FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 13, 2004
CONTACT: Dan Roland (800) 552-4770
BY: Dan Roland

SLIM will start fourth Utah student cohort in Fall 2005 semester – EMPORIA, KS

The School of Library and Information Management (SLIM), at Emporia State University, Emporia, Kansas, is accepting applications for admission to its Master of Library Science degree program offered in Salt Lake City with classes starting in the fall semester of 2005. The Master of Library Science (MLS) is the qualifying degree for professional positions in public, academic, and corporate libraries and information centers. Emporia State University is accredited by the American Library Association and is the oldest operating library school in the western half of the country. The program operates in Utah by invitation of the State Library Division of Utah and with the permission of the Utah System of Higher Education.

The program, which first started offering classes in Salt Lake City in 1996, uses a combination of weekend and online classes to make it more accessible to adult learners with employment and family commitments. The program requires forty-two semester credit hours for graduation and the typical student will graduate in less than three years. Students are in class about fourteen weekends during the first year and then are able to customize their degree plan with a great deal of flexibility. Faculty travel from Kansas to Salt Lake City to teach courses and a local Director provides advising services for students.

The Kansas school began offering the MLS degree via distance education in 1987 in states where the degree is not offered by local colleges and universities and always at the invitation of the state library institution. The program is currently offered in Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, and Oregon. Previous locations include Idaho, Iowa, Nebraska, and New Mexico. More than 800 students have earned their Master of Library Science degree from SLIM without ever needing to attend classes on the Kansas campus. Two groups of students from Utah have previously graduated from the program with a third set to graduate in December 2005.

For more information and an application packet, contact Ms. Pamela Foster, Director of the SLIM-Utah program, by phone at 877-486-8068, toll-free, or 486-8047 in Salt Lake City or by email at fosterpa@emporia.edu.

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