By Moriah Thomas

On Monday, April 13, KU officially declared it will be accepting freshman for the library science program in the fall 2015 semester. This is great news for the department after actions attempting to close the department were made by the past provost, Dr. James Mackin. However, the fall will be the last semester that the program will be accepting students. After they graduate, the undergraduate program will be totally removed from the university. The master’s program, however, will

remain active.

Although library science is one of the academic departments with low enrollment, nearly every graduate of the program has found immediate job placement. Upon hearing of 20 prospective students and seven already accepted, the department is ecstatic about the coming semester.

Clarion recently shut down its library science program, leaving KU the last university in Pennsylvania to offer the degree. Just this year, a minor was introduced and the master’s program for the department has grown substantially.

Though the fraternity Alpha Beta Alpha is selective to library science majors, the members take great initiative to get involved with the community. ABA recently held a book swap with the Sorority ESA on April 11. This year is its first time participating in the Kutztown Community Block Party, which was held Saturday, April 18.

Rachel Marie Smith is a library science major in her sophomore year and a member of Alpha Beta Alpha.

“It is hard to involve others because ABA is not open to everyone. These events are a great way to branch out,” said Smith. “The student body deserves to know that we are important to society.”

The acting provost, Dr. Anne E. Zayaitz, former dean of liberal arts and sciences, had attended meetings leading up to the decision to keep the program.

The eboard members have been selected as follows: Gwen Barrows for president, Anne Bonnefoi as VP, Andrea Dow for treasurer, Morgan Rafel for secretary and Sarah Roeske for historian.

Editor’s note: The first floor of books in the Rohrbach Library was not donated by the department, as mentioned in the April 23 issue of The Keystone. The Library Science Collection on the ground floor was overseen by the Library Science Department when it was located in a separate part of Rohrbach, but most of the books were purchased with library funds.