Librarianship (GSL) Program Records

In 1930, University of Denver’s Board of Trusties had a unanimous vote to establish a School of Library Science with the recommendation to follow the guidelines of the American Library Association (ALA). ALA budgeted $5,000 for the 1930-31 academic school year to help start the program with a reoccurring budget of $10,000 for the following three academic years to be used for the program. In September of 1931, the school opened.

In 1947, the School of Librarianship Graduate Program was established and the school officially offered a Master of Arts degree for Library Science. This was not a new degree, but rather a change in requirements. In 1985, the school shut down per a decision made in 1984 to try and help with a debt issue at the University, but it was chosen to reopen upon a unanimous vote in January of 1995. In 1996, the school partnered with Lucent Technologies to offer three-tiered certificates in the field of telecommunications that students could enroll in classes to obtain . ALA accreditation was sought after from the moment the school reopened and was achieved in the summer of 2004. When DU received this accreditation, it was the first time in the past 28 years for a new school to gain accreditation.

Currently, DU offers a two-year program through Morgridge College where students can pursue a Masters in Library and Information Sciences. There are a couple different specialties students can choose from if they wish.