Social Services, Law, and Crisis Management Curriculum Offered in Library and Information Studies

Publication Date

7-1-2024

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Journal of Education for Library and Information Science

Volume

65

Issue

3

DOI

10.3138/jelis-2022-0072

First Page

260

Last Page

281

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the trends in American Library Association (ALA)-accredited Library and Information Studies (LIS) master’s program course offerings that facilitated societal interactions and support, specifically social services, law, soft skills, and crisis management. Results indicated that most respondents, who were LIS faculty and members of the Association of Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), believed that LIS coursework in social services, law, soft skills, and crisis management were important. Respondents also indicated how they or their departments addressed social issues (e.g., readings), and what kinds of crises a librarian should be equipped to handle (e.g., facilities management). Additionally, it was found that 41.9% of the respondents believed that a Masters and a Juris Doctorate were required to be a law librarian. Moreover, survey data limitations and implications for current and future practice are discussed.

Keywords

crisis management, law librarianship, library and information science, LIS coursework, social work

Department

Information

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