School of Library and Information Science

The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) is a national leader with top-rated faculty, prestigious alumnae/i, and great locations in Boston and SLIS West (Greenfield and Amherst, Massachusetts). 

A powerful opportunity to educate, inform, and serve the communities in which we live.

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Our students can complete the Master's of Library and Information Science degree entirely online. Our Archives Management, Cultural Heritage Informatics, Information Science and Technology, and Libraries and Librarianship concentrations are offered entirely online, or in blended online and face-to-face format. The School Library Teacher concentration is offered at our Boston or SLIS West location face-to-face.

Ranked among the best

5 U.S. News & World Report Badges for Best Grad Schools in Library & Information Studies: general, archives, services for children and youth, school library media, and digital librarianship

Simmons University is one of U.S. News and World Report’s top ranking schools of library and information science in the nation.

In the School of Library and Information Science, you'll have direct and frequent access to faculty who pride themselves on being personal mentors. You'll work closely with classmates in an engaging, supportive classroom environment, be it face-to-face or through our innovative online programs.

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About

Our school is big in many ways — a national leader with top-rated faculty, prestigious alumni, and great locations in Boston, Greenfield, and Amherst, Massachusetts, as well as programs offered online.

Learn More about SLIS

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Careers

For more than 100 years, our graduates have been pioneers in their profession, recognized for their amazing achievements and remarkable careers, throughout New England, across the country, and around the world.

Careers

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Alumnae/i

Our alums are innovators, challengers of the status quo, and champions of the right to information. Our alumnae/i are our most powerful ambassadors in the world of Library and Information Science.

Alumnae/i

Library and Information Science in the News

Panel Presenters Timothy Dolan, Cyndee Landrum, Maria McCauley, Sandra Hirsh, Alexia Hudson-Ward, and Jerome Offord

Allen Smith Visiting Scholar Reflects on the Future of Libraries

Dr. Sandra Hirsh, Associate Dean for Academics in the College of Information, Data and Society at San José State University, visited Simmons as a 2024 recipient of the Allen Smith Visiting Scholars Fellowship. She kicked off her week as visiting scholar by delivering an opening keynote presentation, “Future-Ready Libraries: A Glimpse Into 2035.”


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Simmons School of Library and Information Science Receives National Grant for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Education

Simmons School of Library and Information Science Dean Sanda Erdelez and Professor and Associate Dean Laura Saunders have been awarded a three-year Institute of Museum and Library Services National Leadership Grant of $249,510 to “implement a nationwide system to develop, audit, and share library and information science courses with an equity, diversity, and inclusion focus.”


A collage of three new faculty members in the Simmons School of Library and Information Science

Simmons University’s School of Library and Information Science Welcomes Three New Faculty Members

Simmons University’s School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) welcomes three new faculty members this Fall, with expertise in archives management, school librarianship, and public librarianship for children and teens.


An aerial view of Greenfield Community College

Simmons University Brings Graduate Program to Greenfield Community College

Simmons University School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) has relocated the SLIS West program — a part-time master of science in Library and Information Science degree program in Western Massachusetts — from Mount Holyoke College to the campus of Greenfield Community College (GCC), as of Fall 2024.


A section of the Voynich Manuscript

SLIS Adjunct Interviewed in The Atlantic as a “prominent medievalist”

School of Library and Information Science Adjunct Lisa Fagin Davis was interviewed in The Atlantic for her work interpreting the 500-year-old Voynich Manuscript.


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SLIS Professor Wins LIS Education Award

Professor and Associate Dean of SLIS Laura Saunders has been selected the 2024 Winner of the Award for Professional Contribution to Library and Information Science Education granted annually by the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE).


Three shelves full of books in the Simmons University library

SLIS Student and Alumni Win Law Library Internship

School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) alum Mary Hogan l’85MS and SLIS student Hannah Gershone have been selected for the Summer 2024 Creative Digital Projects Internship at the Law Library of Congress.


Sage Loyema Innerarity ’25MS

SLIS Student Receives Scholarship from the Society of American Archivists

Sage Loyema Innerarity ’25MS is the 2024 recipient of the Mosaic Scholarship, offered by the Society of American Archivists (SAA) and awarded to promising students in the Archives field who demonstrate a commitment to advancing diversity within the profession.


Additional Information


Student Placement

SLIS distributes the Library Journal's "Placements and Salaries" Survey to graduates of the LIS master's of science program on a rolling basis as each class — January, May, and August — completes the program.

Retention

On average, 89% of students entering the MS (LIS) degree program between AY 2014 and AY 2021 continued their programs of study after their first year at SLIS.

Assessment & Accreditation

The Simmons School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) is proud to have a degree in Library and Information Science accredited by the American Library Association (ALA).

Upcoming School of Library and Information Science Events

Greenfield Community College

SLIS West Campus: Library and Information Science Info Session

  • Dec 14, 2024
  • 10:30 am to 12:00 pm
  • SLIS West Campus - Greenfield Community College, Greenfield, MA

Contact Us

School of Library and Information Science

The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) is a national leader with top-rated faculty, prestigious alumnae/i, and great locations in Boston and SLIS West (Greenfield, MA and Amherst, MA).

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