University of Michigan. School of Information

See the historical sketch in the finding aid for School of Information (University of Michigan) Records.

From the guide to the School of Information (University of Michigan) publications, 1916-2006, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)

The first formal program in library education at the University of Michigan began in 1909, when the University Librarian, Theodore Koch, began a summer program in "library methods." In 1918, Koch's successor, William Warner Bishop raised the entrance requirement for this summer program to a minimum of thirty hours of college credit.

In the spring of 1926, the Regents of the university authorized the creation of the Department of Library Science with Bishop as its chairman. Two degrees were offered: (1) a Bachelor of Arts, conferred after one year of work; and (2) a Master of Arts, conferred after two years of work. In 1930 a bachelor's degree was required for admission to the program.

Bishop retired from the department chairmanship in 1940 and was succeeded by Rudolph Gjelsness. In 1948, Gjelsness led a major curriculum revision which eliminated the bachelor's degree. Hereafter, the master's degree would be awarded after two semesters and one summer of work beyond the bachelor's degree. A doctoral program was also begun.

In 1964, Gjelsness reached the mandatory retirement age and was succeeded by Wallace J. Bonk. Bonk suffered a heart attack in 1967 and resigned the chairmanship to return to teaching. Professor Russell E. Bidlack, who had been a member of the faculty since 1950, was named acting chairman.

In November 1967, a panel of library leaders, which had been invited to visit and examine the department, recommended that the department be made a separate school. On October 18, 1968, the Regents approved the request and the change became effective on July 1, 1969.

Bidlack was named the school's first dean, a position which he held until his retirement in 1984. University Librarian Richard M. Dougherty became interim dean pending the arrival of Robert M. Warner as dean in April 1985. Warner came to the school after serving as Archivist of the United States. Under Warner, the school began to grow and change. The first visible sign of this came with the Regent's approval of the school's name change. As of July 1986, the School of Library Science officially became known as the School of Information and Library Studies. The name change reflected a changing emphasis in the curriculum and the changing nature of the field of librarianship through the use of computers and electronic media.

Warner left the deanship in 1992 to resume teaching at the school. A new dean search brought Daniel E. Atkins, an engineer and computer scientist, to the school. In 1996 the school's name was again changed, this time to the School of Information. This change reflected an even greater shift away from traditional library studies and towards the use of new information technologies. In September 1998 Atkins resigned as Dean. Gary Olson served as Acting Dean until December 1999, when John L. King assumed the deanship.

• 1877 - 1905 : Raymond Cazallis Davis
• 1905 - 1915 : Theodore Wesley Koch
• 1915 - 1941 : William Warner Bishop

• 1926 - 1940 : William Warner Bishop
• 1940 - 1964 : Rudolph Hjalmar Gjelsness
• 1964 - 1967 : Wallace John Bonk
• 1967 - 1969 : Russell Eugene Bidlack (Acting)

• 1969 - 1984 : Russell Eugene Bidlack
• 1984 - 1985 : Richard Martin Dougherty (Interim)
• 1985 - 1992 : Robert Mark Warner
• 1992 - 1998 : Daniel Ewell Atkins, III
• 1998 - 1999 : Gary M. Olson (Acting)
• 2000 - : John L. King

From the guide to the School of Information (University of Michigan)records, 1904-2012, 1926-1994, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)