Pratt Institute School of Information and Library Science

School of Information

Pratt Manhattan Center
Type	Private
Established	1890
Dean	Anthony Cocciolo (interim)
Students	184 students
Location	New York City, New York, United States
Campus	Urban
Colors	Black and cadmium yellow
Website	https://www.pratt.edu/academics/information/

Pratt Institute School of Information (SI), previously School of Information and Library Science (SILS), administers the oldest Library and Information Science program in North America. It was created in Brooklyn in 1890 shortly after Melvil Dewey created such a program at Columbia University in 1887. Pratt School of Information is one of the six schools of Pratt Institute. Based in Manhattan, the school administers a master of information and library science degree program that has been accredited by the American Library Association since the 1924/1925 academic year.

Charles Pratt, founder of Pratt Institute, recognized the need for a library that served both the faculty and students of the Institute as well as Brooklyn residents. He also recognized the need to have a facility for training of library staff. In June 1890, Pratt Institute offered courses in cataloging and library economics. In 1895, a regular faculty, chosen for its aptitude in teaching, was organized.Mary Wright Plummer, who was a graduate of Melvil Dewey’s class of 1888 from Columbia University, led it. In 1896, the Library School relocated to Pratt's new library building designed by William Tubby, which continues to act as Pratt Institute’s primary library.

Under Plummer's leadership, the school enacted a stiff entrance exam and exams in German and French. The entering class was consistently around 25 students. In 1911 when Plummer left to direct the Training School at New York Public Library, Josephine Adams Rathbone was appointed vice-director. Both Plummer and Rathbone were elected as presidents of the American Library Association.