Rhizomes in the iField: What does it mean to be an iSchool?

Abstract

In 2005, several North American information schools dedicated to advancing the information field (iField) in the 21st century announced the formation of the iSchools organization. The purpose, subsequent growth, and internationalization of this effort might be described as rhizomorphic This article deploys Deleuze and Guattari's metaphor of the rhizome to describe and analyze recent trends in the development of education for the iField. Characteristics of the iSchools organization are compared to those delineated by Duffy and Cunningham (1996), and conclusions are drawn regarding the applicability of this metaphor to describing the future of the iSchools and the advancement of the iField.