College Life
College Life
Private Schools That Are Well Known for This Major
- Syracuse University
- Simmons College
- Drexel University
- Catholic University of America
- Pratt Institute
State Schools That Are Well Known for This Major
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill
- University of Washington
- University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
- Rutgers University
Classes in the Major
Understanding Information. This might be the most basic course name we have ever come across. Isn't ''understanding information'' what you've been doing since your parents told you where the bathroom was? Granted, this is like that, but far more in depth. You're going to be examining aspects of communication that you've taken for granted and understanding how librarians and other professionals in the information arena do their work.
Organizing and Retrieving Information. Otherwise known as ''exactly what librarians do, when you think about it. '' Library science is a slightly misleading name for a major that's all about information as a whole. Libraries were the first name for a place for information, and one that's stuck around even if it's not describing a physical building full of books. In this class, you're learning all the various methods and tools you'll use to make sure you don't lose anything, and how to get exactly what you need when you need it. Without this class, you're lost. Pretty much.
Preservation Management. Did you know that information can decay? Sure it can. (That might be one of the more frightening things we've said in a long while.) If it's information in someone's head, it's gone when they are. But books can get eaten by rats, thrown into the sea, or even set on fire, though probably not all at the same time. Even electronic information is vulnerable to any number of things. Before you can organize or retrieve or even read something, you have to make certain that it continues to exist. This is where you learn how to make sure it does.
Archival Appraisal. You probably read that and immediately thought about money. Sure, there's some of that. Rare books can be incredibly valuable, and not just the ones that Tom Hanks or Nicolas Cage always seem to find. Far more valuable than money (we know, bear with us), is the information contained within. Something like Genghis Khan's diaries would be supremely valuable, to say nothing of a Latin/Etruscan dictionary. This class will teach you how to determine what is valuable…and what's just some Roman guy's list of the best bathhouses in Pompeii.
History of Children's Literature. It's not all dour history and manuscript attention. No one uses libraries as much as parents and children. Since children's literature is the first kind we're usually exposed to, it has an outsized importance in later life. Also, it's just fun. Everyone loves Dr. Seuss, and now you'll know precisely how he fits into the larger picture. After this, you'll appreciate Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose on a much deeper level than all your friends.