from a program accredited by the American Library Association. Since 1928, Dominican University has been educating library professionals in Chicago in one of the oldest graduate library education programs in existence.

In the classroom, you will learn from your instructors, and collaboration with fellow students will enrich you. Many GSLIS students are already working in libraries and information centers while attending graduate classes; these students bring a wealth of real-world experiences and relevant perspectives.

Both team-based and individual learning projects are essential parts of the GSLIS curriculum. You cannot obtain a GSLIS degree from Dominican University by working in seclusion. As in any library or information-science job, success in GSLIS is achieved by cooperation and a collaborative approach to problem solving.

GSLIS faculty members give serious attention to the student advising process. They announce office hours, are available by phone and use email to facilitate guidance to students as they explore a program of study. Students are offered the opportunity to have substantive contact with faculty advisers at appropriate points during their studies.

Students are randomly assigned to an adviser upon admission to the program unless they pursue a specific program of study such as knowledge management or school library media. Those students are assigned to the director of their respective program. At any time during their studies, students have the option of changing their advisers by completing a form at the GSLIS office. Students often take advantage of that opportunity as their career plans become more specific.

GSLIS encourages students to consult with faculty advisers at a point prior to completing their core courses, but not necessarily when they are new to the program. When students are close to completing the core courses, they have a better sense of where their interests lie. In addition to one-to-one advising sessions, faculty may offer group advising sessions to provide information and address general concerns of students with a certain career focus.

Extensive hands-on experience with library computer systems, indexes and databases is required of all GSLIS students. Computers are available in the GSLIS classroom area, Lewis Hall, the Rebecca Crown Library and other areas. Dominican University’s servers are equipped for remote access so that students can access many databases and files from their home or office.

Students and faculty come to Dominican University from the Chicago area and throughout the world. Many countries are represented in our student body and on our faculty, creating a rich and diverse cultural atmosphere and unique learning opportunities.

The Graduate School of Library and Information Science is housed in the Rebecca Crown Library on the River Forest campus. Classrooms, faculty offices, GSLIS administrative offices, a student lounge, computer labs and media-production facilities are located conveniently together in this modern and comfortable building. Also, there is a cyber-café and information arcade.

GSLIS students and faculty have full access to a library collection of more than 210,000 volumes, 1,000 current periodicals and newspaper titles, CD-ROMs, 100,000 federal government documents and numerous online resources. As a GSLIS student, you will be able to access the library’s resources on campus and online through the university’s Web site.

You will also have access to the media center that includes numerous audio resources, slides, film strips, video tapes, laser disc and corresponding equipment. Listening—viewing rooms, a projection room and equipment for video taping and viewing are also available.

The library’s membership in ILCSO (an online network of 45 academic libraries throughout the state), Illinet Online and LIBRAS (a consortium of 18 liberal arts colleges in the metropolitan area) will allow you to access more than 10 million volumes and more than 10,000 current periodical titles. With interlibrary loan through the Illinois Library Information Network, and materials and information from many additional libraries—public, academic and special, virtually any book or periodical article is available to our students.

Today’s library and information science professionals must be highly skilled in the use of computers. GSLIS students are encouraged to seek opportunities to increase their exposure to computer technology.

All GSLIS students are required to demonstrate competency in basic computer use. Workshops are available at the beginning of each term.

Dominican University provides several computer labs on the River Forest campus for students. The Information Technology department offers regular workshops to assist students. Dominican University’s Information Technology department maintains general-purpose laboratories and several computer classrooms and laboratories for use by students and faculty. In these facilities, students can use the university’s software, send and receive email and use the Internet.

The Crown Lab contains computer workstations for students and one faculty workstation. It is used for classroom demonstrations and is open as a lab at other times. Evening and weekend hours are available. Computers in this facility have access to the Internet through the university network, standard office software from the university’s general academic server, specialized library software on the Crown server, and access to a large variety of databases.

The digital media-production lab with state-of-the-art image scanning and retrieval equipment supports LIS 724 Media Services and Production in the school library media program and will support other new courses as they develop. Students may use color scanners, color printers, CD-ROM mastering equipment and other technology to produce digitalized information media.

Students in GSLIS communicate with faculty, the GSLIS office and each other through email. All students and faculty are provided email accounts free of charge. Students use these accounts to access the Internet and to establish Web pages on the university intranet server for the duration of their study at Dominican University. An electronic student distribution list is maintained by GSLIS to facilitate communication to students. Students are expected to provide an email address for this list and to check their email regularly.

GSLIS students may access the Dominican University and library computer systems from outside the university. Passwords and instructions for remote access are available from the Information Technology department located in the Technology Center on the lower level of Lewis Hall. New students complete a GSLIS distribution list form and are added to the graduate school’s electronic listserv that notifies students of important information whenever necessary.

 

 

GSLIS aims to improve the quality of library and information services by providing opportunities for lifelong learning and professional development to practicing librarians, information specialists and library trustees. Workshops on topics such as metadata for Internet resources, knowledge management, digital imaging and electronic document management and school library media have been held in the recent past.

Lecture Series

GSLIS sponsors a number of distinguished lecturers and seminars. It also hosts informal events for the library community and alumni. Refer to the Dominican Web site at www.dom.edu for a calendar of events.

FOLLETT CHAIR LECTURE
Dominican University ’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science presented its inaugural C.W. Follett Lecture on Wednesday, February 2, 2005 in the Eloise Martin Recital Hall. The Follett Chair in Library and Information Science was established in 2003 and is endowed through a gift from the Follett Corporation, a leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower school, libraries, colleges, students and lifelong learners. The Follett Chair links GSLIS more closely to the professional community through educational and service activities and is one of only four such chairs in the United States.

Dominican University 's C.W. Follett Lectures have included
Year	Follett Chair	Lecture Title
February 28, 2007	Edward J. Valauskas	“The Library is Dead: Long Live the Library”
February 15, 2006	Edward J. Valauskas	The Googlization of Libraries: Debunking the Internet Godzilla Myth.
February 2, 2005 INAUGURAL	Edward J. Valauskas	“On Being Open: The Real Meaning of Open Access, Open Content and Open Source.”

LAZEROW LECTURE
Dominican University is pleased to be one of the few graduate schools of library and information science accredited by the American Library Association to receive the coveted annual Lazerow Lectureship award from ISI. The lecture honors the memory of Samuel Lazerow, who was an eminent library administrator and pioneer in the use of electronic information systems to automate library operations and services.

The purpose of this lecture series is to expose students and faculty to leading thinkers in the area of information technology and the ramifications of its burgeoning capability upon information policy and public policy in general.

Dominican University's Lazerow Lectures have included
Year	Name	Position
2007	Brian Kenney	Editor-in-Chief, School Library Journal
2006	Sandra Braman	Professor of Communications, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
2005	Pippa Norris	McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Govt. at Harvard
2004	Joseph Janes	associate professor and chair of Library and Information Science
2003	Siva Vaidhyanthan	author of The Anarchist in the Library
2002	Blaise Cronin	dean and Rudy Professor of Information Science at Indiana University
2002	Wayne Wiegand	professor at the School of Library and Information Studies
2001	Martin Dillon	former executive director of the OCLC Institute
2000	Sylvia Piggot	World Bank and International Monetary Fund
1999	Ronald Dunn	Higher Education Group, International Thomson Publishing, and past president, Information Industry Association
1998	Ward Shaw	chairman and CEO, CARL Corporation
1997	Jose-Marie Griffiths	chief information officer, University of Michigan
1996	Trevor Haywood	dean of the School of Language, Literature and Information Systems, University of Central England
1995	Paul Evan Peters	executive director of the Coalition for Networked Information
1994	Paul Strassman	CEO, Strassman, Inc., previously head of information systems for Xerox, Inc. and assistant secretary of the Army for information systems
1993	Clifford Lynch	former director of the Division of Library Automation for the University of California System, currently the executive director of the Coalition for Networked Information

MCCUSKER LECTURE

Dominican University’s McCusker Lectures have included
Year	Name	Position
2006	Hazel Rochman	Author and Booklist Assistant Editor
2005	Mary Minow	attorney, former public branch librarian and past president of the California Association of Library Trustees and Comissioners. Minow is also co-author, with Thomas Lipinski, of The Library's Legal Answer Book (ALA Editions: 2003).
2004	Nicholas A. Basbanes	author, lecturer and bibliophile
2003	Kathleen de la Pena McCook	distinguished university professor
2002	Louise S. Robbins	professor and director of the School of Library and Information Studies
2001	Kathryn Deiss	director of Education and Training, Chicago Library System
2000	Glorianna St. Clair	former editor of College and Research Libraries and the Journal of Academic Librarianship and current editor of Portal
1999	John N. Berry, III	editor-in-chief, Library Journal
1998	James M. Matarazzo	dean, GSLIS, Simmons College
1997 (Inaugural)	Prudence W. Dalrymple	dean, GSLIS, Dominican University

Career Services

The Graduate School of Library and Information Science provides information and resources to its students and graduates to assist them in finding positions suited to their abilities and interests. Students and graduates have access to the e-Recruiting service for current job postings by employers.

GSLIS works with employers to arrange recruiting visits on campus. Other career services include recruiting and information fairs and an annual Career Exploration Day. Each event provides networking opportunities and speakers focused on job searching interviewing skills, resume writing and matching candidate skills with employer needs. GSLIS does not guarantee employment

Students and graduates also have access to the Center for Career Development at Dominican University for individual assistance with developing resumes and refining interviewing skills.