Principles and practices of library operation and administration, and their study.
It emerged as a separate field of study in the second half of the 19th century. The first training program for librarians in the U.S. was established by Melvil Dewey in 1887. In the 20th century, library science was gradually subsumed under the more general field of information science . Today's graduate programs in library and information science are accredited by the American Library Association (founded 1876) and prepare students for professional positions in other areas of the information industry as well.