We live in an information age. In many respects, our society has been transformed by technological advances in communication and the storage of information.
While emphasizing technical skills and information researching and gathering competencies, our program also values interpersonal skills. As often as possible we incorporate practical, on-site experiences into our curriculum; this means that students will be utilizing their local library and meeting local library staff. Using libraries as practical work sites serves as a complement to the online class instruction.
Program's Mission
The Library/Information Technology Program was approved by the State Chancellor's Office in 1966. Cuesta College has the distinction of being the first Community College in the State of California to offer a formal program in the training of library support personnel.
Purpose: To offer high quality vocational training for those working in the library field or seeking to enter the library field.
Objectives: To prepare students to solve client information problems by teaching them how to locate and evaluate information necessary for earning a living and leading a productive life.
Values: To promote the unrestricted access to information, an appreciation for the role of libraries in society, the efficient organization of information, and the development of interpersonal skills necessary to the library environment.
Interpersonal Interaction
Librarianship is a people-oriented occupation. No other career field is more vital to preserving our democratic rights than one that helps all individuals have free and unfettered access to the information they need to discharge their responsibilities as citizens, to earn a living and to lead a meaningful life. That is why both our faculty and our Advisory Committee of employers are committed to including human interaction and skill development in our program as well as facility in using the latest technology. As a result we require two one-day visits to the San Luis Obispo campus during the program. Typically, this will be the first and last semesters in which students are enrolled. We also build as much interactivity as possible into each course. We want to get to know our students and we want them to get to know us and to know their fellow students. A network of supportive professional colleagues can be as essential to success in this career field as is the acquisition of job related knowledge.
Program Tracks
The Library/Information Technology curriculum is designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for a successful vocational career in the organizing and managing of information. It is offered in two academic programs. Students may chose the path leading to an Associate in Science Degree or one leading to a Certificate of Achievement. Both provide instruction in the skills and background needed to enter into or to gain advancement in an occupational setting.
Required and elective classes for the Certificate and Degree Program can be completed in an online modality.
About the Program
Cuesta College offers a mature and robust program in Library/Information Technology. The program has been in existence for four decades. In each of the past two semesters we have enrolled more than 130 students who were taking from one to six different courses at a time. Our online offerings allow students to proceed at their own pace. Students come from all parts of California and some come from out-of-state. Ambitious students have completed our required core courses in two semesters. Four semesters is more typical. Students with heavy work and family responsibilities may take even longer.
This program is designed to train students to respond to the changing needs of information management in our society. Wherever there is information there is a need to have someone available to assist in organizing it, managing it, and getting it into the hands of those who need to use the information.
The Library/Information Technology curriculum is designed to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for a successful vocational career in the organizing and managing of information. See degree and certificates requirements below.
The name of our program, Library/Information Technology, is a solid indicator of what we are all about. We train people to assist in the management of information in libraries and other venues using the print medium as well as technology.
The skills, attitudes, and knowledge learned through the Library/Information Technology Program are ones that have broad applications in all sorts of positions in academic and public libraries, school library media centers, as well as business and archival settings.
View Library Information Technology Degrees and Certificates.
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