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The Department
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Acting Head of Department
A J Oulton
Department of Library and Information Studies
The Manchester Metropolitan University
All Saints
Manchester
M15 6BH
Telephone - Main Office 0161 247 6144
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Contact list for all members of the Department
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The Department of Library and Information Studies forms part of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Science. It offers a comprehensive programme of courses, both full-time and part-time at undergraduate, postgraduate and Masters degree level, in order to meet the fast developing needs of the library and information profession.
The Department is situated on the All Saints campus, at the heart of the Manchester Metropolitan University, the second largest institution of higher education in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers. This central Manchester location provides easy access to the major facilities in the City, as well as to libraries of the University of Manchester, UMIST, Manchester Business School, Salford University and the Central Library.
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The Department was established in 1946 to provide courses for Library Association Examinations. Courses were initially of one year; extended to two years in 1964 following the reorganisation of the LA Examination system. The setting up of the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) in 1964 lead to the introduction of a BA in Library Studies in 1969, an Honours degree in 1974; a Postgraduate Diploma in 1976 and a MA in Library Studies in 1981.
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The Department offers first professional courses: a BA(Hons)/BSc(Hons) Information and Library Management and a PgD/MA in Information and Library Studies, both providing full-time, part-time and mixed-mode routes. The long standing MA course, now entitled Strategic Library Management, offers a part time mature entry route for senior librarians to study the management of change. An MSc in Information Management (part-time) commenced in 1992.
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The Department is developing a strong research base, focused in such areas as end-user access to electronic information, information management, decision-making and user studies. External funding has recently been obtained to support various research projects. The Department offers research degrees at MPhil and PhD level.
MPhil
The Master of Philosophy degree is a first research degree which usually requires up to two years of full-time study. Topics are normally within the primary research area of the Department. Part-time students may take up to four years.
PhD
Students may transfer from the MPhil route or enrol directly for a PhD, and are able to study full-time or part-time. Their research normally reflects the major research strengths of the Department, but all topics will be considered by the Departmental Research Advisory Group.
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The Department currently has sixteen full-time and two part-time academic staff. All are qualified library and information professionals and many are nationally acknowledged experts in their respective fields through their research and published work in the professional press. The Department's courses are refreshed and kept up-to-date by the close involvement of staff in professional affairs at national, regional and local levels. Phone numbers and email addresses for all staff may be found in the Contact list, whilst further details on each member of staff may be found on their personal Home Page.
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The Department is currently housed in the same building as the excellent University Main Library, immediately adjacent to the central computing resource and the Students Union. It is also conveniently placed for the University's Halls of Residence and is a few minutes walk from Manchester city centre.
Students, both full-time and part-time, have opportunities to indulge in their favourite leisure and sporting activities. The Department maintains an active social calendar, one central event in which is the annual general knowledge quiz. These social activities contribute to a unique Departmental spirit which continues into students' professional careers.
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The Department has a purpose-built lecture theatre for 70, two classrooms, two seminar rooms, plus access to other rooms in the All Saints Building.
A Learning Resource Unit is situated in the Department with some 10,000 printed items for teaching, and student independent learning. Three teaching areas are used within the Unit, which is supported by a qualified Information Officer who assists students in its use and exploitation. The Unit supports teaching and learning activities with Management, Reference and Children's Literature collections which can be accessed through an on-line public access catalogue (OPAC), which has been created by the Department.
The Department expects to move to a new Faculty building in 1996 with improved accommodation, including enhanced research and IT facilities.
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Three Departmental computer laboratories (the Information Technology Unit) provide some 60 networked PCs for student use, with access to JANET and the Internet. All staff have their own networked PC and are linked to the campus LAN, JANET and Internet.
A major development has been the sponsorship by Inheritance Systems Ltd, of the Heritage Integrated Library System. Heritage provides students with the opportunity to experience a fully integrated library system including modules for acquisitions and ordering, circulation control, cataloguing, OPAC and serials control. All students are able to work independently on the system to develop skills in automated library management.
User Support Officers are responsible for the operation of the Information Technology Unit and advise students on technical problems.
The Departmental office is linked to the University Administrative Network.
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Full details of entry requirements can be found via the Courses index. The Department has a long tradition of welcoming students, visiting scholars and librarians from all parts of the world. Many of our ex-students are now in positions of great eminence in their own countries, particularly in Africa and Asia. We have close links with the British Council, whose headquarters are a few minutes walk from the Department. The University has a strong Student Services Department, which supports the well-being and progress of overseas students.
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A variety of training courses on topics of current professional interest are offered from time to time by the Department. These are advertised on the Notice Board. The Department welcomes enquiries from library managers for on-site training courses for their staff on topics related to the introduction of computer-based systems, staff management issues, and interpersonal skills training.
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The Department engages in consultancy that draws on the research and training skills of members of staff. Recent projects are detailed under Publications.
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Last modified on 13/07/95 by Richard Eskins.