Learn how to ethically manage a library and its infrastructure and services in this free online library science course.

This library science course introduces you to emerging technological trends like digitisation that make library management more efficient and effective. The course suits people who are passionate about bringing positive change in the world. We begin by laying out the core organisational principles of library and information science. We explain how to structure the organisation specialisation, coordination and human resources function of the library.

We then define various technical terms related to professional ethics and compare the roles of the ideas of ‘profession’, ‘professionals’ and ‘professionalism’ in terms of librarianship. Our next section teaches you about library networking, which is used to improve centralised coordination. We outline the objectives, preconditions and advantages of library networking. The course then examines the infrastructure of libraries and explains how to read across their ‘infrastructural ecology’.

This course shows you how library and information science lays out the specifics of finance and budgeting. We then explore the concepts and technical issues of digital library resources and describe some of their directories. We discuss the concepts and setting of virtual libraries and trace their connection to lifelong learning. Our final section covers library-related legislation and discusses its components, purpose and contributing factors. This library science course provides the training you need to work in a library or any organisation that requires the skilled management of information.