iCaucus promotes iField as key to all disciplines

PhD student Mawaki Chango researches communications policy and regulation at Syracuse U’s School of Information Studies.

In 2007 deans from nineteen information schools in the U.S. and Canada announced the formation of a group called the iCaucus. It’s an awareness initiative to re-brand the information field, or iField, as a discipline that focuses on the relationship between people, information and technology.

“Today we not only need to figure out how to make computers faster and smaller, but how to make people better users of information,” says John Unsworth, dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, Champaign, IL) and current coordinator of the iCaucus. “We need to design information sources and applications for people.”

iCaucus clarifies the iField discipline
Many of the iSchools, as they call themselves, are rooted in library science, but deans from IT and CS schools participate in the iCaucus as well. “These schools may be more IT oriented,” Unsworth says, “but they’re still focused on the human side of information.”

This cross-representation is a reflection of how technology has changed the way people organize, access and consume information in every field, from aeronautics to zoology. iCaucus deans hope that through their outreach efforts students and employers will better understand what iSchools are and how the degrees they award can be applied to any discipline that involves information.

Margaret Spillett.

“When you think about studying law and engineering you know what to expect,” explains Margaret Spillett, director of communications at Syracuse School of Information Studies (Syracuse, NY) and co-chair of the iCaucus marketing committee. “It’s not so clear to someone interested in an information school.

“When they are looking into colleges, we want students to be able to check a box that says ‘I’m interested in information science’ and know what that means,” Spillett says. The field offers a lot of industry flexibility. iSchool grads are Web interface designers, program managers at software companies, research scientists, professors and more.

iSchool projects serve developing communities
A key ingredient in all iSchool degree programs is effective communication skills. Some focus on minority communities.

A key ingredient in all iSchool degree programs is effective communication skills. Some focus on minority communities.

iField students and professors often look at ways technology can help disadvantaged communities and bridge the digital divide. Since 2007 GSLIS at UIUC has been training students to install and deploy network apps as computer labs for nonprofits that are serving a disadvantaged community. They’ve established over seventy computer labs in the St. Louis area alone.

This model was taken to São Tomé and Príncipe, islands off the west coast of Africa. GSLIS students joined with other UIUC departments to develop numerous Internet-ready computer labs across the islands. An objective of the UIUC project is to offer distance-learning courses, but the ultimate goal is to train residents on how to create and network the labs themselves.

“This is what we call community informatics,” explains Unsworth. “We work with communities to help them develop and manage access to their own information resources.” GSLIS offers a graduate degree in community informatics.

iSchool grads are future leaders
Elizabeth D. Liddy.

Elizabeth D. Liddy, dean of Syracuse School of Information Studies, describes the field as an intersection of disciplines that span global communities. Her school offers a range of certificate programs, bachelors and grad degrees in library science, information management and telecommunications management.

Many countries are interested in what iSchools are doing here in the U.S. Liddy says, “They see the merging of library science and technology as an exciting new direction.”

She’s given presentations on the iField at universities in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. She hopes to see more students collaborating in countries like Poland and Croatia and in South America. “In this global world, you can’t limit yourself to solutions for America only,” she says.

iSchool grads are primed for career advancement and leadership because they have a solid education in both IT and management. “Today’s library science students know enough about technology and management to focus on the user, the client or the customer,” Liddy says.

She explains that iSchool grads understand the importance of business trends and return on investment. They’re equipped to evaluate and select new technology based on time investment and technical aspects.

iCaucus is launched
The seeds of the iCaucus were planted in the 1980s when several deans gathered informally to discuss the effects of technology on library science, but interest waned in the 1990s. Raymond von Dran, then dean of Syracuse School of Information Studies, was a key player in its 2005 revival. He died unexpectedly in July 2007, but his vision provides impetus for the program.

Since its official launch, the iCaucus has been joined by schools such as the University of California Berkley School of Information (Berkeley, CA), Georgia Institute of Technology College of Computing (Atlanta, GA) and the Pennsylvania State University College of Information Sciences and Technology (University Park, PA).

Conferences are key
John Unsworth.

The caucus has hosted three conferences and hired a marketing firm to develop an iSchools brand. The idea is to show that the information field offers huge promise and potential for both students and organizations.

Unsworth says conferences are a staple of the iCaucus. They provide a forum for iSchools to share information about curriculum, standards and research funding sources.

At the 2008 iConference, attendees presented research on topics that ranged from analyzing student attitudes about undergraduate IT education to using cell phone games for increasing literacy in developing nations.

Corporate sponsors of iConferences include Google (Mountain View, CA), Microsoft (Redmond, WA) and Dell (Round Rock, TX).

To join the iCaucus, a school should be independent rather than part of a larger department; it should have a doctoral program, and at least $1 million in research funding. Unsworth says these criteria are not absolute.

Unsworth is serving as iCaucus coordinator until 2010. During his term he is working to bring more academic levels into the caucus, which is presently composed solely of deans. “Bringing in associate deans will provide more impetus to get the schools collaborating on publications,” he notes.

Job outlook is good for iSchool grads
Students at iSchools study how to integrate an understanding of information systems and technology with human needs, relationships and social structures.

Students at iSchools study how to integrate an understanding of information systems and technology with human needs, relationships and social structures.

Unsworth notes that diversity is an important part of iSchools. Disciplines are equally distributed among the humanities, social sciences and engineering.

“The more diverse we are, the more opportunity for collaboration and growth,” adds Spillett. “Since the schools are relatively new and the field is always changing, there is no ‘old boys’ club. We embrace diverse fields and students.”

“The iField is blooming,” Spillett notes. “We want everyone to know there are jobs for people with these skills.”

She cites a new partnership between Syracuse and financial giant JPMorgan Chase (New York, NY). The company needs people that understand cyber infrastructure, the technology that connects their offices in Asia and India with those in New York and Chicago. “They need people with our iSchool skills to be the communications folks between IT, engineers and financial managers.”

“Almost anywhere you look, there’s an information professional,” she says.