GREENFIELD — Greenfield Community College is hosting its first-ever graduate program after the Simmons University School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) moved its part-time Library and Information Science master’s degree program to GCC this semester.

The SLIS West master’s program, which Simmons has operated in western Massachusetts for about 22 years, sees approximately 75 students per year, according to SLIS Dean Sanda Erdelez.

Erdelez said the program’s shift to Greenfield would help make the library sciences program more accessible and affordable to rural Massachusetts residents.

“We were looking into growth opportunities and there are some strong desires from our university to make our program more accessible and to make graduate education more affordable,” Erdelez explained. “We feel that Greenfield Community College has really wonderful facilities, beautiful classes and a great library where many of our alumni work. … It just seemed like a great space to grow.”

In August, Gov. Maura Healey signed the state’s fiscal year 2025 budget, which set aside $117.5 million to reimburse community colleges statewide for the tuition and fees of their students.

Although SLIS West is a graduate program, requiring applicants to have already earned their bachelor’s degrees, Erdelez said Simmons University is working to develop an accelerated program in which students can earn their 36 required credits in two academic years, rather than three.

“Once we establish this accelerated program, it will mean that students will be able to pay less in tuition for their master’s degree and bachelor’s degree tuition because it speeds up their graduation,” Erdelez said. “Most of our students in SLIS West are commuting students — they live at home and on Saturday and Thursday evening, they get in the car and they come to take classes. That saves them substantial money than if they were to move to Boston and try to pay rent.”

The program, which began weeks ago at the start of GCC’s fall semester, features four to five in-person classes of approximately 15 students, along with remote classes.

“GCC is ecstatic to be hosting Franklin County’s only graduate program,” GCC President Michelle Schutt said in a statement. “This is just another example of the elevating power of education within our community.”

Additionally, GCC will generate an annual $12,000 in rental income from housing the program, according to Karen Phillips, GCC’s vice president of administration and finance.

Liza Harrington, director of the Nahman-Watson Library at GCC, said she is excited to have the Library and Information Science master’s degree program at GCC.

“I think it’s just great to have a graduate program located at GCC. I think it helps showcase to the state and to the region the quality of the education that you can get here,” Harrington said. “This is the first master’s degree that you can get … located in Franklin County. [It shows] that there’s a trust in what we do and the quality of our program here.”

Previously, Simmons University had a satellite campus located at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley. But to Harrington, GCC’s location, closer to Vermont and New Hampshire, makes it an even more accessible site.

Harrington believes the move doesn’t just benefit GCC, but the region as a whole. Simmons University, located in Boston, is among only two Library and Information Science graduate programs in New England, the other of which is also located in the eastern part of the region. For prospective students living in Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut, this can create barriers.

“I’m so excited for all of the librarians, in all of the little libraries that serve the same people that we serve here at GCC, [who] will be able to talk about GCC and advertise GCC to their patrons,” Harrington said. “It’s great to get people here. It can be really, really scary and intimidating to come to college. … These librarians [will] have trusting relationships with their patrons and can say, ‘Hey, have you thought about GCC?’ And [the patrons] might hear it differently knowing that that person has experience. GCC opens so many doors for folks economically, but also intellectually.”

Harrington is also working with Simmons University to create a fellowship program where two graduate students will work at the Nahman-Watson Library for the duration of their education. She’s hopeful this will enable the library to expand its hours to better meet the needs of the population it serves.

Erdelez said the program, now anchored in Greenfield, could possibly expand to include additional fellowship and internship opportunities for students at the Greenfield Public Library. Currently, four SLIS alumnae work at the GCC library, including Harrington, and the Greenfield Public Library is led by Director Anna Bognolo, a SLIS graduate.

“We really look forward to being connected to Greenfield as a community,” Erdelez said. “We’re hoping to bring some new experiences and opportunities to this city.”

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Freelancer Ada Denenfeld Kelly contributed reporting.