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You’re a different kind of leader for a different kind of library. We’ve designed an online certificate program specifically for library administrators with advanced degrees in other disciplines who want to deepen their knowledge of library leadership and expand their network.


Your Unique Path to Library Leadership

Today’s libraries are uniters, community builders and trusted stewards of information and culture. They are technology hubs, centers of lifelong learning and spaces where people of all backgrounds can enjoy connection and shared experience. It’s no surprise so many leader-innovators in today’s complex library systems come from fields like business and technology. At Dominican, you’ll develop new skills and ways of strategically applying that outside career experience to chart your future in the library and information field.


We Are Your Partners

When one of the country’s largest library systems went looking for a leadership certificate program for staff, they called us—and we created one. Dominican is uniquely positioned to offer this innovative, five-course certificate program. Courses are fully online. You can log in whenever it’s convenient. You’ll find the convenience of online learning without losing the power of personal connection.


How the Program Works

Designed for library administrators with advanced degrees in non-LIS disciplines:

  • Online coursework is done at your convenience; no need to log in at a certain time
  • You can apply all coursework credit toward the full online MLIS degree
  • Curriculum is built around two electives and three required courses
  • Coursework includes an independent study in which students address an organizational problem or program at their library
  • You’ll shape your plan of study with a faculty advisor


Courses

  • Evidence-Based Planning, Management and Decision-Making
  • Information Policy
  • Independent Study (address an organizational problem at your library)
  • Two electives

View course descriptions

Learn more about SOIS Certificate programs, including how to apply

Accreditation

The Certificate in Executive Library Leadership is accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association (ALA). On January 20, 2023, ALA's Committee on Accreditation voted to continue the Dominican MLIS's full accreditation status for another seven-year term. The next comprehensive review will take place in 2029. View the 2022 MLIS program presentation (pdf opens in a new window).

Chicago's Only iSchool

Dominican University is also a member of the iSchools consortium, dedicated to advancing the information field. As Chicago’s only iSchool, Dominican’s School of Information Studies has long been a presence on Chicago’s higher education landscape, first offering library science programs in the 1930s. See what sets us apart.

For more information,
please contact:

Office of Graduate Admission
Enrollment Management

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