PROGRAMS OFFERED BY SLIS

Specialized courses for library and information science start at the second year.

They are organized as follows:

Required (All courses offered by SLIS at the second year, Research Method of Library and Information Science, Seminar: library and information science, graduation thesis) (20 credits)
Assigned elective (28 credits and over)
1. Required courses for each of the three Major Courses (explained below)
2. Elective courses for each Major Course
Elective (Specialized courses offered by other majors, departments and institutions) (24 credits and over)

The Second Year

All students at the second year must take the following required courses basic to further study in library and information science (2 credits each).

Library and Information Science: Basics
Information Service: Basics 1, 2
Information Sources: Basics 1, 2
Information Retrieval 1, 2
Reading of Original Textbooks in Library and Information Science

The Third Year

Each student belongs to one of the following three Major Courses and takes classes required by the Course.

Library Course
To students interested in libraries and information management this Course offers classes discussing issues relating to services and management of libraries. Although all the students in this Course are granted Shisho (qualified librarian), it admits those students who do not want to be professional librarians.
Information Media Course
This Course deals with issues on information media from the sociological and psychological points of view, as well as their functions, and problems relating to production and distribution of them.
Information Retrieval Course
This Course offers classes relating to information retrieval theories and techniques, basics of systems development and use.

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Library and Information Science: Basics

Topics which are basic and central for understanding characteristics and range of library and information science per se as well as its relations to other academic areas and activities of libraries or information oriented institutions.

Information Service: Basics 1

Basics to the information age and information service, providing a theoretical framework for libraries' and information centers' practices.

Information Service Basics: 2

Foundations of information services in every kind of libraries and information centers; components of library and information services, information resources, information professionals, facilities and equipment for information services, principles of information works.

Information Sources: Basics 1

Characteristics, functions and significance of various information media in modern society, especially books and other printed media; systems of their production and distribution; problems of preservation and access; effects of technology.

Information Sources: Basics 2

Types of reference sources; practice of searching books, journals and magazines, and newspapers using catalogs and reference sources.

Information Retrieval 1

Principles of information storage and retrieval; basics of information retrieval system, information seeking behavior, indexing, databases, online searching methods and library catalogs.

Information Retrieval 2

Practice of techniques of using personal computer DBMS and the online retrieval.

Reading of Original Textbooks in Library and Information Science

Reading of English textbooks to understand basic terms and concepts in library and information science.

Research Method of Library and Information Science

Introductory seminar.

Seminar: Library and Information Science

Seminar on library and information science for those students who are preparing for a graduation thesis.

LIBRARY COURSE

Introduction to Library Science

Foundations of librarianship and libraries as social institution; significance, functions and types of libraries; foundation, management and administration of library activities; laws and standards relating to library activities.

Library Management

Investigations into some aspects of libraries and library activities; necessity and activities of library management; organizations of libraries; administrative jobs in libraries; user study and marketing of library services.

History of Communication

History of books, reading, information, media and libraries with special attention to social, cultural and communicative developments.

Library Materials

Concept and nature of "collection" as the basis of library services; collection development policies and processes of collection building, including evaluation, formulation, and review of library collections.

Organization of Recorded Materials

Concept of bibliographic control; methods of bibliographic description and online cataloging; OPAC; bibliographic utilities; practice of online cataloging.

Reference Service

Significance of reference service in library services; selection and organization of reference sources; reference process; management of reference section; practice of reference work and information search.

Practice of Library Work

Practice (internship) at various kinds of libraries nd information centers for two weeks in the summer vacation.

Library Management and Services 1

Objective, history, management and services of public libraries with attention to their current activities and problems.

Library Management and Services 2

Basic functions of academic libraries and information centers as information systems; their components; specific problems of their management.

Library Management and Services 3

Topics relating to school library/media center services, including trends in their developments; supervision; organization and administration; and school and public library relationships.

Library Management and Services 4

Introduction to special libraries; concepts, environments, resources services, personnel, management and so on of libraries.

INFORMATION MEDIA COURSE

Introduction to Information Media 1

Information media; books, journals, patents, information flow, communication channel, multimedia.

Introduction to Information Media 2

Social function, technical characteristics, and discourses of information media.

Epistemological Foundation of Information

Epistemological and ontological perspectives of information in relation to the transmission, service and retrieval of information.

Structure and Analysis of Information Media 1

Framework and method of analysis of information media; structure of journal articles and News articles.

Structure and Analysis of Information Media 2

Subject analysis; subject of information media, indexing, classification.

Special Course in Information Media 1

Printed media; papers and printing, history of publishing industry, culture of publishing, reading, preservation and conservation.

Special Course in Information Media 2

Electronic media; characteristics of electronic media, multimedia, hypermedia, software and hardware.

Special Course in Information Media 3

Mass media; development of broadcasting and the newspaper, communication process of television, mass media and society.

Special Course in Information Media 4

Scholarly communication; communication channel and media in science information, sociology of science, bibliometrics.

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL COURSE

Introduction to Information Retrieval 1

Production, circulation, use of information from IR perspectives; history of information retrieval; fundamental approaches, theories, and techniques in information retrieval as well as its application and influences on other fields.

Introduction to Information Retrieval 2

Information retrieval systems and services with special attention to aspects relating to information technology.

System to Information Retrieval

Functions and elements of information retrieval system, database services, indexing methods, abstracting, development of thesaurus, text searching.

Information Seeking Behavior

Basic concepts of information seeking behavior, including needs, demands and uses; theories of information seeking; social background and process of information seeking.

Information Technology

Programming techniques and their applications; practice.

Database Searching

Advanced course of online database searching; search strategy, searching technique, intermediary, practice of online searching.

Information Retrieval Research

Research trends concerning storage and retrieval theories, evaluation related to searching, user behaviors, information retrieval systems, and effects of information technology on these items.

Basics of Natural Language Processing

Role and characteristics of natural language in information transfer; semiotics, syntactic, and pragmatics as the base of language analysis; and text analysis techniques and technology.

Basics of Image Processing

Basics of image data processing as well as feature recognition of image.

OTHER ELECTIVES

Library Materials for Children

Literature for children according to their developmental stages: e.g., picture books, folk tales, works in various literary genres, and non-fiction books.