The faculty of the School of Library and Information Sciences expects students entering its programs to have a high level of computer literacy. Students will be expected to use these skills in their coursework.

Students who are not proficient in these skills should take courses at their local community colleges in order to ensure that they have the level of computer literacy expected by the School of Library and Information Sciences faculty.

These computer literacy expectations include the following:

• Ability to use a Microsoft Windows-based computer and understand the basics of the Windows operating system, including file manipulation, application launching, and printing.
• Ability to use word processing software to create, manipulate, save, and print a document.
• Ability to use electronic mail software to create, send, read, print, and file email messages.
• Ability to open and send email attachments.
• Ability to use presentation software to create, edit, format, print, display and save presentations.
• Ability to use spreadsheet software to create, search, modify, graph, and print data. Ability to create formulas and do simple "what-if" analyses of data.
• Understanding of the basic concepts of the Internet.
• Ability to retrieve documents from the Internet using various search engines and to navigate through, save, and print documents from the Internet.
• Ability to interpret the results from such searches and to modify searches appropriately.
• Ability to compose simple Web home pages. Understanding of the basics of HTML mark-up and Web page design.
• Understanding of the concepts behind various electronic data formats, including graphic images, sounds, motion pictures, and page description languages. Understanding of how these formats work with technologies like the World Wide Web and how graphics can be embedded into text documents for presentations.
• Understanding of the fundamental concepts of online database searching, including Boolean logic, search preparation, search languages, controlled vocabulary, and search evaluation.
• Ability to apply the principles of online searching to the use of library online catalogs and other bibliographic and fulltext databases.
• Ability to use database management software to create, search, modify, and delete records, as well as an understanding of basic database design. Understanding of the structure of database records, fields, and subfields.

In addition, students in the program are expected to have access to a computer and access to the Internet.