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Inventory of the Specialization Papers of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 1972-1990
456
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Title: Specialization Papers of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science
Date (inclusive): 1972-1990
Record Series number: 456
Creator: University of California, Los Angeles.
Extent:
35 boxes (52.5 linear ft.)
Repository:
University of California, Los Angeles. Library.
Department of Special Collections. University Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90095-1575
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library, Department
of Special Collections, University Archives Reference Desk for paging information.
In December of 1958, the Regents of the University of California authorized the establishment of the School of Library Service on the Los Angeles Campus, which began a course of instruction in September, 1960, leading to a Master of Library Science
degree (MLS). The program's requirements for graduation were first designed by Lawrence Clark Powell, later revised by Andrew
H. Horn. Powell and Horn modeled the School of Library Services after the Library Service program at the University of California,
Berkeley.
As it stood in 1960, the program requirements consisted of twenty-four to thirty units that would be completed within two
regular semesters and a Summer Session. In this time, students learned the skills required for positions in municipal, county,
college, university, school, children's and special library service. In order to graduate, the students needed to prove their
competence through a comprehensive exam as well as a specialization paper. The
General Catalog 1980-1981 described a specialization paper as "an in-depth examination of a problem in relationship to the entire field of specialization. It should represent a new
work and/or analysis in the problem area, but it does not have to represent an original approach. It ought to be well enough
written and on a topic of enough interest to be considered for publication or distribution." Under these requirements, the
American Library Association accredited the School.
In 1965, a second degree, the Master of Science in Information Science (Documentation) (MSIS) was approved and added to the
degrees offered by the School of Library Service. The Master of Science in Information Science degree restricted acceptance to include only students who held a Master of
Library Science degree or earned a Bachelor of Science degree in appropriate fields, such as one from the physical or biological
sciences, business administration, engineering, or mathematics. For graduation, it required a thesis covering one of the
four areas of specialization: system integration, usage of information, organization and operation of information activities,
and equipment and the design of information services.
The School of Library Service continued to expand and develop as evidenced by the changes to the program in 1969 when it initiated
the Certificate of Specialization in Library Service program. This certificate program was Post-M.L.S. opportunity which
was designed to help students redirect their careers, update their knowledge, or grant them the opportunity to specialize
if their former programs did not allow them the opportunity. After completing the nine courses requirement, the students
completed a specialization paper or project in librarianship, bibliography, or information science. The specialization paper for the Certificate in Specialization differed from the M.L.S. specialization paper only in that it could be a research paper, bibliographic study or literature survey. In the same year, the School first offered
LS 596: Directed Individual Study or Research, Directed special studies in the fields of bibliography, librarianship, and
information science
and
LS 598: Research for and Preparation of the Master's Thesis, Research and writing leading to the Master's Thesis in Documentation. Previous to these classes, student earning a M.L.S. or M.S.I.S. completed their specialization paper or thesis without the possibility of academic credit.
The program and School began major revisions in1972 that continued beyond the re-accreditation by the ALA in 1976. First,
the M.L.S. degree specializations were grouped under three major fields: librarianship, bibliography and information sciences. Second, the one-year program grew into a two-year program. In 1973, the Master of Science in Information Science (Documentation)
went under review. It was determined in 1975 that the program, as well as its corresponding class IS 598, would be terminated
and information science (documentation) would reappear as a field of specialization for the M.L.S. Due in part to the dissolution
of the M.S.I.S., the School of Library Service changed to the Graduate School of Library and Information Science.
The newly accredited Graduate School of Library and Information Science was authorized in 1977 to begin a program of study
leading to a Ph.D. degree. According to the
General Catalog 1977-1978, the Ph.D. candidate would conduct research in specialization areas of librarianship, bibliography, or information science.
After they passed a written and oral examination, the candidates produced a dissertation based upon their area of specialization.
After three decades, the Graduate School of Library and Information Science replaced the M.L.S. specialization paper component of the comprehensive exam with the major paper requirement. The specialization papers for the M.L.S. students
were perceived as burdensome. The students received no academic credit for their work which consumed a great deal of time
as second year students. Professors felt overwhelmed by advisement needed as well as frustrated by not receiving credit in
their teaching loads. The increased enrollment in the 1980s and 1990s only increased the suffering. The administration decided
to change the specialization paper requirement to the current requirement that a major paper, in the area of the student's specialization, from an elective
course, must be created. The four specialization areas after the Fall of 1993 included information policy and management,
information organization, information access and information systems. This paper is to be worth fifty percent of the grade
and must be taught by a ladder faculty. If a student wished to explore their topic to a greater length, they took advantage
of the thesis option (Plan 1) that did not require a written examination. In Fall 1998, the comprehensive examination was
no longer an option. In its place was the Portfolio Assessment Requirement (Plan 2) where the major paper is a component.
To this date, those planning to earn a Certificate of Specialization must still write a specialization paper. Ph.D. candidates also still need to create a dissertation based upon a specialization.
| 1958 | Regents of the University of California authorized the establishment of the School of Library Service on the Los Angeles campus. A research paper in the field of specialization and a comprehensive examination are degree requirments. |
| 1960 | Begin course of instruction, leading to the Master of Library Science degree. |
| 1962 | School accredited by the American Library Association. |
| 1965 | Master of Science in Information Science (Documentation) approved and added to School's program. A thesis is required for degree. |
| 1969 | Post-M.L.S. program, leading to a Certificate of Specialization in Library Science, was approved. Specialization paper required for degree. |
| 1969 | School offers Library Service 596: Directed Individual Study or Research, Library Service 597: Preparation for the Master's Comprehensive Examination, and Library Service 598: Research for and Preparation of the Master's Thesis. |
| 1976 | Upon revision of the M.L.S. degree program in 1972 the program leading to the Master of Science in Information Science was discontinued because information science (documentation) became a field of specialization. |
| 1976 | The School's program was re-accredited under the 1972 standards. |
| 1990 | Specialization paper of the comprehesive examination replaced by major paper requirement. |
| 1997 | Thesis plan created as an alterative to comprehensive examination plan. |
| 1998 | Comprehensive examination no longer an option. |
The Specialization Papers, 1972-1990 contain specialization papers completed by the School of Library Service graduate students,
that later became the School of Library and Information Science, spanning 1972 through 1990. The UCLA University Archives
did not acquire papers prior to 1972. The format includes typed manuscripts and slides that are arranged chronologically,
then alphabetically by last name. Papers are identified by full name and accession number. The collection was a working
one used by faculty and students in the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. It is an incomplete collection
with an unpublished finding aid that consists of an incomplete list of specialization papers and catalog cards for each paper.
Each student prepared a catalog card for his or her specialization paper with the exception of the years 1979-1981 and 1989-1990 (partial).
Areas of specialization during the 1970's (1972-1979) are: Academic Librarianship, Acquisitions, Adult Services, African and Afro-American Bibliography, Art Librarianship, Art Museum Librarianship, Bibliographic Control, Bibliographical Identification and Analysis Control, Bibliography, Bibliography of Science and Technology, Bibliography of the Humanities and Fine Arts, Biomedical Librarianship, Business
Librarianship, Cataloging, Cataloging and Classification, Children's Librarianship, Children's Library Service, Collection Development, College and Research Libraries, College and University Libraries/Librarianship, Community College, Community College Librarianship, Conservation Librarianship, Document and Map Librarianship, East Asian Bibliography, Ethnomusicology, Hispanic American Bibliography, Historical Bibliography, Information Science, Information Science (Management), International Librarianship, Latin American Bibliography, Law Librarianship, Librarianship,
Library Administration, Library Development for African and Afro-American Studies, Library Instruction, Library Management, Library Service to Children,
Library Service to Special Population Groups, Management Academic Libraries, Materials and Services for Children in School
and Public Libraries, Media, Media Librarianship, Medical Bibliography, Medical Librarianship, Music Librarianship, Oral History, Public Librarianship, Public Libraries, Public Libraries Management, Public Libraries Reference, Public Services, Rare Books, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Rare Books, Manuscripts and Archives, Reader Services, Reference, Reference Bibliography, Reference Librarianship, School Librarianship, Serials, Service to the Disadvantaged, Services to Children, Special Collection Librarianship, Special Collections, Special Libraries, Special Population Groups, University Librarianship, Young Adult.
Areas of specialization during the 1980s are: Academic Librarianship, Academic Librarianship - Conservation and Preservation,
Academic Libraries, Academic Reference, Acquisitions, Archives, Art Librarianship, Bibliographic Instruction, Bibliographical Indexing, Bibliography, Biomedical Librarianship, Business and Social Sciences Information Services, Cataloging, Cataloging and Automation, Cataloging and Classification, Children's Librarianship, Children's Services, Collection Development, Film, Government Documents, Government Information, Health Sciences Librarianship, Historical and Analytical Bibliography, History and Conservation, Indexing, Information Science, Information Systems Design, Intellectual Freedom - Librarianship, Latin American Bibliography, Latin American Studies, Law Librarianship, Law Librarianship and Government Publications, Librarianship,
Librarianship - Library Instruction, Library Automation, Library Management, Library Systems Analysis and Automation, Life/Health
Sciences Libraries, Management, Medical, Medical Librarianship, Music Bibliography, Music Librarianship, Nonbook Materials, Public Libraries, Public Libraries Management, Public Library Administration, Public Services, Rare Books, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Reference, Reference and Bibliographic Instruction in Academic Libraries, Reference Services, Science and Engineering Librarianship, Soviet Library and Information Science and Publishing History, Special Collections, Special Libraries, Special Population Groups, Subject Analysis, Systems Analysis, Technical Processes, Technical Services.
Areas of specialization for 1990 are: Academic Libraries, Academic/Research Libraries, Bibliographic Instruction,Bibliography, Cataloging, Children's Librarianship, Children's Services, Collection Development, Health Sciences Librarianship, Information Science, Information Systems Design, Law Librarianship, Law Libraries, Librarianship, Management, Rare Books, Research Libraries, Special Collections, Special Libraries, Thesaurus Construction.
Items removed from Collection:
- Box 35.