LIS Concentration Features
- The program has been continuously accredited by the American Library Association – the North American standard for professional practice in the field – since 1937
- Required courses focus on the fundamentals of the field and the myriad of issues related to the information lifecycle: creation, representation, organization, management, dissemination and preservation, and the interplay of these issues with social, cultural, economic, political, and technological forces
- More specialized elective courses focus either on a type of library audience, such as public or academic, or engage with important contemporary topics such as information and digital literacy, the evolution of reading practices, or outreach and advocacy
LIS Graduates: Where are they now?
Ken Lui (MI, Class of 2024)
Ken participated in the Toronto Academic Libraries Internship (TALint) program partnership which provided him with invaluable practical experiences that included not only hands-on training in the academic library setting but also mentoring and engagement with professionals. He now works as a Data Curation Specialist at U of T’s Map & Data Library.
Samantha Summers (CDP, Class of 2021)
Samantha completed a double concentration in LIS and ARM for the MI portion of her combined degree. She puts to her degrees to use at the ROM where she is Manager of Donor Circles, overseeing renewal fundraising campaigns and the Member to Patron pipeline.
Academic Concentration Requirements
MI students enrolled in 2024 and later
- Students must successfully complete a total of 8.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) as follows:
- Note: of the total 8.0 FCEs for this option, 0.5 FCE must come from each of the following four Professional Requirements areas: Technical, Managerial, Professional Values, and Critical Perspectives. This requirement can be fulfilled by required and elective courses for each concentration.
- Students must successfully complete a total of 8.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) as follows:
- Thesis (2.0 FCEs)
- 2.0 required FCEs:
- Research Methods course (0.5 FCE)
- Reading course (0.5 FCE)
- 3.0 elective FCEs
- Note: of the total 8.0 FCEs for this option, 0.5 FCE must come from each of the following four Professional Requirements areas: Technical, Managerial, Professional Values, and Critical Perspectives. This requirement can be fulfilled by required and elective courses for each concentration.
- Students must successfully complete a total of 8.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) as follows:
- Co-op (1.0 FCE), plus the Co-op Independent Modules (0.0 FCE)
- 2.0 required FCEs:
- 5.0 elective FCEs
- Note: of the total 8.0 FCEs for this option, 0.5 FCE must come from each of the following four Professional Requirements areas: Technical, Managerial, Professional Values, and Critical Perspectives. This requirement can be fulfilled by required and elective courses for each concentration.
Year 1 required courses
In Year 1, students are recommended to complete the following mandatory LIS courses, as well as 2.0 FCEs in elective courses.
INF1321H Representing, Documenting, and Accessing the Cultural Record 0.5 Credits
INF1322H Communities and Values 0.5 Credits
INF1323H The Information Experience 0.5 Credits
INF1324H Critical Infrastructures 0.5 Credits
Year 2 required courses
In Year 2, students are recommended to complete 4.0 FCEs in elective courses.
| Year 1 (Fall/Winter) | Summer | Year 2 (Fall/Winter) |
|---|---|---|
| INF1321H (0.5 FCE) | OPTIONAL | 4.0 FCEs of Electives |
| INF1322H (0.5 FCE) | ||
| INF1323H (0.5 FCE) | ||
| INF1324H (0.5 FCE) | ||
| 2.0 FCEs of Electives |
MI students enrolled in 2023 and earlier
Year 1 required courses
While it is not obligatory, it is recommended that students complete all Year 1 required courses in Year 1, because these courses provide foundational knowledge.
For students considering the Co-op option, all Year 1 required courses should be completed in Year 1.
INF1005H Information Workshops I (2025-2026) 0.25 Credits
INF1006H Information Workshops II (2025-2026) 0.25 Credits
INF1321H Representing, Documenting, and Accessing the Cultural Record 0.5 Credits
INF1322H Communities and Values 0.5 Credits
INF1323H The Information Experience 0.5 Credits
INF1324H Critical Infrastructures 0.5 Credits
Year 2 required courses
No required courses.
If all required courses are completed in Year 1, students may complete their remaining 5.5 credit requirements by taking a combination of:
Suggested Electives
INF1240H Research Methods 0.5 Credits
INF1325H Online Information Retrieval 0.5 Credits
INF2040H Project Management 0.5 Credits
INF2102H Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Libraries 0.5 Credits
INF2110H Design and Evaluation of Information Literacy Programs 0.5 Credits
INF2115H Data Librarianship 0.5 Credits
INF2120H Conservation and Preservation of Recorded Information 0.5 Credits
INF2127H Collection Development, Evaluation, and Management 0.5 Credits
Serials Management
INF2132H Ancient Books and Records in Special Collections 0.5 Credits
INF2137H International Organizations: Their Documents and Publications 0.5 Credits
INF2145H Cataloguing and the Creation of Bibliographic Data 0.5 Credits
INF2159H Print and Digital Bibliography 0.5 Credits
INF2162H Rare Books and Manuscripts 0.5 Credits
INF2186H Metadata Schemas and Applications 0.5 Credits
INF2224H Service Design 0.5 Credits
INF2226H Queer GLAM 0.5 Credits
INF2234H Academic Librarianship 0.5 Credits
INF2330H Information Ethnography 0.5 Credits
INF2331H The Future of the Book 0.5 Credits
INF2332H Information Behaviour 0.5 Credits
INF1240H Research Methods 0.5 Credits
INF1325H Online Information Retrieval 0.5 Credits
INF2040H Project Management 0.5 Credits
INF2110H Design and Evaluation of Information Literacy Programs 0.5 Credits
INF2126H Public Library Services to Culturally Diverse Communities 0.5 Credits
INF2127H Collection Development, Evaluation, and Management 0.5 Credits
INF2143H Issues in Children’s and Young Adults’ Services 0.5 Credits
INF2152H Advocacy and Library Issues 0.5 Credits
INF2155H The Public Library in the Community: Developing a Critical Practice 0.5 Credits
Theory & Practice of Intellectual Freedom in Libraries
INF2172H Readers’ Advisory: Reference Work and Resources 0.5 Credits
INF2186H Metadata Schemas and Applications 0.5 Credits
INF2224H Service Design 0.5 Credits
INF2226H Queer GLAM 0.5 Credits
INF2227H Asset-based and Community-led Development (ABCD) for the GLAM Sector 0.5 Credits
INF2330H Information Ethnography 0.5 Credits
INF2332H Information Behaviour 0.5 Credits
INF1325H Online Information Retrieval 0.5 Credits
INF2040H Project Management 0.5 Credits
INF2127H Collection Development, Evaluation, and Management 0.5 Credits
INF2132H Ancient Books and Records in Special Collections 0.5 Credits
INF2133H Legal Literature and Librarianship 0.5 Credits
INF2134H Business Information Resources 0.5 Credits
INF2135H Evidence-Based Healthcare for Librarians 0.5 Credits
Management of Corporate and other Special Information Centres
INF2173H Information Professional Practicum I 0.5 Credits
INF2175H Managing Organizational Records I 0.5 Credits
INF2181H Public Policy Foundations 0.5 Credits
INF2186H Metadata Schemas and Applications 0.5 Credits
INF2311H Managing AudioVisual Material 0.5 Credits
INF2312H Art Librarianship in Theory and Practice 0.5 Credits
INF2330H Information Ethnography 0.5 Credits
MSL2240H The Photographic Record 0.5 Credits
INF1325H Online Information Retrieval 0.5 Credits
INF2102H Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Libraries 0.5 Credits
INF2115H Data Librarianship 0.5 Credits
INF2127H Collection Development, Evaluation, and Management 0.5 Credits
INF2133H Legal Literature and Librarianship 0.5 Credits
INF2137H International Organizations: Their Documents and Publications 0.5 Credits
INF2181H Public Policy Foundations 0.5 Credits
INF1331H Archival Arrangement and Description 0.5 Credits
INF1343H Data Modeling and Database Design 0.5 Credits
INF2145H Cataloguing and the Creation of Bibliographic Data 0.5 Credits
INF2159H Print and Digital Bibliography 0.5 Credits
INF2174H Histories of Records and Archives 0.5 Credits
INF2175H Managing Organizational Records I 0.5 Credits
INF2186H Metadata Schemas and Applications 0.5 Credits
INF1325H Online Information Retrieval 0.5 Credits
INF2115H Data Librarianship 0.5 Credits
INF2127H Collection Development, Evaluation, and Management 0.5 Credits
Serials Management
INF2133H Legal Literature and Librarianship 0.5 Credits
INF2134H Business Information Resources 0.5 Credits
INF2135H Evidence-Based Healthcare for Librarians 0.5 Credits
INF2137H International Organizations: Their Documents and Publications 0.5 Credits
INF2162H Rare Books and Manuscripts 0.5 Credits
INF2311H Managing AudioVisual Material 0.5 Credits
INF2312H Art Librarianship in Theory and Practice 0.5 Credits
INF2331H The Future of the Book 0.5 Credits
Work Integrated Learning for LIS Students
The Faculty of Information offers a variety of work-integrated learning including the MI Co-op option and practicum courses. The Careers Services team helps students find suitable placements.
Careers in LIS
- Access & Privacy Officer
- Advancement Assistant and Junior Researcher
- Bilingual Reader Advisor
- Biomedical Sciences Research Support Librarian
- Business Information Specialist
- Children’s Librarian
- Clinical Information Specialist
- Clinical Librarian
- Communications and Project Officer
- Community Outreach Librarian
- Consultant, Business Research
- Content Inventory Coordinator
- Copyright Education/Compliance Manager
- Development Researcher
- Digital Literacy Coordinator
- Digital Media Specialist
- Donor Research Specialist
- Electronic Services Librarian
- Emerging Technologies Specialist
- Environmental Data Specialist
- Geographic Names Specialist
- Geospatial Data Librarian
- Information Access Specialist
- Information Services Consultant
- Knowledge Mobilization Officer
- Manager of Public Services
- Manager, Resource Discovery and Access
- Metadata and Taxonomy Specialist
- Online Consumer Health Information Researcher
- Prospect Research and Analytics Officer
- Prospect Researcher
- Research Associate
- Research Consultant
- Research Evaluation Coordinator
- Research Information Officer
- Visualization Coordinator
Who hires LIS graduates?
Our alumni work in a wide range of organizations and industries including financial services, technology, health care, law, government, marketing and communications, non-profit and more.
Professional Networks
Many students, alumni and faculty are members of key LIS professional associations. Our strong ties with these organizations, forged over many years, keep the Faculty of Information abreast of the latest LIS trends. In addition, many instructors are active LIS professionals. LIS professional associations include:
