MA Library and Archive Studies

This module combines lectures, seminars, site visits, and demonstrations to offer students training in the skills necessary for working within and leading libraries today. It introduces students to fundamental concepts in librarianship while relating those practices to the practices of archivists and other heritage sector professions while working to develop strategy thinking for the profession. 

Students will learn within the John Rylands Research Institute and Library (one of the UK’s five National Research Libraries and a National Archives-accredited Archives Service) in central Manchester. In each seminar, students will receive engaging interactions with professional library staff from the University of Manchester and from exceptional institutions from across Greater Manchester. Students will begin each teaching day with a lecture on the professional knowledges of librarianship and will then participate in seminars that offer students an opportunity to critical reflect on readings and place theory into practice through engaging activities. Assessments will be based on the production of authentic policy documents relating to collections, communities, personnel, and the future of libraries. These documents offer students experience in the production of the policies and frameworks that position libraries and related institutions to deliver effective services tailored specifically to their patrons’ needs.

Over the course of this unit, students will: 

• Distinguish between special collection libraries and archives while considering the potential synergies between these closely related institutions that care for the documentary history of humanity. 
• Acquire a deep and nuanced understanding of current practices for librarians and archivists in charge of rare and unique material, including processing and managing records and archives, information management in special collections, collection management and development of manuscript and rare print, and conserving and preserving documents and books. 
• Practice the process of how archivists and special collections librarians understand users and stakeholders, design and deliver services to users, foster engagement with communities, promote their collections to researchers, market their activities to the public, and advocate for continued support by articulating their value to society. 

Students will learn within the John Rylands Research Institute and Library (one of the UK’s five National Research Libraries and a National Archives-accredited Archives Service) in central Manchester. In each seminar, students will receive engaging interactions with archive and library staff and will work directly with the world-class collections of the Rylands. Students will begin each teaching day with a lecture on the professional knowledges of librarianship or the core competencies of archival practice and will then participate in seminars that offer students an opportunity to critical reflect on readings and place theory into practice through engaging activities. Assessments will be based on the production of authentic documents important to managing and promoting archival and special collections, which offer students experience in the production of the policies and frameworks that set archives and libraries on a course to deliver efficient work environments and effect positive social change.

• Define the fundamental skills of librarianship and the fundamental skills of archival practice while also identifying their intersections and synergies 
• Comprehend the traditions of how libraries and archives organise and manage information 
• Build upon the traditional ways archives process, manage, conserve, and preserve documentary records and an array of media formats 
• Build upon the traditional ways libraries manage, develop, and use special collections, reference material, published print material, electronic resources, and other media 
• Explain the additional core knowledges of librarianship including data management, information governance and compliance, knowledge management, literacies and learning, and research methods

• Place librarianship, archival practice, and records management within their historical context and intellectual lineages 
• Evaluate the professional environments of archives and records management organisations, develop their professional identities to suit those evolving workplaces, and uphold the professional ethics and standards of recordkeeping
• Examine the organisational and environmental context of libraries, appraise the wider context of the information and knowledge sector, prepare a path for life-long professional development, and uphold the ethics and values of librarianship 
• Correctly interpret the legislation and regulations relevant to archives, libraries, and records management organisations

• Design library and archive services through a process that centres users, cocreates with stakeholders, ensures inclusive environments, promotes access and accessibility, and balances marketing efforts with community engagement 
• Recognise best practices in library and archive strategy and management by experimenting with realistic simulations related to leadership, advocacy, influence, governance, and policy writing 
• Utilise sector-relevant digital technology to manage all forms of information 
• Communicate effectively at each level of a library or archive organisation while practicing communication techniques through an array of media

• Design library and archive services through a process that centres users, cocreates with stakeholders, ensures inclusive environments, promotes access and accessibility, and balances marketing efforts with community engagement 
• Recognise best practices in library and archive strategy and management by experimenting with realistic simulations related to leadership, advocacy, influence, governance, and policy writing 
• Utilise sector-relevant digital technology to manage all forms of information 
• Communicate effectively at each level of a library or archive organisation while practicing communication techniques through an array of media

• Summative: Reflective Blackboard discussion board posts 
• Summative: Annotated (i.e. containing reflections and citations on their choices), authentic (i.e. common in the library and archive professions) document assignments  

• Formative: Verbal feedback in seminar discussions 
• Summative: Written feedback on weekly Blackboard discussion board posts 
• Summative: Written feedback on five annotated authentic document assignments