LIS Practica and Special Projects
Libraries and organizations interested in offering Practicum and Special Projects, please complete this form.
A Practicum (LIS 526) is field experience allowing MLS students to observe and practice in a real library or information center under the supervision of a practicing professional and an LIS faculty member. Practica may provide an overview of operations or concentrate on particular aspects of service.
Special Projects (LIS 527) are narrow, focused projects such as cataloging a collection or creating a Web page.
- View ALL available LIS Practica and Special Projects, sorted by date.
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Registering for LIS Practicum and/or Special Projects
- Print the appropriate departmental Independent Study Form. Have the form available when meeting with your supervising librarian and faculty member to secure all signatures.
- Arrange for Practicum or special project by contacting a librarian of your choice directly. With the supervising librarian, work out the details of a possible practicum/project including the activities and skills to be acquired.
- Contact a regular LIS faculty member (not a visiting faculty member) to approve the practicum/project.
- Submit the completed, signed form to Rita Packard in the LIS office (534 Baldy), who will force register you for the course. Be sure to include the number of credit hours you wish to be registered for. You will be given a copy of your schedule and you will be responsible for dropping the practicum/project, if necessary.
Completing the Practicum and/or Special Project
- It is recommended that the student contact the faculty member during the practicum/project to discuss its progress and any problems should be brought to the attention of the faculty member.
- It is recommended that the faculty member have an exit interview with the student to discuss and evaluate the experience or the student should provide a written evaluation of the experience.
- At the conclusion of the practicum/project, the supervising librarian submits a written evaluation of the student's performance by mail or e-mail to the faculty member, a copy of which is placed in the student's file. The format of the evaluation is left to the discretion of the faculty member, but should indicate how successfully the student learned new skills and performed the practicum/project tasks.
- The faculty member consults the evaluation when determining the final S/U grade.
Credit Hours:
Entry into a 526 or 527 requires completion of at least twelve credit hours toward the degree. Students may take no more than 9 credits in combination using LIS 526, 527, 598, and 599. Combinations of 526 and 527 may not exceed six credit hours. One credit hour is given for each 40 hours of field experience.
