In 1926, LSU began offering summer courses in library science, and in 1932 the Board of Supervisors established the Graduate School of Library Science. The name was changed to the School of Library & Information Science in 1981 and to the School of Information Studies (SIS) in 2023.

Through 1958, the Bachelor of Science in Library Science degree was awarded to 725 students. The Master of Science program began in 1951, the Master of Library Science in 1973, and the Master of Library & Information Science in the fall of 1986.

The program of study in library and information science has been continuously accredited by the appropriate accrediting authority throughout its history. The MLIS program at LSU is the only American Library Association (ALA) in Louisiana and has been continuously accredited since 1931.

In 2012, SIS joined with the School of Education, the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Social Work, and the K-12 University Laboratory School to form the College of Human Sciences & Education.

 

In 2020, SIS became an Associate Member of the iSchools Organization. The iSchools Organization seeks to maximize the visibility and influence of its member schools, and their interdisciplinary approaches to harnessing the power of information and technology, and maximizing the potential of humans. We envision a future in which the iSchool Movement has spread around the world, and the information field is widely recognized for creating innovative systems and designing information solutions that benefit individuals, organizations, and society. iSchool graduates will fill the personnel and leadership needs of organizations of all types and sizes; and our areas of research and inquiry will attract strong support and have profound impacts on society and on the formulation of policy from local to international levels.