3. 10/24/2019 3MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
USM Ranked #1 Military-Friendly
Online College (AffordableCollegesOnline.org)
New Center for Military Veterans, Service Members and Families
4. Southern Miss Carnegie R1
Carnegie Classification of Institutions of
Higher Education
Highest research activity
Only 130 institutions
classified R1
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 4
5. What’s New at SLIS?
Continuous ALA-
accreditation until
2026!
SLIS Reception
ALA Washington,
D.C., June 23
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 5
SLIS Reception, Busboys & Poets
6. Fritzsche Gibbs Hall Open House 10/12
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 6
7. Dr. M.J. Norton Retirement, June 2020
Associate Professor,
Ph.D. North Texas, 1994
USM Faculty since 1994
4 ALA Accreditations
SLIS Director, 2003-2013
Interim Dean, University
Libraries, 2013-2014
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 7
8. Dr. Griffis Awarded Tenure & Promotion
Associate Professor
IMLS grant: Roots of
Community: Segregated
Carnegie Libraries as
Spaces for Learning and
Community-Making in
Pre-Civil Rights America,
1900-65
https://aquila.usm.edu/ro
coverview/
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 8
9. New Tenure-Track Faculty: Dr. Steele
MLIS, Ph.D., Univ. of
Alabama
Information Literacy,
Information Technology
Dissertation:
“Censorship in Public
Libraries: An Analysis
Using Gatekeeping
Theory”
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 9
Dr. Jennifer Steele
10. New Grad Adjunct Faculty: Dr. Mangrum
MLIS, Ed.D., Univ.
of Southern Miss.
Access Services &
Assessment Librarian
Teaching LIS 651:
Fundamentals of
Information Science
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 10
Dr. Sarah Mangrum
11. Graduate Adjunct Faculty: Dr. Parks
J.D., Miss. College, MLIS,
USM
State Librarian, oversees
State Law Library
Member, U.S. Depository
Library Council
Teaching LIS 664:
Government Resources
and Publications
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 11
Dr. Stephen Parks
12. 10/24/2019 12MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
What are the Latest Program
Statistics and Rankings?
13. SLIS by the Numbers
41 students earned MLIS degree in 2018 (#4 in
Top 10 USM Master’s Degrees awarded)
189 graduate students
111 undergrad students
Students from 44 states
and Canada
10/24/2019 13MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
14. What’s Driving Growth?
MLIS program only ALA-accredited
program in MS; one of only 60 in
U.S. and Canada
One of only a few LIS programs
and MLIS programs all online
No campus visits required
No out-of-state fees
Live, interactive class sessions.
10/24/2019 14MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
Bachelor of Science
LIS degree, MLIS degree,
Graduate certificates all online
15. SLIS Rankings, 2019
#1 Most Affordable Online MLIS degree by
affordablecollegesonline.org
#2 Best Online LIS Bachelor’s Degree
bestcolleges.com, bestvalueschools.com
#4 MLIS Online Degree
www.greatcollegedeals.net
#6 Most Affordable Top MLIS Programs
bestmastersdegrees.com
10/24/2019 15MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
16. Revisions in Application
GRE may be waived with graduate degree
May take GRE or Miller Analogies Test
Immunization waiver for out-of-state applicants
Regular admission GPA reduced from 3.0 to 2.75
2.0 – 2.74 GPA may be admitted w/conditional status
Why, how to apply: www.slideshare.net/drtwelsh/
10/24/2019 16MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
17. Accelerated Master’s Option (AMO)
Began fall 2017; used English Lit model
Senior undergrad LIS students with GPA of 3.5 or
higher can take up to 9 hours of graduate credit
AMO students pay undergrad tuition rate
Graduate credit counts toward undergrad
degree & MLIS degree
10/24/2019 17MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
18. Distinguished SLIS Alum
Associate Professor
Senior Research &
Learning Services
Librarian
University of
Tennessee Health
Sciences Center
Library, Memphis
10/24/2019 18MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
Tamara M. Nelson, MLIS (2009)
19. Distinguished SLIS Alum
10/24/2019 19MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
Cynthia Sturgis Landrum
Deputy Director, IMLS
Office of Library Services
Oversees Grants to States-
National Leadership Grants
for Libraries, Laura Bush
21st Century Librarian
MLIS, Southern Miss (2006)
Doctoral Candidate, LIS
Managerial Leadership,
Simmons University
20. SLIS MLIS Alums/Authors
10/24/2019 20MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
ALLA YA
Book of the Year
Angie Manfredi,
MLIS (2007), Youth
Services Support,
Iowa State Library
Ash Parsons
MLIS (1998)
YA Author
21. 10/24/2019 21MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
What’s New in SLIS
Programs and Curriculum?
22. New Graduate Elective Course
LIS 692: Special Problems
Section H002 - Storytime
and Early Literacy
Taught by Dr. Creel,
spring 8w1, Mondays,
6:30pm
Paired with 8w2 course,
LIS 590: Library
Instruction.
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23. New Virtual Classroom
Improved bandwidth, clear
video, sound
Can access with phone,
tablet, computer
Transcription available so
classes can comply w/ADA
Link to Zoom embedded in
Canvas.
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 23
24. British Studies LIS 2019 – VIP Visit
2019 – 15 students from
7 universities in US,
Canada
2007-19, 227 students
from 42 different
universities in U.S.,
Canada
British Studies research
papers published in:
Current Studies in
Librarianship
SLIS Connecting
QQML Journal
10/24/2019 24MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
VP Chad Driscoll, Karlie, VP Dr. Cannon
Pres. Dr. Bennett, Kayla, V&A Art Librarian
25. British Studies LIS 2019
10/24/2019 25MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
V&A Art Librarian w/Ariel, Provost Dr. Steve Moser, Dr. Dave Davies, Dr. Daniel Norton
27. LIS Student Association (LISSA)
10/24/2019 27
Faculty Advisor Jessica
Whipple
ALA Student Group, S2S
Assists w/Book Festival,
Read Across America
Oh! The Places You’ll Run 5k race
Read Across America, Chain Park, Mar 2
MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
28. Southern Miss Student Archivists (SMSA)
10/24/2019 28
Dr. Cindy Yu, Faculty Advisor
Assists w/Book Festival
Recruitment activities
Volunteer work in archives
MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
29. What Outreach Initiatives
are Sponsored by SLIS?
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 29
SLIS Reception, Busboys & Poets
ALA Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., June 23, 2019
30. Kaigler Children’s Book Festival 2019
Record attendance
550+ attendees
Brian Floca Author Talk,
Lillie Burney STEAM
Academy
Tamora Pierce USM
Medallion winner
Ezra Jack Keats Awards
Magnolia Awards
10/24/2019 30
www.usm.edu/bookfest/
MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
31. 10/24/2019 31MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
Kaigler Children’s Book Festival 2020
CBF kicks off with
literacy event/author talk
Registration now open
for 1 day or all 3 days
Early-bird discount
Awards
Magnolia Book Awards
Ezra Jack Keats Awards
Ruth Lamont Award
Peck $500 scholarships
32. SLIS Connecting
Refereed open-access e-
journal
Dr. Stacy Creel, Dr. Teresa
Welsh, Managing Editors
1st aquila e-journal (2012)
Indexed in DOAJ, Ulriches
Directory, Google Scholar
Downloaded 80,000+ times
from sites around the world
10/24/2019 32MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
aquila.usm.edu/slisconnecting
33. Council on Community Literacy & Reading
10/24/2019 33
Dr. Catharine Bomhold, CLR Director
Read Across America Day each March
Halloween literacy event, book giveaways
MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
36. 10/24/2019 36
ALA 2019, Washington, D.C.,
SLIS Reception, Busboys & Poets,
June 22
MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
37. 10/24/2019 37
State Conference Exhibit Tables
MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
Miss. Book Festival,
Jackson (August)
LAMP – Oxford,
Pearl, Hattiesburg,
Long Beach (Sept)
Mississippi Library
Association (Oct)
Alum Breakfast
Focus Group
Library and Media Professionals (LAMP, 2019)
38. 10/24/2019 38MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
Future Directions?
Children’s Literature at Southern Miss
More workshops for CEU credit?
Fall one-day conference of research on youth
literature (children’s, YA)?
New certificate in information technology?
Other ideas? Please come to our focus group
tomorrow morning at 8am.