School of Information Science & Learning Technologies

University of Missouri

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Practicum

Practicum in Information Agencies

The LIS program gives each student the opportunity to graduate with practical experience in a library or information setting. The practicum is intended to provide connections and experience, depth and breadth, and additional insight that complement classroom learning, helping students to master LIS Student Learning Outcomes in the context of professional work. Many MU students report that the practicum was their favorite experience in their program, as it provided a tangible way to apply theory to practice. Additionally, studies (Palmer et. al. 2014; Goodsett & Koziura, 2016; Duffus, 2017) have indicated that practical experience increases employment opportunities of recent graduates. Therefore, we strongly advise all students to embrace this opportunity and to tailor their practicum experience to their own needs and circumstances. The practicum should be relevant to the student’s career goals and, as relevant, course of study. Students seeking school library media certification must complete a practicum in a school library setting; students enrolled in the Archives emphasis area must complete a practicum in an archives setting.

The guide for 7381 Practicum in Information Agencies is available here: https://sislt.missouri.edu/LIS-Practicum-Guide.

The practicum guides provide information germane to both practicum students and their supervisors.

  1. Download the practicum guide and read through for the process.
  2. Select up to three locations for your practicum.
  3. Reach out to those locations to find out if they can host you.
  4. Decide on the best location and submit your practicum application.
  5. Draft a learning plan with your practicum host.
  6. Submit draft learning to the practicum coordinator for approval before obtaining signatures.
  7. Once your learning plan is completed, register for the class with a permission code from the practicum coordinator.

Placement

Students taking the practicum are responsible for finding up to three practicum sites, as one or more selections may not be available. The requirement for practicum experiences is that the student is supervised by an MLIS-degreed librarian or certified archivist, or other employer holding an appropriate advanced degree (e.g., PhD) and that the supervisor turns in required paperwork. In this way, a number of paid and unpaid opportunities (e.g., internships, etc.) can serve as a practicum experience, as long as the student works with an iSchool practicum advisor, has a supervisor willing to submit the required paperwork, carries out the work and reflects on it as required, etc. Work generally occurs on-site, but individual projects and remote work, completed under the supervision of a librarian or archivist may also provide practical experience.

Duration and Scheduling

The practicum may be taken for 2 or 3 credit hours; each student can take up to two. We recognize that a practicum experience may not fit conveniently into students’ schedules along with work and family responsibilities. With the approval of students’ on-site library supervisors and iSchool practicum advisors, the practicum experience may be extended over two semesters, completed during intersession, or be completed on evenings or weekends.
Regardless of practicum hours taken, all students must complete 39 hours of coursework.

School Library Media Practicum

The guide for 7380 School Library Practicum is available here: https://sislt.missouri.edu/SLM-Practicum-Guide.

Students pursuing school library media certification are required to take one or more practicum courses. Please consult your advisor for specifics about your situation.

  • 7380 School Library Practicum (for people seeking add-on certification) requires 100 or more clock hours of school library experience under the guidance of an experienced school librarian.
  • Early Field Experience (for people seeking initial certification) requires 30-50 clock hours of observation in a school library, with minimal interaction with children and teens.
  • Mid-Level Field Experience (for people seeking initial certification) requires 45-60 clock hours of observation in a school library, with structured interaction with children and teens.
  • Culminating Field Experience (for people seeking initial certification) requires 12 weeks of guided practice in a school library under the supervision of an experienced school librarian and working directly with students and teachers.

Practicum waivers are not allowed without the specific authorization of the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Practicum Forms

Academic, Public, and Special Libraries or Other Information Agencies

References

Duffus, O. (2017). Assessing UNC-Greensboro’s reference interns program: Enhancing the employability of LIS students. College & Research Libraries News, 78(5), 259. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.78.5.259
Goodsett, M., & Koziura, A. (2016). Are library science programs preparing new librarians? Creating a sustainable and vibrant librarian community. Journal of Library Administration, 56(6), 697–721. https://doi.org/10.1080/01930826.2015.1134246
Palmer, C. L., Thompson, C. A., Baker, K. S., & Senseney, M. (2014, March 4 – 7). Meeting data workforce needs: Indicators based on recent data curation placements. [Conference session]. iConference, Berlin, Germany. doi:10.9776/14133

Library and Archive Practicum Opportunities

This is a starter list of placement opportunities if you need ideas, but the world is open to you. The practicum coordinator, Laura England-Biggs can discuss further opportunities and will serve as the SISLT-side coordinator for your experience. Please see the LIS web page guiding you through the application process.

Columbia—Jefferson City Area
Greater Kansas City Area
St. Louis and Illinois
Nebraska Area

Columbia—Jefferson City Area

Public

  • Daniel Boone Regional Library
    The Daniel Boone Regional Library has three locations: Callaway County Public Library, Columbia Public Library and Southern Boone County Public Library. Practicum opportunities depend on availability of professional staff.
  • Missouri River Regional Library
    Includes Osage County Library and Bookmobile.

Academic

Special

Greater Kansas City Area

Public

  • Johnson County Public Library
    This public library also has an ongoing digitization project for the local history of the area. It also has a fabulous makerspace offering 3D printers, laser cutters, tools, and a music sound studio. JCPL has a strong youth services staff always with things going on that would make great practicum experience as well. Fourteen locations.
  • Kansas City Public Library
    The KC Public Library has 10 branches including a digital branch.
    The library is willing to customize a practicum that would give the student experiences in many aspects of Public Libraries — Collection Development, Youth Services, Special Collections, Digital Services, Outreach, ILS management and Programming/Marketing. Kansas City Public has a strong emphasis on programming and digital exhibits/projects. Named a 5-Star Library by Library Journal.
  • Mid-Continent Public Library
    Mid-Continent’s 29 branch libraries offer many practicum opportunities in locations around Clay, Platte and Jackson counties.
  • Mid-Continent Public Library — Woodneath Library Center
    The emphasis here is on story-telling and self-publishing.
  • Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, MO (a branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library)
    Good for those seeking exposure to archival and genealogy work. Opportunities for instruction, cataloging, digitization.
    Archives
    Student would work with a physical archival collection. This would involve processing, arranging, and describing the collection. Final result would be a PDF finding aid on MGC’s website. OR Student would work with a digital archival collection. This would involve digitizing the original material, editing the digital content, and helping MGC staff to create a digital archival exhibit for MGC’s website.
    Oral History Program
    Student would have the opportunity to work with MCPL customers who come in to record their family history with the Tell Me A Story program. With MGC staff, student would use recording equipment to record session, edit the recording, burn to a copy to a CD, and send to customer. OR Student would help MGC staff to process a Tell Me A Story kit. This would involve editing the recording, burning to a copy to a CD, and sending to customer.
    Indexing
    Student would work on indexing various items found within MGC’s collection. Items include books, newspapers on microfilm, and archival materials.
    Map Encapsulation
    Student would work with Technical Services staff to learn the encapsulation process and help them to work through the maps in MGC’s collection.
    Cataloging
  • Rolling Hills Consolidated Library, St Joseph, MO

Academic Libraries

  • Avila University — Hooley Bundschu Library
    The Hooley Bundschu Library houses a number of unique collections including Women Religious Special Collections (focused on the experience of Catholic sisters and nuns), the CSJ Heritage Center Archives (focused on the U. S. Federation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph), and the Avila University Archives.
  • Kansas City Art Institute — Jannes Library
    This library has a special emphasis on art, supporting the arts curriculum. There are potential digitization projects in the archives and in special collections. Special collections that have not been digitized include the Ekker Collection of Fabric Designs on Paper (6000+ items, so this would be designing the project workflow and getting it started), and our collection of Artists’ Books cries out for improved imaging and documentation.
  • Metropolitan Community College
    MCC participates in the Common Read (similar to the One Read at other libraries). Depending on time of year, this could be a special project.
  • Rockhurst University — Greenlease Librarian
    This library offers an experience at an academic library and offers a range of electronic resources.
  • UMKC — Miller Nichols Library
    This library houses the Labudde Special Collections and the Marr Sound Archives, along with a leading music library. Opportunities in public services, instruction, collections and special collections. Opportunities may vary depending on professional staff availability.
  • University of St. Mary, Leavenworth, KS (40 minutes from downtown KC)
    The library has a special collection devoted to Abraham Lincoln and may have digitization projects. Practicum students can also gain experience in instruction and creating online tutorials, developing tutorials for makerspace/technology tools, developing a marketing plan, development of a vendor management system, working on active learning initiatives, developing assessment tools as well as traditional library work.
  • William Jewell College — Curry Library
    This library houses the Jewell College Archives and offers a range of electronic resources.
    Beyond the traditional library work, this library offers collections for Missouri Baptist historical documents and institutional special collections. If a student would like experience with digitization, creating finding aids, or would like to design their own practicum experience, they are more than welcome to come to the William Jewell archives.

Special Libraries

St. Louis and Illinois

Public

Academic

Special

Nebraska Area

Public

Academic

Special