• All students take the Capstone during their last semester in the M.L.I.S. program which includes some form of field experience.
• Already working in a library and don’t have time to go someplace else for a field experience? You also have the option of completing a project.  
• Plan ahead. Customize your program around the career(s) you are most interested in, centering around your critical program learning outcomes. Narrow down your preferences as you gain more knowledge and skills in the program. BUT keep in mind that it is okay to change your mind about what you’re interested in (at least until you get to planning your Capstone experience).
• Customize your Capstone experience around your career goal(s). Design an experience that prepares you for the career you want.
• Your Capstone isn’t just a field experience. You will also complete a portfolio, showing what you know as you prepare to graduate with your MLIS and how you have met the LIS Department’s PLOs.
• As you go through the M.L.I.S., make sure you save everything! You will not need all of it to complete your capstone, but you won’t know what you will need until the end.
• Your Capstone should serve as real-world experience. You should be working on projects, tasks, jobs, etc. that use the skills you’ve learned during your M.L.I.S. studies. While “small” tasks like shelving books are valuable and are fine as a small portion of your work, they should not constitute the majority of your work during the Capstone.

The Capstone Practicum Experience should provide school library students with a professional-level work experience. This is the opportunity for each student to apply their learning throughout the program and put it into practice in a working school library. This will require sustained professional interaction with a licensed school librarian or school administrator as a supervisor.

• If you are not currently hired as a school librarian, the supervisor must be a licensed school library media coordinator with three (3) or more years of experience.
• If you are hired in a school as a school librarian, the school administrator completing your final evaluation can be your supervisor.

The supervisor will collaborate with you throughout the semester to complete a needs assessment of the current school library program, plan and implement objectives throughout the semester, and fill out an evaluation for you at the end of the semester.

You must complete 120 contact hours during your practicum experience. This usually means you will need to be onsite working for 120 hours over the course of your practicum semester. You and your site supervisor will determine what will count toward your 120 hours.

Contact Tammy Gruer gruert@uncg.edu  for any questions or concerns regarding school library licensure or practicum placement.

Schedule

• All students take LIS 693 the Capstone during their last semester in the M.L.I.S. program.
• When you enter the program: Talk with your advisor about the licensure requirements for school librarianship and review your working plan of study. Due to the requirements there is very little room for electives, so plan ahead.
• Make sure to upload your assignments to your Hallmark Planning Guide (found on your working plan of study) at the end of each semester.
• One semester before your final semester:
  1. Talk to your advisor to access the Final Semester Checklist and complete each step prior to beginning your practicum.
  2. Register for the Capstone Practicum. Tell us which libraries or school districts and levels you would like to work in. If you have a school library program you are interested in working in please let us know.
  3. Complete your Background Check (This is a requirement by the University. Even if you are hired by the school district you will be in during LIS 693, it is required. Cost $28 )
  4. If you have any questions about your placement or requirements contact Tammy S. Gruer gruert@uncg.edu

Assignments

• Evidence Based Goal Project- Determined by needs assessment
• Collaborative Teaching Lesson (Must include Lesson Plan, Recording, and Reflection)
• Hallmark Project- Students will compile an electronic portfolio to document proficiency with the AASL Standards for the Initial Preparation of School Librarians.
• Professional Development Plan (Must include Lesson Plan, Reflection)

• Program Forms
  • M.L.I.S. Handbook
  • Plan of Study for 3 credit New Capstone – General Masters (M.L.I.S.) This is the Plan of Study required for students not on the School Library Media track admitted Fall 2019 or later
  • LIS Three-Year Course Plan
  • Public Librarian Certification (Link to the North Carolina State Library)
  • Professional Liability Insurance
• To browse available Practicum opportunities, look at the ILRS Job Board.

• LIS 691 Practicum Information Sheet

• Grad School Forms
  • Declare or Change Concentration Form
  • Leave of absence form
  • Request for Transfer Credit Form
• Independent Study Forms
  • Independent Study Permission

• Program Forms
  • LIS 692 Application
  • LIS 693 Application
  • Background Check – Required for LIS 692 and 693
  • Plan of Study- M.L.I.S. with School Library Licensure (076)
  • Plan of Study – Dual Licensure School Library and Instructional Technology (076/077)
• Grad School Forms
  • Declare or Change Concentration Form
  • Leave of absence form
  • Request for Transfer Credit Form
• Independent Study Forms
  • Independent Study Permission