School Librarianship Concentration

Coordinators: Joyce Valenza, Ph.D. and Brenda Boyer, Ph.D.

This concentration is designed to meet the New Jersey Department of Education requirements to become certified as a School Library Media Specialist.

Librarians with this degree function as teachers, program administrators, information specialists and collaborative partners who lead learning in elementary and secondary schools. School librarians create dynamic physical and digital learning environments providing access, equity and experiences for K12 students to think, create, share and grow. Effective school library programs promote cultures of literacy and the thoughtful and creative use of digital resources.

For current students who entered the School Librarianship Concentration prior to Summer 2019

Contact Joyce Valenza with any questions about course selection. 

Legacy Required Courses

Zero-credit Courses (required for all students)

• 17:610:501 Introduction to Library and Information Professions
• 17:610:502 Colloquium in Library and Information Studies
• 17:610:503 Professional Capstone

11 Required Concentration Courses + One Elective

• 17:610:510 Human Information Behavior
• 17:610:514 Learning Theory, Inquiry, and Instructional Design 
• 17:610:515 Emerging Literacies
• 17:610:522 Cataloging and Classification
• 17:610:530 Search and the Information Landscape
• 17:610:540 Reference Sources and Services
• 17:610:547 Children, Literacy and Reading
• 17:610:548 Young Adults, Reading and Literacy
• 17:610:550 Introduction to Information Technologies
• 17:610:575 Leadership, Management, and Evaluation of School Libraries
• 17:610:592-SM Field Experience: School Library Media (see LibGuide)
• Elective: One 3-credit elective with an adviser’s approval (This might be 516 if it is missing from your program.)

NOTE: In this older course sequence, six of the required nine credits have been incorporated into the existing program. Taking the additional course 17:610:516 Learning, Inclusion, and Student Engagement in School Libraries will allow you, as a current student, to fulfill the NJDOE 9-credit requirement and to apply for a CEAS. Without 516 you will graduate with an MI degree and be eligible to apply for a Certificate of Eligibility (CE) unless you previously completed the NJDOE requirements.