All courses offered are at three credits. GSLIS students are able to view full syllabi at http://gslis.simmons.edu/wikis/syllabi/Main_Page (you must have a Simmons log in to be able to view the page; requests from non-GSLIS students can be sent to gslishelp@simmons.edu).
LIS 403 - Eval of Info Services
The course applies the principles of evaluation research to contemporary information management problems. It covers the fundamentals of identifying and investigating problems relevant to continuous quality enhancement and communicating the results to decision makers. NOTE: This is a required course for students entering Fall 2005 and thereafter; for students who entered prior to Fall 2005, this course may be taken to fulfill the program requirement of either LIS 403 or LIS 404.
LIS 404 - Principles of Management
Designed to acquaint students with the basic management functions of planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling. The course is intended to help provide understanding of human interactions in the workplace and develop the practical problem-solving skills needed to handle managerial problems professionally. Approaches to managing, from authoritarian to participative to laissez-faire, are examined. Readings, case studies, critical incidents, simulations, and discussions. NOTE: This is a required course for students entering Fall 2005 and thereafter; for students who entered prior to Fall 2005, this course may be taken to fulfill the program requirement of either LIS 403 or LIS 404.
LIS 407 - Reference/Information Services
Covers reference services, searching, and sources. Introduces reference concepts and services, such as the reference interview, customer service, evaluating the reference collection, management, ethics, reference philosophy, service in different institutional settings and for diverse populations, and the assessment of reference services. Students learn how to search in digital and print sources, including full text information retrieval in subscription services and the freely available web. Students become familiar with over two hundred core, fundamental print and digital sources.
LIS 415 - Information Organization
The phenomena, activities, and issues surrounding the organization of information in service of users and user communities. Topics include resource types and formats, information service institutions, markup, descriptive metadata, content standards, subject analysis and classification, and the information life cycle. Readings, discussions, examinations, and oral and written exercises.
LIS 488 - Tech. for Info. Professionals
This is a course that provides the conceptual foundation and context of computing, Internet, and digital publishing technologies as used in information-intensive professions. The course serves as a gateway to all other technology courses offered at GSLIS beginning with the Fall 2005 semester. The course provides an overview of how computers, telecommunications, networking, and digital publishing function. Particular emphasis is upon terminology that appears in the professional literature. Students are strongly encouraged to take this course early in their course program. This is a required course for students entering Fall 2005 and thereafter; it does not replace the Technology Orientation Requirement which provides hands-on skills.