University of Calcutta : Department of Library and Information Science

In 1943 the Inter University Board of India resolved that only graduates of any stream would be eligible for admission to the librarianship courses conducted by the Indian Universities. About the same time a library sub-committee was formed by the University of Calcutta. On August 17, 1944 the Syndicate of the University considered the resolutions of the sub-committee to the effect that “The University will institute a Diploma Course in Librarianship every year. The course including the examination will extend over one year beginning in the month of January”. Admission to the course was open to the graduates only and the intake was limited to 15 students only. A Librarianship Training Committee was to be appointed every year to run the course and there was no separate department. The arrangement was called the Librarianship Training Department placed with the faculty of Arts and was under the administrative control of the Library Department (i. e. the University Librarian). The first Dip. Lib. Training started in January, 1945. In 1959 the Training Department was separated from the Library Department. A separated and independent Faculty for Post-Graduate Studies in Library Science was created and the ‘Department of Library Science’ was placed under it. From the 1969-70 session the ‘Diploma’ was replaced by Post Graduate degree of Bachelor of library Science (B. Lib. Sc.). In 1998 the Department has been renamed as the Department of Library & Information Science and the course is being called as Bachelor of Library & Information Science (BLIS). The Department is presently under the Faculty of Post-Graduate studies in Journalism, Education and Library & Information Science. As per the UGC Notification for Specification of Degrees (No. F. 5-1/2013 (CPP-II, Gazetted in The gazette of India, July 5, 2014) from the session 2016-17 the extended form of the nomenclature of the bachelor degree course in library and information science is Bachelor of library & Information Sciences and the abbreviated form of the course is B. Lib. I. Sc.