Information for admitted students- Masters program Digital Library and Information Services

Below you can find information that is relevant for you as admitted student to the masters programme in digital library and information services. The information below is also relevant for you that is admitted to the course in Digital Library Management.

Welcome letter and log-in 

You will receive admission information and a welcome letter in November 2009 (later part). The instructions about log-in and access to the first course will be provided by January 2010. We hope to meet you online on January 19 and wish you all the best in your studies.

Entry visas

Nationals in the majority of countries outside the EU require a visa to visit Sweden and the other Schengen countries. This is a decision reached by Sweden together with the other EU countries. For application form, please visit the migration office web-page. 

Accomodation

For students admitted to the program:
The education that you have been admitted to is a distance education and you are only required to attend one of the residential periods in Borås (you are most welcome to attend both, but one is obligatory. You have to attend at least one residential period/year). The first residential period is planned for February 15-19 (Introduction and Users and information activities in digital environments course), the second in October, 2010 (courses Information retrieval for digital librariesand Technology for digital libraries). You may choose the period that is more convenient or more useful for you.

As you are only going to stay in Borås for a shorter period a youth hostel might be of interest. Please visit the webpage of the Tourist Office.

You can also refer to the following list of hostels/hotels. When you book your accomodation, mention that you are a student at University of Borås.

Borås Camping Saltemad
Campinggatan 25
Tel: +46 (0)33-353280
www.borasdjurpark.se/en/camping.asp

STF's Hostel Borås
www.stfturist.se

Vila Hostel and Mini-Hotel (good choice, close to University of Borås!)
Lilla Brogatan 11
Tel: +46 (0)33-22 69 69
www.vila.nu/eng/index.htm

Borås Bostadshotell
Vendelsbergsgatan 42
Tel: +46 (0)33-100 110
www.borasbostadshotell.se

About Ping Pong

Ping Pong is the Learning Management System used for web-based education at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science. Registered students log in to Ping Pong using the username and password. Once you're logged in, you have full access to the course material, assignments etc. This is also where you communicate with teachers, fellow students and administrative staff at the School. 

When you log in to Ping Pong for the first time, you're required to choose the language (English or Swedish) and when you've made the choice - click on "Next". Now you have access to your course and we recommend that you browse the content of both the course and the User Guide which you'll find once you're logged in. For log-in information please see enclosed information that has been sent out by e-mail to admitted students. NB! login information will be sent to you in August if you have accepted the placement in the programme.

Key people on the programme and at Swedish School of Library and Information Science (SSLIS)

Elena Maceviciute is responsible for the study programme as a whole and leads a team of people working on the development and update of it. She also acts as a mediator if there is a conflict between a student and a teacher in a course. Mats Dahlström is helping with planning and supervision of the programme as well as coordination with other Master’s programmes at SSLIS.

Each course is lead by a teacher who is responsible for it and leads a team that creates materials to the course, designs educational tasks, communicates with students and assesses their work. You will meet them online within the PingPong course sites and during residential periods at the University.

Carina Waldén is another key person for distance students as she takes care of the PingPong and will help you to solve most of the problems that may arise in relation to it.

The SSLIS is led by a head of school Margareta Lundberg Rodin. There is also administrative staff and you will meet most often with Christina Kaspersen who is an international co-ordinator, Ewa Skelte who works as an education co-ordinator.

The organisation of educational process

The courses within the programme are accessible through the PingPong course sites. The current issues regarding the programme and communication with programme leaders are also dealt with over the current course sites and e-mail (there is no separate programme site on the PingPong platform). Each course provides more detailed instruction on how to communicate with teachers and fellow students. Most of the information exchanged is in digital formats and thus we all support sustainable world order.

You will find all information related to the course on the site: lectures, teaching aids, seminar materials, tasks and current tasks, timetables for residential periods, information on software and literature to be acquired, etc. The residential periods are devoted to face-to-face lectures, seminars, team work, visits to libraries and organizations working with digital collections and services.

Each course sets an examination task and provides information on the assessment criteria. You should receive information about the assessment results within three weeks after submission of the task as a rule. However, in case of delayed submission of examination tasks teachers will assess them at their convenience. In the case of failure, you have a right for re-submission of an examination task up to four times (see course plans).

Students are key persons in the programme. Their will to study is very important for progress. They should allocate appropriate time for studies (half time studies require approximately 20 hours of learning time a week). The wish to pursue the issues beyond their surface define the quality of study. As active actors in the programme the students are also asked to evaluate and shape the study process, the quality of teaching materials, and input of teachers. We appreciate that input very much and take it into account.

Questions

Questions about the program? Contact Elena Maceviciute, elena.maceviciute@hb.se
Questions about practical issues? Contact Christina Kaspersen, christina.kaspersen@hb.se
Questions about Ping Pong? Contact Carina Waldén, carina.walden@hb.se