Supervised fieldwork in approved libraries and other information units undertaken during the long vacations, form an integral part of both the undergraduate and the postgraduate programmes. Satisfactory completion of each programme is dependent on the satisfactory completion of the fieldwork assignment. Systematic evaluation reports are required from the students and performance reports are requested from the supervising library authorities. Degrees are awarded only after fieldwork has been satisfactorily completed.

Undergraduates should complete a total of twelve weeks fieldwork: that is, 6 weeks, at the end of the first and second years. Postgraduates should complete three months as a single assignment at the end of their first two semesters. Regulations for particular cases outside these norms exist.

The Library School does not normally assist students financially during this period of practical training. Libraries are not required to pay stipends because of financial constraints, however, a few may do so on their own initiative. Students should therefore budget for all costs consequent on fieldwork placements, in the calculation of their University expenses.

For field attachments, students are placed in organised libraries and supervised by professionals. Such placements are arranged by the Department and should give students as wide a range of experience as is possible, having regard to the student's past experience, if any, and his/her stated areas of interest and the availability of appropriate openings in selected institutions.

Students are encouraged to gain experience in the West Indies and also in countries overseas, but non-Caribbean placement opportunities are very limited. Recommendations for overseas attachments will be made by the Department, bearing in mind past experience, maturity, academic performance and how much the student is likely to benefit. Such placements can only be made on the basis of the availability of funds, provided privately by students or as a result of scholarship awards. First year students (undergraduates) are normally not eligible for non-Caribbean attachments as the introductory courses in Library and Information Studies do not equip them to take full advantage of this new learning experience. Such attachments are preferable at the end of the second year of their programme.