New York University’s Graduate School of Arts and Science and Long Island University’s Palmer School of Library and Information Science are collaborating on a dual master’s degree program aimed at addressing the critical need for scholar-librarians.
The program is intended to prepare students for careers in academic institutions, research institutes, cultural organizations, and other research settings and will offer them significant subject expertise and professional skills that will greatly enhance their career options.
Beginning in the fall of 2006, graduate students will be able to matriculate at both NYU and LIU’s Palmer School, where programs will be tailored especially for them. To develop their understanding of a particular subject area, students would study in any of the areas offered by NYU’s Graduate School of Arts and Science — from anthropology to economics, from neural science to Spanish and Portuguese languages and literature as well as in such programs as Archival Management and Museum Studies. The Palmer School would train them in information skills, and they would have to adhere to the regulations for the MSLIS degree.
An integral part of the new dual degree will be a carefully structured mentoring program, with mentors drawn largely from the NYU Libraries’ staff of librarians. NYU’s Bobst Library, the university’s central library in its system, currently is the Manhattan training site for The Palmer School’s full MSLIS degree program.
The planning and initial implementation of the new dual degree program is being supported by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Carol Mandel, dean of the NYU Libraries, said, “Beyond the goal of producing more scholar-librarians for a field that has indicated a current and future need for such talent, this plan is significant for its unusual collaboration among several academic areas across two institutions: a graduate school of arts and science, a library and information science school, and a major research library.”
“The Palmer School in the College of Information and Computer Science at LIU welcomes the opportunity to partner with New York University’s Graduate School of Arts and Science in a dual master’s degree program,” said The Palmer School’s John Regazzi, dean and professor, College of Information and Computer Science, Long Island University. “There is a significant and growing need for academic librarians who have both a strong subject specialty as well as a full understanding of the modern library and information environment. I believe this program will meet these needs in a way that no other program presently attempts, and look forward to a long and promising relationship between our two universities.”
Catharine Stimpson, dean of NYU’s Graduate School of Arts and Science, said, “The Graduate School of Arts and Science is very pleased to be a part of this innovative collaboration. The role of master’s degrees is growing rapidly, and this dual degree will serve our students, libraries, and our society.”
For further information contact Alice Flynn, Program Director, at 212.998.2680 or email alice.flynn@liu.edu.