These are the technical skills I consider necessary for entering master's students to have in order to succeed in a contemporary Library & Informaton Science program:

• Research Skills
  • Use a variety of OPACs and bibliographic databases
    • Be able to navigate through the help screens of OPACs and bibliographic databaes
    • Determine what is available full text, abstract, or citation only.
    • In short: given a citation, find the material online. Given a topic, identify an appropriate database and find basic citations for the given topic.
• PC skills
  • Be able to articulate the difference between hardware and software.
  • Be able to articulate whether a given file is on your computer versus on the network.
  • Be able to download and install a web browser and software updates.
  • Be able to open a text file that is not associated with an application.
  • Create (or capture and edit) an image file
  • Create (or capture and edit) a text file
• Internet skills
  • Capture html files off the web
  • ftp
  • Send and receive e-mail attachments using at least 2 different methods (ie: Outlook and PINE)
  • Articulate how a web page is requested and transfered.
  • Same skill as above, different wording: describe the client/server model.
  • Articulate the difference between static html and any flavor of dynamic web application