Name Change: San Jose State School of Library and Information Science is Now the SJSU Information Program
The word library was removed from the name of the program as of today. As the statement below points out the name change was approved by the San Jose State University Provost in January of this year.
From an SJSU Information Program Announcement:
As of August 1, 2014, the SJSU School of Library and Information Science will be known as the SJSU School of Information.
“We are excited to introduce a new name for the school that is more inclusive of all our educational programs and reflects the diverse career opportunities our graduates will have in the information professions,” said Dr. Sandra Hirsh, director of the SJSU School of Information.
While the school’s name is changing, the names of graduate degrees offered by the school are not changing. The SJSU School of Information continues to offer a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science (MLIS) and a Master’s degree in Archives and Records Administration (MARA).
“Although the word ‘library’ no longer appears in the school’s name, librarianship remains an integral part of our school’s mission,” said Hirsh. Indeed, the school’s MLIS degree recently received full reaccreditation through 2021 from the American Library Association, and many MLIS program graduates pursue careers in libraries and other types of information centers.
The SJSU School of Information began offering a Master’s degree in Library Science in 1954, and the degree name was updated to an MLIS in 1994 to better reflect the breadth and depth of courses offered. In 2008, the school added the MARA program, its second graduate degree program. The school also offers the San José Gateway PhD program in partnership with Queensland University of Technology.
The SJSU School of Information’s full-time faculty members discussed options for a new school name and voted on the name change during a May 2013 faculty retreat. In fall 2013, SJSU committees reviewed the name change request, which was officially approved by the SJSU provost in January 2014. The new school name is being introduced in August, coinciding with the start of the 2014/2015 academic year.
See Also: The announcement points out that the SJSU Information School recently was reaccredited by ALA. Here’s the slide presentation (265 slides; PDF) that the SJSU team shared (March 2014) with the ALA Committee on Accreditation.
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About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.