The Aberystwyth MScEcon/Diploma in Information and Library Studies

Aberystwyth University’s MScEcon/Diploma in Information and Library Studies will equip you with the highly desirable skills employers need to manage their most valuable assets in our global ‘information economy’. You will be able to identify, organise, retrieve and make accessible information across paper, electronic and multimedia formats. This MScEcon or Diploma will equip you to fulfil the essential role that companies and professional bodies need to compete effectively in a fast-moving national and international business environment.

The Department of Information Studies at Aberystwyth has an impressive track record. In the department’s forty years of teaching, we have produced some of the UK's, and indeed the world's, leading librarians and information professionals. Our alumni include two national librarians (Wales and Scotland), the newly appointed first black national librarian in South Africa, and the Director of the Bureau for Library and Information Services at the United Nations.

This course features an extensive list of optional modules which allow you to direct your studies into areas which particularly fascinate you.

You can tailor your learning towards a wide range of career paths, such as children and schools work (with the Focus on the Child: Children's Literature and Schools Libraries and Learning Resources modules) and business services (including the modules on Business Information Services, and Management Information Systems).

This highly practical course is built around a variety of reports, essays, presentations, and case studies which will enable you to relate theoretical knowledge to the workplace. These challenges will also encourage you to improve your ICT, personal management and interpersonal skills, making you into a well-rounded, competent and highly employable individual.

The minimum entry requirement for the MScEcon/Diploma in Information and Library Studies is a good honours degree (in any discipline) plus a minimum of 6 weeks experience in an information resource environment (or suitable experience for a relevant period of time, dependent on level of responsibility and breadth of activity).

Overview

Aberystwyth University’s MScEcon/Diploma in Information and Library Studies was one of the very first qualifications in this important area and is still one of the market’s most well regarded. It will introduce you to the challenges and best practice methods that determine the flow of information within and between organisations and their users. You will study how issues such as censorship, multiculturalism and intellectual freedom affect this movement. You will also study how technology impacts the delivery of information and library services in a range of important societal contexts, such as health, education and business arenas. By studying the principles and practical applications of these and many other subject areas, you will acquire skills that are highly desirable to all employers who rely on the flow of information including private companies, government bodies and public organisations.

The course is a full-time programme, taught over one year, and is divided into two parts over three semesters. In part one, you will study a number of crucial core modules whilst directing your own study by choosing specialist modules, together worth a total of 120 credits. In part two, you will apply your learning in the individual dissertation worth an additional 60 credits. If you do not wish to complete the individual dissertation then you can obtain the Diploma.

In the dissertation project, you will explore an approved topic in a dissertation totalling 15,000 words. You will engage with the central concepts, methods and techniques of the main streams of information and library research, and in doing so aim to contribute to the national understanding of data handling and information flow. Subject to the satisfactory completion of the dissertation, the MSc Econ in Information and Library Studies is awarded. The descriptions relating to this dissertation and all the study modules can be found on the At a Glance tab.

In addition to the teaching input from this leading department, you will be exposed to guest speakers and visits to services local to the University. You will participate in a four-day study tour to London in which you will have the opportunity to observe a wide variety of libraries and information organisations in both public and private sectors, and to meet the professional staff involved.

Upon graduation from the MScEcon/Diploma in Information and Library Studies, you will have demonstrated the academic excellence, personal rigor and interpersonal adaptability required by recruiting corporate bodies, government agencies and research institutes alike. As someone with a wealth of up-to-date theoretical knowledge and practical experience, you will be on the cutting edge of the subject. In a competitive jobs market, your particular skills set, proven through highly relevant business, education and health applications, will make you highly desirable to employers from a range of industries.

Fact File

Duration:	One year full-time. The academic year (September to September) is divided into three semesters: September to January; January to June; June to September.
Contact Time:	Approximately 10 hours a week in the first two semesters. During semester three you will arrange your level of contact time with your assigned supervisor.
Assessment:	The taught part of the course (Part 1) is delivered and assessed through lectures, student seminars, practical exercises, case studies, course work and formal examinations. Successful completion allows the award of a Diploma. The subsequent successful submission of your research dissertation (Part 2) leads to the award of an MScEcon.
Entry Requirements:	A a good honours degree (in any discipline) at undergraduate level plus a minimum of 6 weeks experience in an information resource environment. Candidates with equivalent experience and qualifications will be considered.
English Language Requirements:	If you have a Bachelor’s degree from a UK University, you do not need to take an English proficiency test. Non-native English speakers who do not meet this requirement must take a University-recognised test of academic English language proficiency. For further information please see our English Language requirements page.
Course Fees:	Please see the tuition fee pages for current tuition fees. Please note that all fees are subject to an annual increase.

At a Glance (P194)

Year 1 Core (100 Credits)

The following modules are core and must be taken

Semester 1

ILM5120

Information And Society

ILM5220

Studies In Management

ILM5420

Information Services: Planning For Delivery

Semester 2

ILM1110

Research In The Profession

ILM5320

Information Organisation And Retrieval

ILM5510

Collection Management

Year 1 Options

You must take 20 credits of the following modules.

Semester 1

ILM5810

Management Information Systems

Semester 2

ILM0520

Publishing And The Web:exploring New Technologies

ILM0820

Records And Information Governance

ILM4810

Management Information Systems [ol]

ILM5610

Business Information Management

ILM5710

Marketing Of Services

ILM6310

Focus On The Child: Reading And Libraries

ILM7110

Local History In Wales

ILM7510

Digital Information: Discovery To Delivery

ILM8010

Rare Books Librarianship I

ILM9110

Music Librarianship

ILM9610

Knowledge Management

Further scheme details

Careers

Qualification: MScEcon/Diploma in Information and Library Studies

Accreditation

The Master's degree is accredited by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP); formerly known as The Library Association, and Institute of Information Scientists. Graduates will have a qualification which is recognised for admission to the Register of Chartered Librarians (subject to the Institute's chartership regulations).

This degree will suit you:

If you wish to obtain a Master’s degree or Diploma from one of the UK’s leading departments;
If you wish to gain the knowledge and skills for professional work within Information and Library fields;
If you wish to work in various types of information and library services or gain transferable skills for the pursuit of related careers such as media management and book publishing;
If you wish to continue your studies to a more advanced level through undertaking further postgraduate level research.

Employability

Every aspect of the Aberystwyth University’s Master’s in Information and Library Studies programme is designed to enhance your employability. Successful completion of this degree is in itself certain to do so by building your CV; but more significant is the hugely enhanced array of knowledge, abilities and skills with which you will graduate.

As a graduate, you will possess a wealth of subject-specific expertise, such as a thorough understanding of how ethical, legal, and social factors affect the flow of information; information literacy and the effect of 'information deprivation'; and the ongoing challenges of organising, storing, and retrieving information. You will also be confident in the use of system and their tools which you will use to order, store and retrieve information. These skills, which are fundamental to the subject, are applicable across a diverse array of workplaces. Likewise, the study skills, research methods and interpersonal awareness that you will learn within the context of study can be applied in any place of work where people and systems meet. In such situations, you will be at a tremendous advantage over your competitors.

As information is increasingly recognised as a core resource for organisations of all kinds, the range of posts to which our graduates progress widens all the time. In addition to the traditional library and information service sector, our graduates also go on to work as Information Officers, Information Managers, Information Systems Officers, Information Analysts and Computer Systems Officers. The most prestigious of our alumni include two national librarians (Wales and Scotland), the newly appointed first black national librarian in South Africa, and the Director of the Bureau for Library and Information Services at the United Nations. In addition, companies which acknowledge the value of information also benefit from our graduates’ information skills when applied to the areas of management, sales, production or marketing. Your personal adaptability, coupled with the critical information and library skills, will make you a strong candidate for any post where excellence in organisations and systems management is prized.

Study in a Practical Context

The content of this MScEcon/Diploma is weighted in favour of mastering the practical applications of Information and Library Studies. The University of Aberystwyth boasts library resources which are amongst the best in Europe. The Department’s specialist Thomas Parry Library is one of the leading libraries for Information Studies. As a student, you will have access to this exceptional resource where you can apply your learning in activities which will convert the purely academic theory into the proven know-how of experience.

In addition to this, you will also have access to the University's Hugh Owen Library which houses more than 700,000 volumes and subscribes to more than 3,500 current periodicals. Also, the National Library for Wales next to the campus is one of the UK's five copyright libraries housing more than 6,000,000 volumes. In addition to the University's computing facilities, you will also have access to the Department's own extensive computer workstation rooms, all housed in a purpose built Department on the attractive Llanbadarn campus.

Skills in Management of Systems and Stakeholders

The MScEcon/Diploma is designed to give you a broad knowledge of a range of transferable skills that you can apply in a variety of research interests, particularly in your Master’s dissertation. A significant proportion of postgraduate jobs demand management abilities; this course aims to support your progression into professional employment beyond by including such training.

You will become well versed in contemporary management theory and practice of relevance to the management of the relationship between information and organisations. You will learn to analyse and control how information is transmitted to users, including access to information and measurement of use. The monitoring an analysis of data is crucial to the success of business organisations and initiatives. Mastering it will enable you to manage within a changing and turbulent environment and provide you with an understanding of the inter-relationship of the organization with its customers and stakeholders.

As business relies on meeting needs, this training will be a significant advantage to you when you enter the jobs market.