Environmental Studies was dropped, and Sociology replaced by Knowledge, Society and Libraries. Statistics was by now being taught with a librarianship bias by members of the Department's own staff, not serviced by the Department of Sociology. This new programme began in September 1984. The Polytechnic was elevated to university status in 1992, and this has led to changes in the Department's priorities. Research has become a more urgent demand, and the Department has risen to the challenge, while striving to maintain good standards in teaching.
Staff changes For many years the staff of the department had a permanent look.
Fortunately this changed. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw a series of retirements and the recruitment of a number of young, and mostly female, members of staff. These not only lowered the mean age of the staff dramatically, but brought with them a refreshing breath of enthusiasm and new ideas. The range of courses offered by the Department have shown awareness of the needs of the profession and the changing realities of the world of information. An M.Sc. in Information Management was introduced in 1992 and the PG diploma course was changed to permit students to extend their studies by writing a dissertation, to gain an M.A. degree.