The SLIS Report summarizes updates from the Southern Miss School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). Key points include: - SLIS has maintained continuous ALA accreditation through 2026 and hosted various receptions at conferences. - The program has seen growth in online enrollment numbers and now ranks in the top programs nationally. A new accelerated master's option has also been introduced. - Several faculty achievements and new hires are noted, including tenure for Dr. Griffis and new adjunct faculty. - Student engagement remains high through activities of groups like LISSA and SMSA as well as outreach events like the annual Kaigler Children's Book Festival. - Future directions

1. SLIS Report
MLA 2019

2. 10/24/2019 2MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
What’s New at Southern Miss?

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.
10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 22

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

26. 10/24/2019 26MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019
Student Group Activities
Tamela w/Bailey, Leah, LISSA Advisor Jessica Whipple, CBF 2019

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

34. 10/24/2019 MLA Annual Conference, Jackson, 2019 34
ALA 2019 Midwinter, Seattle

35. 10/24/2019 35
SLIS Graduation Reception, Cook Library Gallery, May 9, 2019
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.

39. Questions?
Dr. Teresa Welsh,
Professor and Director
teresa.welsh@usm.edu