Library schools are institutions where one learns how to become a professional librarian. It surprises many to learn that library science is a
master’s degree program. To obtain a job as a professional librarian in the United States, in almost every case you must hold a master’s degree from a
library science program
accredited by the
American Library Association. Mundane tasks like checking out books and shelving are usually performed by non-professional or para-professional staff, but those responsible for acquisitions, cataloging, reference, and administration are professional master’s degree holding librarians
Library science programs are often coupled with programs in
information science, a field which is more oriented towards theory and technology and one which no one seems to be able to define adequately. An unfortunate side effect of this is that many library schools are dropping or de-emphasizing the term "library", feeling that it is antiquated and carries negative connotations, in favor of the vaguer and more technologically oriented "information science".
One of the reasons
Melvil Dewey is revered as a library pioneer is for founding the world’s first library school, the School of Library Economy at
Columbia University in
1887. After a spat with Columbia’s Board of Trustees, Dewey took his school to the
University at Albany, where it exists today as the School of Information Science and Policy.
The following is the list of every ALA accredited library and information science program in the United States and Canada. Schools offering a Ph.D. in either of those fields are noted with an asterisk (*). In parenthesis are the names of noders who are or have been students in the library science program at that particular school. If you wish to be added to this list, please let me know.
United States
Alabama
University of Alabama*
Arizona
University of Arizona*
California
San Jose State University
University of California, Los Angeles*
Connecticut
Southern Connecticut State University
District of Columbia
Catholic University of America
Florida
Florida State University*
University of South Florida (
Gamaliel,
Segnbora-t,
Sylvar)
Georgia
Clark Atlanta University
Hawaii
University of Hawaii*
Illinois
Dominican University
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign*
Indiana
Indiana University*
Iowa
University of Iowa
Kansas
Emporia State University*
Kentucky
University of Kentucky*
Louisiana
Louisiana State University
Maryland
University of Maryland
Massachusetts
Simmons College
Michigan
University of Michigan
Wayne State University
Mississippi
University of Southern Mississippi
Missouri
University of Missouri-Columbia
New Jersey
Rutgers University*
New York
Long Island University*
Pratt Institute
Queens College
St. John's University
Syracuse University*
University of Albany*
University at Buffalo*
North Carolina
North Carolina Central University
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill*
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Ohio
Kent State University
Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
Clarion University of Pennsylvania
Drexel University* (
analander)
University of Pittsburgh*
Puerto Rico
University of Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
University of Rhode Island
South Carolina
University of South Carolina
Tennessee
University of Tennessee*
Texas
Texas Woman's University*
University of North Texas*
University of Texas at Austin*
Washington
University of Washington*
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin-Madison*
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee*
Canada
Alberta
University of Alberta
British Columbia
University of British Columbia
Nova Scotia
Dalhousie University
Ontario
University of Toronto*
University of Western Ontario
Quebec
McGill University* (
legbagede)
Université de Montréal*