Celebrating 100 Years
Why are libraries important?
“To preserve the heritage of humanity, provide tools for inspiration, self renewal, independence and self determination. Libraries serve as a source of knowledge, scholarship and wisdom that surpasses limitations of the past and the future”. Dr. Vartan Gregorian summed up the importance of libraries in his words expressed at the University of Pittsburgh Information Sciences celebration “Celebrate 100 Years of Education--Honoring the Past Shaping the Future”, May 31, 2001, held at the Carnegie Lecture Hall.
Dr. Gregorian, renowned speaker, educator and current president of the Carnegie Corporation commemorated the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences 100 year progress from the early days at the Carnegie Library to its present location on Bellefield Avenue. The Carnegie Library was a fitting location for the celebration, reaffirming the schools connection to Andrew Carnegie and his desire to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.”
The School of Information Sciences traces its roots to 1901 when Francis Jenkins Olcott started the first Training School for Children’s Librarians. As the first library school devoted solely to teaching children’s librarians it set national and international precedent. Thirteen students from Pittsburgh and around the country were enrolled; a few years later the school welcomed the first international student from Norway.
In 1919 the Carnegie Library School began an academic affiliation with the Carnegie Institute and the University of Pittsburgh. In 1930 the school transferred to Carnegie Institute and in 1961 the school moved to the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning with 134 students. Five years later, in 1966, the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences moved to its present location on Bellefield Avenue.
Today the University of Pittsburgh School of Information Sciences ranks third overall among graduate programs in the country. Gregorian’s lecture paid tribute to the educators, librarians, and information specialists who are working hard “to build a global society of information knowledge, public policy and technology.”
“Honoring the Past Shaping the Future” event was part of a yearlong celebration; special alumni events are scheduled at professional conferences around the country throughout the year. A final celebration will be held at the 2002 conference of the Association for Library and Information Science Education. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said “The reward of a job well done is having done it”. Congratulations to the School of Information Sciences.
Please check The Board for additional information on upcoming Centennial
events.
Publication of the Department of Library & Information
Science
University of Pittsburgh
135 N. Bellefield Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Last updated March 26, 2001