Major in Library and Information Science — Library and Information Science
With a focus on libraries, this field involves the comprehensive exploration of information systems, services, and user behavior from legal, business, and socio-cultural perspectives. As such, the field’s educational framework bridges practice and theory by incorporating information media, archives, and information retrieval theory.
Overview
The Department of Library and Information Science was launched in 1967 and is comprised of the three domains of information systems, information media, and information retrieval.
Information systems is a broad concept that includes the entire information infrastructure, and in our Library and Information Science Program we primarily focus on libraries. It includes library-related legal and business issues, service and user community issues, and their cultural and educational impacts on society. Information media refers to scholarly communication research, academic information system research, bibliometrics, and information seeking behaviors with a focus on human cognition and social practices. Keio has a long history of research experience with these fields. Information retrieval takes a holistic perspective of research issues on information retrieval systems and theory, which differs from a traditional engineering approach, and also deals with information organization and databases. Keio also has experience in the advancement of search engines and information resource organization.
Since April 2006, we have offered a PhD program for librarians and other professionals in information service industry. All credits for this program can be fulfilled through evening classes alone.