Program Overview

Welcome to the Masters of Library Media and Information Technologies program at UCA, a fully online degree program, to prepare students to be Library Media Specialists in K-12 schools. The Library Media and Information Technologies program is nationally recognized by the American Association of School Librarians as an exemplary School Library program in the U.S. With a 99% PRAXIS II content pass rate in School Library Media, the LIBM program has one of the largest graduate programs for School Librarians in the state of Arkansas.

While we welcome any out-of-state candidates, completion of any program, other than an initial licensure program, may not lead to licensure or endorsement in Arkansas or in the state in which you reside. It is your responsibility to check with your state’s department of education to determine if the license or endorsement requirements are met through the program of study. If you are a potential out-of-state candidate, please contact the program coordinator directly.

The goal of the graduate program in library media and information technologies is to prepare individuals for professional positions in a variety of information and educational settings. The Library Media and Information Technologies program, located within the Department of Leadership Studies, is designed for individuals who are planning careers in school library media centers at the elementary, middle, and secondary district levels and at regional educational cooperatives.

To achieve this goal, the program seeks to create an environment in which students

1. Acquire attitudes, knowledge, and skills necessary to practice their chosen profession;
2. Become cognizant of the human relation attitudes, knowledge, and skills required to develop, operate, and access information and instructional systems effectively;
3. Develop professional competencies to higher levels of proficiency and in new areas of interest;
4. Are encouraged to pursue life-long learning through information and instruction-related professional organizations; and
5. Recognize the need to continuously evaluate and implement information and instruction-related programs in response to social, economic, and technological changes.

Objectives established for this program reflect specific outcome expectations of those students who complete the Master of Science degree in Library Media and Information Technologies. At an acceptable professional level, graduates should be able to

1. Articulate a philosophy of library media services which reflects an integration of principles of library science, educational media, and instructional design;
2. Design, implement, and market for specified client populations programs of services which further the objectives of the organization by integrating them into the total programming of the institution;
3. Apply principles of management, including planning, to the operation of the library;
4. Select and build a quality collection of resources and equipment that meets the educational objectives of the organization, promotes intellectual freedom, and meets clients’ needs and purposes;
5. Organize and maintain collections of resources and equipment for efficient use reflecting the application of the latest uses of technologies;
6. Provide instructional opportunities, including bibliographic instruction, for various client populations as appropriate;
7. Use information technologies and networks to acquire and share information and for reference and referral services;
8. Analyze research data and use this information to assess and solve library and/or information related problems;
9. Work with other professionals to address instructional and curricular problems, including those involved in establishing activities that enable the patron to increasingly assume responsibilities for planning, understanding, and assessing their own learning, to implement student learning activities reflecting different learning styles, and to ensure a variety of learning environments;
10. Incorporate into programming the resource and service needs of all users (e.g., the culturally diverse, the exceptional populations, the disabled); and
11. Recognize the importance of practicing effective leadership and interpersonal relationships within the educational, local, and professional communities.