Northwestern to begin online library and information science minor in spring 2020

December 16, 2019

Northwestern Oklahoma State University will be offering a new minor, library and information science, to its students beginning with the spring 2020 semester that starts Jan. 13. The minor is open to students of any major and is able to be completed entirely online, consisting of 21 credit hours—15 core courses and six elective classes.

Although the minor may especially appeal to those interested in pursuing an information or library-related field, the minor is open to everyone and is a valuable asset that matches with a variety of majors, said Shannon Leaper, director of library services and assistant professor of library and information sciences.

“I think when we hear ‘library and information science,’ it’s easy for a person to immediately think of working in a library and that being your major to pursue that field, but it is so much more than that,” Leaper said. “Library and information research is an asset to all majors and degrees because it’s teaching you how to pull and find information, how to analyze it and how to use it.”

Leaper suggested that those with a major in computer science, English, history, mass communication, psychology and social science may find that completing a minor in library and information science is beneficial to their course study. Leaper said the minor takes the student through a series of classes using in-depth technology, research and problem-solving skills to research, find and use information—a skill that is crucial for those, if not all, majors to have.

Leaper, along with Shawna Gilbert, access services librarian and assistant professor of library science, and Douglas Davidson, research and instructional services librarian and assistant professor of library science, are the faculty who will teach the online classes. Leaper said that although teaching classes will be in addition to their current full-time librarian duties, the faculty are excited and eager to get started.

The first classes to be offered in the spring even-year rotation are information literacy, foundations of library and information science, library public services, organization of knowledge, and library and information science internship.

Leaper said that although some students may feel it’s too late to add a minor, if interested, they have the possibility of completing it in approximately one year.

For more information about the minor or the library services, contact Leaper at (580) 327-8570 or seleaper@nwosu.edu. More information on the minor also is available at www.nwosu.edu/school-of-arts-and-sciences/lis.

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