Support your local library...school!

Shock and dismay best describes the St. Kate's community reaction in January upon hearing the decision for continuing the College of St. Catherine's application for accreditation by the American Library Association Committee on Accreditation. The continuance means that current students will not be able to graduate with an accredited MLIS graduate degree until the ALA through the COA gives approval to the program. A Petition for Accreditation wiki was started by a graduate of the program. A Facebook group is also going strong.

On April 17th, St. Kate's President Andrea Lee, IHM leads a team from the library school to meet with the ALA's Committee on Accreditation. Both campus libraries have employed library students over the years and have been impressed with the caliber of the students.

"St. Kate's library students are much better prepared by this library school than I was by the University of Minnesota library school." Jim Newsome, Head of Public Services, St. Kate's library. 3/27/09

The library school has effectively communicated the seriousness of the situation to the students through meetings and emails. The students have worked hard to respectfully and forcefully fight the accreditation continuance. Find out about the St. Kate's committee on accreditation.

~Kate Burke, temporary Reference Librarian, St. Paul Campus