{"id":136610,"date":"2026-01-16T19:57:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/136610\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T19:57:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T19:57:25","slug":"lbcc-will-soon-offer-its-first-bachelors-degree-starting-with-library-sciences-long-beach-post-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/136610\/","title":{"rendered":"LBCC will soon offer its first bachelor\u2019s degree, starting with library sciences \u2022 Long Beach Post News"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Jeanne Evangelista enrolled at Long Beach City College in 2018, she realized she wanted to become a librarian. But LBCC only offered a certificate or associate\u2019s degree in library and information sciences, so Evangelista had to pursue further education elsewhere to realize her career goals.<\/p>\n

That may change with Long Beach City College\u2019s announcement of its first four-year degree, a bachelor of science in library and information science, set to launch in fall 2027 and fill an \u201ceducational vacuum\u201d in the field and region, LBCC Professor Colin Williams said. The program aims to prepare students to enter the workforce immediately as well as create an affordable path to librarianship.<\/p>\n

California offers the largest inventory of library certificate programs in the nation, according to the Association of College and Research Libraries. Yet there are no bachelor\u2019s programs in library science in the state; LBCC\u2019s will be the first.<\/p>\n

That void has forced students like Evangelista to pivot to other disciplines to complete their bachelor\u2019s degrees or leave the state to earn a bachelor\u2019s in library science.<\/p>\n

Even nationally, few such bachelor\u2019s programs exist, Williams said, as the library science field has shifted its focus to master\u2019s degrees, a requirement to become a librarian. Usually, an associate\u2019s degree is necessary to become a library technician.<\/p>\n

The dearth of bachelor\u2019s programs reflects a gap in library science training, not the utility of the degree, said Walter Butler, Director of Library and Information Services at Santa Monica College. Many library jobs still require bachelor\u2019s degrees, even if not in library science (reflecting the scarcity of those programs), which results in a library workforce without the specific training a bachelor\u2019s in library science could provide, Butler said. LBCC\u2019s program is \u201cgoing to strengthen the library profession,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The new program\u2019s course of study is designed to be responsive to the rapidly changing digital landscape and prepare students for career pathways in both traditional and non-traditional library settings, said Williams, curriculum chair of LBCC\u2019s library science program.<\/p>\n

The program will teach students about data, archives, catalogues, and digital tools and resources, including applications for large language models. Students will also need to develop the soft skills necessary to meet the diverse, growing needs of library patrons, Butler said.<\/p>\n

Legislation passed by Govs. Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom paved the way for California community colleges to offer bachelor\u2019s degrees. Yet, California State University campuses have blocked more than a dozen of these degrees, arguing they duplicate CSU programs, according to EdSource<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As part of the application to the California Community Colleges Chancellor\u2019s Office, Williams had to show the program does not compete with CSU or University of California offerings.<\/p>\n

Williams also had to demonstrate labor market demand (an analysis projected<\/a> nearly 600 unfilled library science jobs statewide, annually) as well as earning potential (library science job seekers with bachelor\u2019s degrees may earn $23,000 more<\/a> than those without).<\/p>\n

Critically, he had to show that students wanted the program. Of 101 LBCC library science students surveyed, 89% reported being very interested in a bachelor\u2019s degree program.<\/p>\n

Evangelista said she would have jumped at the opportunity to pursue a bachelor\u2019s at LBCC and save money. Instead, she transferred to Cal State Long Beach and majored in history, before undertaking her master\u2019s in library and information science at San Jose State University.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jeanne Evangelista, Public Art Associate, is at the Arts Council for Long Beach office working on a map of all the public art in Long Beach on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/p>\n

Now, Evangelista oversees LBCC library and information science interns at the Arts Council for Long Beach. Evangelista said her students, who help digitize art and documents, would benefit from archival and collections education, as well as skills they can apply outside of a traditional library setting.<\/p>\n

One of her interns, current LBCC library science student Marya Long, said she would have \u201cstuck with the associate\u2019s degree,\u201d even if the bachelor\u2019s were available. But she would take upper-level library science courses \u201ca la carte\u201d to strengthen her training.<\/p>\n

For Stephanie Pacheco, the affordability and flexibility of LBCC bachelor\u2019s program is a \u201chuge relief,\u201d she said. Pacheco had almost completed her bachelor\u2019s in theater when \u201cmy need to pay rent superseded my academic ambitions,\u201d she said. She earned her associate\u2019s at LBCC in 2019 and became a clerk at Mark Twain Library in Central Long Beach but put further education on hold. Now, \u201cfinally at a point\u201d of studying to become a librarian, she is considering LBCC\u2019s bachelor\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Lee Douglas, LBCC vice president of academic affairs, said the college plans to strengthen the hands-on training library students complete through internships, as well as explore partnerships with other institutions for further education, some of which are materializing.<\/p>\n

Anthony Chow, director of SJSU\u2019s School of Information, has proposed that credits earned through LBCC\u2019s bachelor\u2019s program count toward SJSU\u2019s master\u2019s in library science.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a long-standing controversy in the field about whether professional librarians need a master\u2019s degree, and the answer is yes,\u201d said Chow, who leads the California Library Association. A bachelor\u2019s shouldn\u2019t replace a master\u2019s in library science, because that would dilute salaries and expertise, Chow said. Rather, LBCC\u2019s program will create a pipeline for librarians and information experts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Jeanne Evangelista enrolled at Long Beach City College in 2018, she realized she wanted to become a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":136611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-136610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-long-beach","9":"tag-long-beach-headlines","10":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}