ISchools & the iSchool at Syracuse University

Abstract

An overview of the origin, development, and current status of the iSchool movement-both the organization which began as the iSchool Caucus, which now leads the much larger iSchool Organization, as well as the profile of one particular iSchool-the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University, in Syracuse, New York. As the rate of change in who, how, when, and where information is being sought and produced is both evolving and accelerating, along with the need for reliable, high quality information, the demands on the information professions are both challenging and exciting. Today, the iSchool Organization is comprised of 55 leading iSchools, from 17 countries, spanning 4 continents, and is actively working with additional top-ranked Schools of Library and/or Information Science in multiple other universities and countries who are interested in joining. The iSchool at Syracuse, which was one of the original members of Gang of Three that conceived of a membership organization to promote the information profession, is presented with detail on programs, particularly their most recent focuses on social media, data science, and information entrepreneurship.