Master of Library Science

Are you interested in history? Special collections? Cultural preservation? Manuscripts? Global heritage resources? All of the above?

If so, the archives and records management specialization may be for you. You’ll gain access to IU’s rich and varied archival resources, and prepare for ever-increasing career opportunities thanks to the growth of digitization projects and online exhibits.

Your core specialization requirements will focus on archives and records management, and include an internship where you’ll work in an information management environment. You’ll continue to hone your expertise as an archival specialist by choosing from a broad array of electives, including courses in preservation, digital curation, digital libraries and more.

Reach out to gradvise@iu.edu to talk more about specializations.

The art librarian specialization will prepare you for a career connecting people with art. Career opportunities include working in art museum libraries, digital arts collections, visual arts user services, public library arts divisions, academic library humanities collection planning, and more.

Your core specialization requirements will focus on art librarianship and humanities information, and will include an internship where you’ll work in an information management environment.

Reach out to gradvise@iu.edu to talk more about specializations.

Libraries have a tremendous impact on children and young adults. The children’s and young adult services will prepare you to work in public libraries or special libraries in parks, zoos, and gardens, or any other place with an outreach mission that includes children and their families.

Your core specialization requirements will focus on materials for youth, youth services, and literature for youth. You’ll continue to hone your expertise as a children’s and young adult services specialist by choosing from a broad array of electives, including courses in information policy, intellectual freedom, digital audio and video sources, and more.

Reach out to gradvise@iu.edu to talk more about specializations.

Advances in technology over the last decade mean that corporate, public, and nonprofit businesses across every sector have an unprecendeted amount of data available to them.

With a data science specialization, you’ll dive into the art and science of data-driven decision making. You’ll learn how to create, store, analyze, and manage big data sets. You will also have an opportunity to pursue an exciting data science internship as part of this specialization.

Whether you want to work in business, health care, politics, entertainment, information service sciences, or academia, a specialization in data science can help transform you into the professional that employers today are hungry for.

Reach out to gravise@iu.edu to talk more about specializations.

Become an expert in the creation and management of digital content and data, the systems that support them, and their contexts of use.

As the volume and velocity of digital information and data production continues to increase—and as the types of information created continues to vary in format and structure—there is an increasing need for people who are trained in working with digital content and collections and have expertise in digital curation, which involves managing, preserving, adding value, and providing access to digital information assets throughout the information life cycle. These same people also understand the systems that support these activities and the social and organizational contexts where these activities take place. The digital content, curation, and collections specialization is intended to meet this need. 

Your core requirements will cover research, policy, and current practices in curating and preserving digital data, as well as metadata fundamentals, electronic records management, and more. You will also understand the design and operation of digital libraries from a socio-technical perspective, and serve a required internship in an information management environment.

The specialization is designed to prepare students for careers as professionals who can work with a range of digital content and manage the systems that support the creation and management of digital content. Graduates with the DC3 specialization can be employed in a wide range of organizations working with various types of digital information, including scientific data and corporate archives to government and NGO records, and more.

Reach out to gradvise@iu.edu to talk more about specializations.

Digital humanities is a rapidly growing field that combines academic humanities scholarship with the fields of computing and informatics. This specialization will prepare students for careers as 21st-century humanities scholars, both in traditional academic positions as professors and librarians, as well as in alternative careers as managers and developers at digital humanities centers and cultural heritage institutions.

Customize your specialization by choosing from a broad range of electives, including courses in human-computer interaction, gender and computerization, intellectual freedom, and more.

Eligibility

In order to complete this specialization, you must have completed a prior master’s-level degree in a relevant humanities discipline, or be in the process of completing a master’s degree in one of several humanities fields in conjunction with your M.I.S. or M.L.S. degree through our Dual Degree Program.

If you are unsure if your second degree qualifies, please contact gradvise@iu.edu to find out.

The Information Architecture Specialization will prepare you to work as an information architect in both the private and public sectors. You’ll learn how to plan, oversee, implement, and manage the growth of content systems in support of user understanding.

Your core specialization requirements will focus on designing and organizing systems based on the principles of human-computer interaction and usability, and include a capstone project where you’ll integrate the theoretical and practical components of information architecture into a single enterprise. To hone your expertise as an information architect, you’ll choose from a wide array of electives, including courses in information systems design and visualization, metadata, indexing, and more.

Reach out to gradvise@iu.edu to talk more about specializations.

The music librarianship specialization combines a top library sciences education with coursework and resources at Indiana University’s world-class Jacobs School of Music.

With this specialization, you can follow many career paths to combine your interests in libraries and music. Join an academic music library or orchestra library. Become a humanities subject specialist, web content planner, or cataloger. Work with the materials in a special collection or archive, or manage the music collection at a public library or museum.

Prospective applicants interested in pursuing the Music Librarianship specialization must obtain additional approval from the music librarians before pursuit of the specialization can be confirmed. Please contact the Music Specialization Advisor, Keith Cochran, Associate Director of the Cook Music Library, cochran6@iu.edu if you are interested in pursuing the Music Librarianship Specialization.

Do you want to work with rare pieces of history and culture that delight with their depth, breadth, and scarcity?

The Rare Books Specialization will prepare you for a career doing such work. Your core specialization requirements will focus on the development, organization, and operation of rare book libraries and special collections. You’ll continue to hone your expertise as a rare books specialist by choosing from a broad range of electives, including courses in preservation, the history of books and libraries, manuscripts, and more.

Reach out to gradvise@iu.edu to talk more about specializations.