In 1953, when Dr. Arthur Sampley moved to his new position as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. David A. Webb was named Director of Libraries and of the Department of Library Service. New courses were added in advanced cataloging and classification and in library organization. The course in bookbinding became a history of books and printing. During the mid-1950s, the primary aim of the Department was to provide prospective librarians in all fields with basic professional education. Increased attention, however, was given to the role of the post-baccalaureate program as the basic preparation for librarians, and in 1963, a new Master of Library Science degree was instituted, superseding the former fifth-year B.S. in L.S. degree. Dr. Webb subsequently guided the Department through the review and accreditation of the master’s program by the American Library Association in 1965.

By the early 1960s, a number of new courses had been added: public library administration; reference materials in the humanities, the social sciences, and the sciences (3 courses); government publications; technical services; history of libraries and librarianship; an advanced course in children’s reading interests; a general library administration course; and seminar in trends and problems. When Dr. David Webb relinquished his dual directorship in 1967 to devote full time to the office of Director of Libraries, Dr. C. Glenn Sparks succeeded him as Director of the Department.

During Dr. Glenn Sparks’ years as Director (1967-1972), the Federation of North Texas Area Universities was established. The post-master’s Certificate of Advanced Study was introduced in 1968, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree, authorized in 1967, was instituted the next year in formal cooperation with the School of Library Science at Texas Woman’s University. To help meet the needs of new certificate and degree offerings, and to keep pace with changing times, new courses were added in research methods, information storage and retrieval, library systems design, serial publications, library buildings and equipment, library systems and networks, international librarianship, seminars in reader and technical services, and advanced directed study and dissertation research. Additional courses were cross-listed with the Texas Woman’s University School of Library and Information Science. At the same time, the Department of Library Science was reorganized and established as the School of Library and Information Sciences with Dr. Sparks as Dean. The mission of the School was redefined to focus on professional programs at the graduate level, and in 1970 the undergraduate major was discontinued.