Increasing competition requires LIS managers to have marketing, grant writing and other skills formerly associated only with for-profit, production oriented businesses. Among the other skills required in the workplace are the ability to work effectively on teams and with other organizations, to present ideas effectively in written and oral communication, and to supervise and support staff. Students need to understand the behavior of groups and organizations and issues in organizational change. In addition to knowledge from research findings, students will learn from project and case-based work as well as from group and experiential learning. Courses in this category include those on various aspects of management as well as information policy and information consulting.
Access involves connecting people with information.
All of the other aspects of LIS support the provision of access to information sources and repositories such as libraries, archives, and physical and electronic collections and databases. Effectively providing access to information requires that professionals in this field continually evaluate and revise information systems and services to meet the needs of their users. Access also involves educating users in the use of information systems and sources. Preparation for providing access involves knowledge of a diverse range of information products, systems and services. The professional value of equitable access requires that future professionals examine the impact of policy on the production and dissemination of information.