Courses Offered

In combination with required MI course work, the practicum placement in an information setting is an essential experiential learning element in the MI program, and a key element in the professional training for information management students. The 100-hour placement enables the student to test and evaluate class theory, to contribute by actual participation, and to explore areas of particular interest for course specialization and future employment. Placements are arranged in consultation with the MI program Coordinator.

• Course Type: Program requirement; Experiential learning
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• See Practicum Guide for full details.

Provides an introduction to the economic, political, and social dimensions of an information-rich environment. Includes consideration of the historical development of library and information studies, knowledge production, issues of control versus free flow of information, the social organization of knowledge, and the ethical and legal aspects of information services.

• Course Type: Core Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Introduces the theory and applications of information organization. Primary topics include: describing and representing information in various media; subject classification theory and techniques; authority control; controlled vocabulary; indexing fundamentals; and relation of organization to information retrieval systems. Traditional, library-oriented and more recent computer-based techniques, tools, and theories are examined.

• Course Type: Core Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Information professionals require knowledge of formal research processes in order to support the goals of their organization by contributing to evidence-based decision-making. This course introduces fundamental concepts of research, the nature and uses of research, tools and methods (both quantitative and qualitative), handling of evidence, analysis and interpretation of findings, reporting of results, evaluation of published reports, and the practice and management of research.

• Course Type: Core Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Offers both a theoretical and a practical introduction to information services. Discusses users and their information-seeking behaviours, major categories of reference resources and how best to match appropriate resources to the user via effective reference interviews. Explores evaluation techniques and uses of reference resources in various formats. Includes strategies of online searching both in specialized databases and on the Web.

• Course Type: Core Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Introduces management theories and practices for organizational functions occurring in any type of information setting. Examines elements involved in effective strategic planning, implementation and management including personnel, budgeting, policy writing, and change management. The INFO 5570 capstone is intended to bring synthesis to the whole of the MI experience. 

• Course Type: Core Course; Capstone (to be taken in the final year of the MI program)
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: INFO 5500, INFO 5515, INFO 5530
• Syllabus: download PDF

In Information Management Systems we will investigate a wide range of current issues in information technology, information systems, and web-based applications with a particular emphasis on mobile and social media applications and services. We will also explore the principles of user interface design, systems analysis, information needs analysis, information systems requirements and project planning. Finally, we will examine how modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) have been and are changing the way we communicate, collaborate, share information, innovate, perform, socialize and work, and how these technological changes are affecting the role and functions of information managers in the public and private sectors.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course aims to provide students of all backgrounds with a set of fundamental skills and techniques for converting data into knowledge to support research, business processes, and policy. Students will learn to use R to collect, manipulate, analyze, visualize data, and publish high-quality reports in various formats, including interactive web sites and applications.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: MGMT 4270
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no pre-requisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course provides an introduction to Business Analytics and Data Visualization. It covers the processes, methodologies and practices used to transform the large amounts of business and public data (referred to as "Big Data") into useful information to support business decision-making. This course will cover basic data models for database management and data warehouses.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: BUSI 6513
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: INFO 5590
• Syllabus: download PDF

Introduces the theory and practice of managing data, covering technology-driven solutions to the challenges of storing, curating, and retrieving unstructured, semi-structured, and structured data. Topics include tabular data, assessing data management requirements, data models and schemas, relational database management systems, SQL, post-relational DBMSs, Big Data, and visualization.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: MGMT 4540, BUSI 6516
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: IT Competencies listed in Admission Requirements
  Please note: Responsibility for readiness for INFO 6540 rests with the student.
• Syllabus: download PDF

In this course, students will learn to use bibliometrics to measure the production, dissemination, and use of research. Blending theory and practice, the course will be an asset for students pursuing research careers in any field, academic librarianship, and a wide range of organizations involved in the global research and higher education systems, such as universities, research funders, professional associations and publishers. Topics covered include bibliometric data sources, the evaluation of research output and impact, research funding, peer review, scholarly publishing, open access and open science, authorship, collaboration, research networks, and the mobilization of research on social media, the news, and policy.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no pre-requisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Examines the theories, techniques and processes used to create, structure, and deliver electronic text. Topics include writing and design for the web, information architecture, and document analysis for digitization. Focuses on practical experience with HTML and CSS, TEI standards, XML, and XSLT.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: MGMT 4620
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Spatial Information is the air and water that makes mapping and spatial analysis possible. Mobile applications using maps are some of the most popular and often used web-based applications; they are also cloud based which added another layer of management issues. Maps, GIS and the use of spatial information have never been more popular or public. This course addresses the effective management of spatial information. The course covers principles and practices associated with metadata, GIS, licensing, spatial information databases, map libraries and archives, spatial data infrastructures and web-based delivery of products and services, as well as distributed systems such as geolibraries, ‘digital earth’ and the development of the 'spatial cloud'. This course is geared towards the manager who seeks to deploy services associated with spatial information and effectively develop an enterprise approach to managing spatial information. The course will also provide hands-on experience in using GIS and related technologies so as to be able to better understand how to deploy services, especially over the web.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: MGMT 4681
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: INFO 5515
• Syllabus: download PDF

Introduces the requirements and technologies of networked content management systems. Follows the evolution of the digital content and its impact on information dissemination. Examines issues and trends influencing the development and structure of content management.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This seminar class will examine theories of reading from social, psychological and literary perspectives. The class will discuss literary practices and the evolution of the concept of literacy in an era of cultural and technological change.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Epistemic injustice is an injustice related to knowledge and one’s position as a “knower” or holder of knowledge. Epistemic injustice and related concepts such as epistemicide, epistemic oppression, and knowledge justice are of growing interest within the study of information and within information work. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to concepts and considerations of epistemic injustice, power, and the ways information organizations and practices are implicated as sites of injustice. Students will learn practices related to knowledge justice to work toward collective justice and the betterment of the field and the profession of information.

• Course Type: EDIAD Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Students will learn how to identify the interests and needs of particular client groups, and how to integrate these needs into the ongoing operations of an information organization.  Particular attention will be given to working in the community with vulnerable community members and applying the Community-Led Library Service Model.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: INFO 5530
• Syllabus: download PDF

Examines discourses, practices, and understandings of antiracism and ‘diversity’ (and related notions) past demographics or other visible characteristics. Emphasis will be on cultivating a values-based diversity mindset, along with a critical reflection on the choices and values embedded in the design and use of information, its institutions, and its technologies; how these might be translated across different sectors (e.g., libraries, archives, museums, networked organizations, professional associations, and major international organizations active in this area), and across different cultural contexts. Examples of issues addressed include: diversity of professional roles, practices, communities served; antiracist approaches to cataloguing and metadata capture; diversity and antiracist considerations in preservation and digitization; diversity in the workforce; diversity as intellectual freedom; diversity as engine of competitiveness

• Course Type: EDIAD Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

• Course Type: EDIAD Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This reading-intensive course is deals with two major interrelated concerns of archivists and records managers: 1) the history of archiving and archival thought; and 2) the context of the creation and the characteristics of records. It covers a wide variety of international examples from ancient times to the present, with a focus on Canada/Turtle Island since the nineteenth century. The course begins with an introduction to key concepts, theories, methods, and practices that all archivists and records managers need to know (Unit 1). Against this backdrop, we will then examine milestone events and foundational texts in archival studies, and trace how these are taken up and altered with the development of the records management field in the mid-20th century. We will do so through an antiracist/anticolonial feminist lens that centers Indigenous, racialized, and marginalized voices, histories and perspectives (Unit 2). As part of that, we will interrogate the assumptions and power dynamics embedded within the archives cannon and dominant recordkeeping practices/methods by drawing on relevant contemporary debates and literatures from across disciplines.

• Course Type: EDIAD Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course explores the ever evolving area of privacy. What is the current culture of privacy? What will privacy look like into the future? As a professional, you need to understand the culture of privacy and develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies to apply a privacy filter to your world. Through discussion, readings, and observation this course will provide you an holistic view of the understanding, application, and evolution of privacy.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no pre-requisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course will be team taught be faculty members from the MI program, MPA program, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, and the Marine Affairs program. The course addresses the question of how information is used in policy making at local, national, and international levels. While modern policy making prescribes the use of the best available information, evidence-based policy making is relatively new and challenging due to the large quantities of information. This course will examine the role of information, arising from various research domains, in policy decisions, and will give particular attention to the interface between research and policy decisions. The course will draw on research-based case studies to illustrate enablers and barriers affecting the use and influence of information.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: ENVI 6100, PUAD 6150
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Explores the history of the book from its early beginnings to its present manifestations. While greatest emphasis will be placed upon the history of the book from the mid-15th century to the present, the course will also discuss the history of important precursors of mechanical printing, and literacy, books, and manuscripts in the ancient and medieval periods.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Introduces the social, intellectual and psychological nature of adolescence, with respect to reading, listening and viewing interests.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Data is essential to the research process, and is an essential product of research.  As the volume, variety, and velocity of research data continues to expand, researchers and funding agencies are recognizing the value of proactive research data management (RDM), and are turning to information professionals to help.  This course covers RDM policy, plans, and practice through both theory and practical application.  Students will gain and put into practice knowledge on how to assess requirements; produce practical plans; manage data throughout its lifecycle; curate, preserve and rescue data; and work with international research data standards, across a variety of disciplines. 

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course will examine the ways in which various levels of government structure organize, produce, and disseminate information for a range of internal & external purposes. The emphasis will be on growing digital resources and approaches for accessing these types of material. There will be a focus on Canadian content with additional consideration of American, British, foreign and international resources, including specialized agencies such as the United Nations. The course will include a practical perspective for those seeking employment working with government information resources at provincial and/or federal levels.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: MGMT 4300
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites; INFO 5530 (recommended)
• Syllabus: download PDF

An introduction to the major sources of Canadian legal information, and the fundamental principles, issues, and practices in law librarianship.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites; INFO 5530 (recommended)
• Syllabus: download PDF

Examines the theories, principles, and practices of bibliographic description, including the application of national standards. Covers the description of print and non-print sources, principles and practices of authority work, the application of encoding standards, and the use of bibliographic classification systems. Examines trends and future directions of bibliographic description.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: INFO 5515
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the management of current records in contemporary environments in analog and digital form. Topics covered include: records creation, evaluation, maintenance and control; issues related to the maintenance, storage and disposition of records; electronic records management; legal and ethical compliance; recordkeeping and decolonization; and social justice issues in Archives & Records Management (ARM).

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: MGMT 4370 & MGMT 5012
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: INFO 5515 (MI) or MGMT 5002 (MIM)
• Syllabus: download PDF

Surveys the latest Knowledge Management theories and practices from information science, management, cognitive/educational psychology and computer science.  Focuses on the nature of knowledge construction by examining the identification, capture, application and sharing of organizational knowledge, cognitive techniques and the technological systems that facilitate these processes.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Examines the reading and viewing interests of children. Topics covered include a brief overview of developmental psychology, the history of children's literature, developing successful library programmes for children and their caregivers, building the children's library collection, and enhancing children's visual literacy.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Examines information resource management (IRM) theories and methods, including exploration of issues associated with the information marketplace, resource evaluation and acquisition, policies, budget allocation, and vendor and user relations.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no pre-requisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Explores, in a graduate seminar setting, a range of issues currently facing information professionals and the effect of these issues on policy development. Discusses the roles of all levels of government, the private and not-for-profit sectors, and key individuals, in developing policies which affect information creation, control, access and use. Focuses on Canadian issues, and includes international affairs as appropriate to the information society.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: MGMT 4611
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Explores how technology affects human use, and examines the process from conception of an idea to design and evaluation, with a particular emphasis on Web-based activities.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Cross-list: BUSI 6525
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no pre-requisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course will examine information seeking behaviour in a variety of settings (health care, private and public organizations, academic institutions, etc.), individual and group information seeking and use in these contexts, and the theories and models of information seeking behaviour that explore and explain information behaviour.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: INFO 5520 & INFO 5530 (recommended)
• Syllabus: download PDF

Reading courses are intended to add flexibility to your MI program by providing you with an opportunity to develop a specific interest in the information management field.  A reading course will enable you to study an aspect of a topic in greater detail than is possible within an existing course, or study an area not covered by the curriculum. Reading courses also allow you to conduct a research study or special project.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every term
• Pre-requisites: MI or combined MI degree students, who have completed at least four three-credit graduate-level courses, with a grade point average of 3.3 (B+) or higher, are qualified to consider a reading course. Interested students must make an appointment with the Information Programs director prior to embarking on a reading course.
• Reading Course Guidelines

Reading courses are intended to add flexibility to your MLIS program by providing you with an opportunity to develop a specific interest in the information management field.  A reading course will enable you to study an aspect of a topic in greater detail than is possible within an existing course, or study an area not covered by the curriculum.  Reading courses also allow you to conduct a research study or special project.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every term
• Pre-requisites: MI or combined MI degree students, who have completed at least four three-credit graduate-level courses, with a grade point average of 3.3 (B+) or higher, are qualified to consider a reading course. Interested students must make an appointment with the Information Programs director prior to embarking on a reading course.
• Reading Course Guidelines

Introduces students to the concepts and practice of health science librarianship with particular emphasis on the various print and electronic reference sources in the health sciences.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Alternating years
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites; INFO 5530 (recommended)
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course acts as an introduction to the museum profession and the role of museums in society, emphasizing the importance of community partnerships, sharing of knowledge, and the development of educational programming and related initiatives that serve the public. This course offers students the unique opportunity to engage with and learn from museums through assignments and class discussion. Students apply exhibition evaluation frameworks to provide feedback to peers and museum staff during a museum partnership and are given the unique opportunity to reflect on museum site visits and guest lectures from museum professionals. Through analyzing past and existing museum practices, students explore opportunities for change in the development and management of museum collections, exhibitions, and public programming. This course heightens awareness of reconciliation, EDIA, and environmental sustainability in the museum sector. Students will also consider roles and relationships in the galleries, libraries, archies, and museums (GLAM) sector.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Provides an overview of the issues and practices of archival science, with emphasis on Canadian approaches. Considers principles of acquisition, arrangement, description, reference and use of archival records, along with the management of archives and the relationship between archival work and other divisions of the information professions.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

This course introduces selected theories and methods for managing processes designed to educate students, patrons, and clients in information research skills. Concepts covered relate to the design, implementation, evaluation, and management of instructional programs for a wide array of clients/patrons. Lectures and discussions include relevant theories of learning and a consideration of how these approaches may be effectively managed for client instruction.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: download PDF

Builds on topics introduced in required courses, particularly those dealing with applications of information technology in information management. This course will take a more in-depth look at the major topics in the field. The content will change rapidly as the field progresses. Current topics include: information ethics, design of usable information systems, digital media, network design, electronic communication, software lifecycle management, and design of an information-based organization.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: as needed
• Pre-requisites: There are no prerequisites
• Syllabus: Museums & Community (fall 2022)

This course will consider advanced topics in archives, with an emphasis on Canadian practice. It will provide an overview of the management of archives by closely examining topics including donor relations, archival and monetary appraisal, multi-level archival description, project management, and public service.

• Course Type: Elective Course
• Frequency: Every year
• Pre-requisites: INFO 6800
• Syllabus: download PDF

Select this course code and number if you are a regular thesis-option MI student.

For more details, see the Thesis Guide.

• Course Type: Elective Course

All thesis-option MI students who are continuing work on their thesis must register for this course.

For more details, see the Thesis Guide.

• Course Type: Elective Course