About Us

Program Mission

The mission of the MLIS program is to prepare collaborative and socially responsible graduates for innovative library and information careers characterized by ethical practice, professional values, analytical skills, leadership, and lifelong learning.

Program Vision

The vision of the MLIS program is to contribute knowledge and advance theory and practice by working from cognitive, social, behavioral, cultural, structural, and technological perspectives; fostering interdisciplinary collaboration; cultivating an appreciation for the role of information in society toward a common good; and modeling a climate of intellectual equity, engagement, access, openness, integrity, and respect.

Strategic Goals & Objectives

The following goals and objectives were adopted by the MLIS Program in August 2019. They have been aligned with the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies Strategic Goals & Objectives.

1. Strategic Goal 1: Support and facilitate research that creates new knowledge, addresses problems of practice, and supports communities.

   Objectives for Goal 1:

   • Encourage and recognize excellence in faculty research.
   • Identify and compete for external funding that supports and extends the program vision and mission.
   • Identify and develop infrastructure for supporting research, teaching, and community partnerships.

2. Strategic Goal 2: Provide highly rigorous and effective programs based on empirically supported best practices for teaching and learning.

   Objectives for Goal 2:

   • Refine and expand program content and curriculum design by partnering with key stakeholders to ensure students have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve as leaders in LIS professions.
   • Implement state-of-the-art technologies to attract, recruit, and retain students to the program who reflect the diversity of our communities.
   • Engage in continuous and systematic assessment of student learning outcomes to ensure students have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to serve as future leaders in their chosen fields.

3. Strategic Goal 3: Promote service as an exchange of social, intellectual, and cultural resources with our communities to address challenges and support positive growth.

   Objectives for Goal 3:

   • Engage key stakeholders in systematic planning focused on assessing our mutual needs, participating in continuous evaluation and improvement, and collaboratively determining future directions.
   • Identify and sustain partnerships with key constituents for research, reflective practice, and professional renewal.
   • Engage faculty, students, and community in value-added learning opportunities.

MLIS Student Learning Outcomes

PLOs are guided by ALA’s Core Values, ALA Core Competences of Librarianship and ALA Accreditation. Program-level learning outcomes describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the time of graduation.

Students will be able to:

1. Create innovative and ethical responses to meet the needs and interests of local, diverse, and global communities.
2. Demonstrate leadership and management attributes for a variety of library and information environments. 
3. Discover, interpret and apply foundational and applied research to improve professional practice, contribute knowledge, and serve communities.
4. Access, evaluate, and synthesize information from a variety of perspectives and sources to assist information users.
5. Evaluate and integrate evolving technologies as well as their design, application, and use within library and information services.
6. Analyze trends to anticipate and respond to future directions of the library and information science field.
7. Create a plan for continuous professional development and lifelong learning.
8. Identify legislative and other policy framework considerations to engage in advocacy and sustainable practices in the library and information space.

Program Assessment - Our Students

The retention rate for enrolled students who continued or graduated from the MLIS program in Spring 2025 was 89% . The time to degree completion for 2024-2025 MLIS graduates averaged 24 months. The employment rate for 2024 MLIS Graduates after one year was 87%.