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Fall 2001 Room: BU 201     Time: 4:00-5:15 PM, MW
Instructors: John Paolillo paolillo@indiana.edu Office: 022@SLIS 812 855 3247 Hours: 2:45-4:00 PM M (Paolillo)

Howard Rosenbaum hrosenba@indiana.edu 023@SLIS 812 855 3250 2:00-4:00 PM M, W (Rosenbaum)
people

SLIS Bulletin Description

Information Science students are introduced to the dynamic and shifting information professions, complex organizations, and emerging careers in the field. Issues in information management, user-oriented systems design, socio-technical concepts, and usability are major themes for the course.

Introduction

It is clear that information and communications technologies (ICTs) are assuming an increasingly important role in our lives. Recent studies indicate that almost two-thirds of all American households have at least one computer and almost half have internet access. According to NTIA (2000),

The Internet is becoming an increasingly vital tool in our information society. More Americans are going online to conduct such day-to-day activities as business transactions, personal correspondence, research and information-gathering, and shopping. Each year, being digitally connected becomes ever more critical to economic, educational, and social advancement.

For many of us, work would not be possible (or would be much more difficult) without modern digital technologies. In addition, ICTs are becoming more integrated into the rest of our lives. Many people have adopted mobile communications devices, others routinely use wireless technologies and their laptops to do work and conduct business, and we are ecoming increasingly immersed in what researchers call "pervasive computing."

These instances are part of a trend that is changing the way we, as individuals, interact with each other and our society. What is interesting at this moment is that we do not have a clear understanding of the types of changes that are taking place and how these changes are affecting us at work, at home, and out in the social world. There researchers working in a variety of disciplines who are studying the relationships between ICTs, the people who design, implement and use them, and the various social contexts in which they are used. One important discipline within which this type of work is being done is information science.

This course provides a general introduction to information science as we practice it here at SLIS. In this course, you will learn about the intellectual disciplines that study information, where information science ÒfitsÓ into this range, the relationships among information science and its cognate disciplines, and about the range of information professions for which you are preparing in this program. We will also explore a range of critically important issues that are raised by the research

Sources:

National Telecommunications and Information Administration. (2000). Falling Through the Net: Toward Digital Inclusion
http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/digitaldivide/execsumfttn00.htm

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Grading Required Texts Topic Outline Assignments/Due Dates (short)

Page by Howard Rosenbaum
Find me at hrosenba@indiana.edu http://www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/L501/syll/Intro.html