The State of SLIS The State of SLIS Kimberly B. Kelley, Ph.D. Dean

Advance Organizer  Status on SLIS Planning Core values Core values Vision Vision Mission Mission  Next Steps for SLIS  Presentation by Ms. O’Brien, Executive Director, Office of Accreditation, American Library Association  Break – out session (planning/discussion)  Meet the Provost  Lunch  Adjourn  Tour!

Core Values The Catholic University of America’s Values: Reason, Faith and Service SLIS Core Values: CollaborationCommunity Innovation and, Excellence

SLIS Vision SLIS transforms the role of libraries and information in society globally and locally, through excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service by engaging with the rich resources of our region, and beyond, for the betterment of humanity.

SLIS Mission  The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) provides professional education and supports lifelong learning in the tradition of the Catholic University of America. We produce innovative leaders with professional values informed by the CUA core values of reason, faith, and service; and the SLIS values of collaboration, community, innovation and excellence. Our education is characterized by a strong grounding in the theory and practice of the LIS field and the creative use of information technology. SLIS is committed to applying the principles of library and information science toward the betterment of the individual, communities, and society.

We Serve:  Students by providing excellent education in the theory and practice of LIS, instilling the SLIS and CUA core values of reason, faith and service, collaboration, community, innovation, and excellence while preparing them for lifelong learning.  The university by collaborating with other academic units to educate students in all disciplines about information literacy, IT competency, and research skills.

We Serve:  The profession and the discipline through interdisciplinary research and collaboration with practitioners in teaching and research.  Employers and society by producing innovative leaders who have high professional ethics, excellent knowledge of the theory and practice of LIS and technical expertise.

SLIS Realizes its Mission By:  1. Advancing the frontiers of knowledge and practice in LIS;  2. Educating highly competent, ethical librarians and other information professionals;  3. Serving the needs of the field, the community, the region and the world;  4. Engaging with the rich information resources and professionals of our region and beyond;  5. Grounding our work in the core values of collaboration, community, innovation and excellence;  6. Responding to the changing needs of individuals, communities, and the global society;

Realizing the Vision, cont’d  7. Engaging in an ongoing dialogue and conducting research in LIS to ensure relevance, responsiveness, and to advance the role of libraries and information in our global society;  8. Exploring and employing innovative technologies to foster scholarship, improve practice, and to reach a global community;  9. Integrating technology to improve information management and services;  10. Furthering the library profession and libraries and,  11. Preserving our cultural heritage.

Next Steps for SLIS Planning:  Complete the development of our goals and objectives for the program  Develop a Working Plan for the School: Multi-year Multi-year Comprehensive Comprehensive Developed collaboratively with stakeholders Developed collaboratively with stakeholders  Revise the curriculum  Tackle the technology

Accreditation Planning: Update  Two-year process  Developed an Advisory Board  Systematically examining our status re the ALA Standards  Areas of concentration: Mission, goals and objectives Mission, goals and objectives Curriculum Curriculum Faculty Faculty Facilities/technology infrastructure Facilities/technology infrastructure

Accreditation Planning (2)  Completed a Planning Retreat  Developing our planning documents  Involving our stakeholders: Meetings with constituencies (like today)Meetings with constituencies (like today) Developed an advisory boardDeveloped an advisory board Developed the standards committeesDeveloped the standards committees  Moving steadily forward for completion in December, 2008!

Our Goal:  Make SLIS stronger  Define our niche  Successfully achieve accreditation in 2009  Celebrate our success!

Thank You Questions?