The Department of Information Studies at the University of Zululand (formerly known as the Department of Library and Information Science) was founded in 1970 following the introduction of a four-year Bachelor of Library Science(BLIS) degree. An Honours degree in Library Science was introduced in 1973(BLIS-Hon), followed by a Postgraduate Diploma in Library Science(PGDLIS) in 1978 and a Master’s degree in Library Science in 1984(MIS). In the late eighties, a Postgraduate Diploma in School Librarianship(PGDSL) was introduced. In June 1997, the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Library and Information Science) was introduced, and in 2000 a Bachelor of Arts in Information Science(BA-IS) was introduced to accommodate students interested in ICT intensive 3yr LIS qualification programmes.
The student enrolment figures for the courses/ modules offered by the department have steadily grown. The department has produced 249 graduates from the year 2000 to 2009(eg BA(IS) -94,BLIS-87,PGDLIS-18,PGDSL-13,BLIS(Hon)-21,MIS -8,PhD-8). In 2011, over 410 students were registered in the department . The majority of students (240) enrolled for a Postgraduate Diploma in School Librarianship(PGDSL) which is offered to qualified school teachers who are interested in a school librarianship career for school library development in South Africa.
