University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. School of Information and Library Science

Library science was first offered in the university's summer school shortly after the turn of the century. In 1931, the School of Library Science was established to offer a baccalaureate program in librarianship. It was the second such school in the Southeast. In 1951 a master's degree program was established. In 1987 its name changed to School of Information and Library Science.

From the description of Records of the School of Information and Library Science, 1924-1993. WorldCat record id: 26707570

Although Louis Round Wilson began teaching summer courses in library science at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill in 1904, the School of Library Science did not open its doors until 17 September 1931. Its first director was Dr. Wilson, who had at that point been the university librarian for thirty years. The school was originally funded by a $100,000 Carnegie Corporation grant, and during that first fall in 1931, thirty-seven students took courses from five faculty members of the school. For many of the early years of the School of Library Science, only an undergraduate degree in Library Science was offered. Dr. Wilson carried the school through its first full accreditation by the American Library Association (ALA) in December 1934, before Dr. Susan Grey Akers took over the directorship in 1935.

Dr. Akers had earned her doctorate in library science from the University of Chicago in 1932, making her the fourth person and the second woman in the nation to receive this doctoral degree. Dr. Akers served as the school's director for seven years before her title changed to dean in 1942. Upon the acquisition of this new title, Dr. Akers became the first woman to hold an academic deanship at the University of North Carolina. Under Dr. Akers's leadership, the bachelor of arts degree that was offered by the school became a bachelor of science degree in library science in 1941.

In March 1951, the university approved the creation of the master of science in library science program, and the first MSLS degrees were awarded in 1953. In 1955 the bachelor of science program was abolished. In September 1970, the School moved to Manning Hall; and in November 1972, the first issue of the School of Library Science newsletter, News from Chapel Hill, was published. In 1980 the first Ph.D. from the School of Library Science was awarded to JoAnn Hardison Bell. In 1987 the faculty of the school voted to include information science in the school's name, and in 1988 the name officially became School of Information and Library Science (SILS). The information and library science program continued to expand its degree offerings and began offering an undergraduate minor in information systems in 1997.

SILS had always held high rankings in most academic evaluations; but in 1999, U.S. News and World Report selected it as the top program in the country, a ranking the school has held more often than not since that year. In 2001 the first dual-degree programs were announced, a master's program with the Kenan-Flagler Business School and another with the School of Public Health. In 2003 the bachelor of science degree was revived, and the first two certificate programs were initiated.

Since its creation in 1931, the School of Information and Library Science has graduated more than 4,000 librarians who have gone on to serve in library capacities throughout the world. The goal of the school continues to be to conduct inquiry devoted to information generation and use to prepare reflective, adaptive information professionals for action in the present and the future, and to transfer to them an uncompromising advocacy for knowledge (from its mission statement).

Individuals who have served as directores and deans of the school are listed below.

• 1931 - 1932 : Louis Round Wilson
• 1932 - 1935 : Susan Grey Akers, Acting Director
• 1935 - 1942 : Susan Grey Akers

• 1942 - 1954 : Susan Grey Akers
• 1954 - 1960 : Lucile Kelling Henderson
• 1960 - 1964 : Carlyle J. Frarey, Acting Dean
• 1964 - 1967 : Margaret E. Kalp, Acting Dean
• 1967 - 1970 : Walter A. Sedelow, Jr.
• 1970 - 1971 : Raymond L. Carpenter, Jr., Acting Dean
• 1972 - 1985 : Edward G. Holley
• 1985 - 1990 : Evelyn H. Daniel
• 1990 - 1998 : Barbara B. Moran
• 1999 - 2004 : Joanne Gard Marshall
• 2004 - 2009 : José-Marie Griffiths

From the guide to the School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Records, 1924-1993, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives.)