San José State University, Special Collections and Archives

Organizational History

In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San José, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized $200,000 to construct a new building on the same site. Completed in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum changes, Minns' Normal School is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations, and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.

The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at San José State University is the largest accredited library and information science program in the world. The school first began offering a graduate degree in Library Science in 1954. Accredited by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1969 and again in June 2007, it is the only ALA accredited program in the 23-campus California State University system.

The SLIS curriculum has expanded significantly over the past 50 years and the school prides itself on pioneering new ways to educate information professionals, such as fostering global partnerships, creating leadership programs, preparing students to serve diverse communities, embedding technology into their programs, offering a wide range of internships, and building a fully online degree program. The programs include a Gateway Ph.D. Program with Queensland University, an Executive MLIS program, a Master's Degree in Archives and Records Administration (MARA), and standard programs that provide training in public, school, academic, and special libraries, as well as non-traditional settings.

From the guide to the San José State University School of Library and Information Science Records, 1935-2009, 1944-1971, (San José State University. Library.)