Educational Programs | May 2, 2012

Rare Books Specialization To Be Offered at UCLA Grad School

A new specialization in Rare Books, and Print and Visual Culture has been approved by the Department of Information Studies at the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies at UCLA. The specialization, which will be added to the department’s existing specializations in Archival Studies, Informatics, and Library Studies, is open to students earning their Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree. Nationwide, there are only 13 accredited master’s level programs that offer specialized studies in rare books, special collections, or print history.

This specialization will be enriched by courses taught by the California Rare Book School, which is based in the Department, and UCLA’s Digital Humanities program.  It will also draw upon renowned special collections in the Southern California area, including those of UCLA Library.

Johanna Drucker, Professor of Information Studies and the inaugural Martin and Bernard Breslauer Professor of Bibliography, says that the new specialization will “strengthen the commitment to the full continuum from manuscript, analogue, print, to digital that is one of the hallmarks of the Information Studies Department.”

GSE&IS graduate students who choose the new specialization for their course of study will have the potential to find employment with private and public institutions that focus on the preservation of print artifacts, books, written manuscripts, visual materials, and digital special collections.

Gregory Leazer, chair of the Department of Information Studies, says the new specialization in Rare Books and Print and Visual Culture complements the department’s other degree programs and MLIS specializations.

“The new program of study takes advantage of our MLIS specializations in Library Studies and Archival Studies and our MA in Moving Image Archival Studies,” he says.  “Our professional degree programs emphasize diversity in the types of collections and information environments. Our students benefit from the full variety of cultural resources in Los Angeles, from world class art and history collections, movie and music studio collections, and the special collections of major research universities, as well as unique community-based and local history collections.”

For information on the Department of Information Studies, visit the Website at http://is.gseis.ucla.edu/.