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Capstone Projects in Librarianship and Archival Practice: Connecting Information and Communities

The Capstone Projects in Librarianship and Archival Practice: Connecting Information and Communities mastery course is a project course in which you will synthesize your previous coursework as you accomplish real-world professional goals. The Connecting Information and Communities mastery course pathway prepares students for careers in public libraries. Typical job titles for graduates include public services librarian, reference archivist, community liaison, programming and outreach librarian, education librarian or archivist.

UMSI Mastery courses are special types of courses that allow you to demonstrate synthesis of the major theories, methods, and approaches to inquiry and/or schools of practice necessary for entry into a particular career in the information professions.

This course provides an in-depth capstone experience to those pursuing careers in librarianship and/or archival practice. Based on skills, experiences, and knowledge developed in prerequisite courses, you (alone or with a partner) will assume primary responsibility for planning, carrying out, and evaluating a significant project of approximately 100 hours that aligns to one or more of these professional themes:

  • Collections: projects related to materials selection, processing, metadata, cataloging, weeding, and/or outreach;
  • Instruction, programs, or events: projects about the planning, facilitation, project management, marketing, and/or evaluation of formal and informal learning activities or community events;
  • Community engagement and partnerships: projects that assess community needs, identify service gaps and opportunities, seek and nurture new relationships with partner organizations or communities.

Note: Current students should refer to their respective Academic Advising Canvas sites to ensure they are accessing the most up to date curricular information for their specific cohort. 

Required courses:

SI 501: Contextual Inquiry and Consulting Foundations

SI 506: Programming I

SI 547: Engaging with Communities

SI 623: Research Methods for Information Professionals

SI 510: Information Ethics

Plus one of:

SI 580: Understanding Records and Archives

SI 647: Information Resources and Services

Plus three of:

SI 538: Citizen Interaction Design

SI 626: Management in Libraries & Non-Profit Organizations

SI 632: Appraisal and Collection Development

SI 633: Assessment in Cultural Institutions

SI 643: Instructional Skills for Information Professionals

Recommended:

SI 519: Intellectual Property and Information Law

SI 520: Graphic Design and Visual Communications 

SI 537: Crisis Informatics

SI 539: Web Design: Responsiveness and Accessibility

SI 549: Transformative Learning and Teaching with Technology

SI 552: Introduction to Accessibility 

SI 581: Preserving Information Resources in a Digital Age

SI 585: Scholarly Communication

SI 622: Needs Assessment and Usability Evaluation

SI 688: Immersive Applied Projects in the Social Sector