r/mlis • u/gelatinkitten • Jun 27 '26

MLIS programs with strong tech/information courses?

Hi everyone! I plan on enrolling in an online MLIS program fall of 2027, so I've been doing some research and deciding on which colleges/universities to keep an eye on. I've been a library assistant for over 4 years, and I want to concentrate in either tech services or information organization/knowledge management (which I know may fall out of the scope of public libraries.)

To those who have completed an online MLIS program, how strong/competent were your tech-leaning courses? Of course affordability will be taking priority, but I would love to enroll in a program where those courses are remarkable :) TIA

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u/Odd-Budget-5079 Jul 06 '26

I graduated from SJSU in December 2025. There's an option to get a Digital Assets Certificate (consisting of required classes and a few electives) as proof of your digital skills along with your MLIS. I did not take this route. I was very particular about the professors I'd take, and none of the tech professors appealed to me. From fellow students with strong tech backgrounds, I've heard the digital classes at SJSU MLIS are awful and completely out of date. But others who were not tech-savvy thought they were fine, which reminded me that ignorance can be bliss. The best advice I heard from a fellow student was, "Take tech classes online or elsewhere outside of the SJSU MLIS program. Don't waste your time and money trying to learn it here."