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On 10/12/12, the Indiana University Board of Trustees approved the merger of the university's School of Informatics and School of Library and Information Science into a single school to be called the IU School of Informatics and Computing. The effective date will be July 1, 2013.
This web page is a collection of announcements related to the merger preparations.
We are also collecting SLIS alumni profiles to highlight dynamic careers in library and information science that look to the future. These often involve teams that include graduates from Informatics and Computer Science, demonstrating the synergies between the two schools.
SLIS holds alumni receptions at professional association meetings. These events will provide opportunities for ongoing discussions of SLIS plans.
This year's commencement exercises will mark a new beginning for our school as well as the graduates. Over the summer SLIS will commence life as the Department of Information and Library Science. I'll take this opportunity to thank SLIS's students, faculty, staff, and friends for your optimism as well as your patience and advice.
The spring issue of SLIS Network, our alumni magazine, focuses on generations and transitions. To make the point that time marches on, it includes a somewhat embarrassing picture of me with SLIS's first microcomputer. But more importantly, it has various accounts of how each generation stewards the profession for the next. My dean's note in the magazine concludes:
Looking ahead, our complex society needs professionals with a deep understanding of how people generate, identify, access, and use information, as well as the technologies that assist (or hinder) these activities. ... We have a lot to accomplish in a world awash in information technologies. The strength and support of a broad and secure academic home [in the merged School of Informatics and Computing] will make it easier to meet these challenges.
Our website includes a nice chronology of the steps we've taken toward the merger.
Best wishes for a happy and productive summer,
ralf
Debora Shaw, Dean
Indiana University School of Library and Information Science
1320 East 10th Street, LI 011
Bloomington, IN 47405-3907
812.855.3261
We are pleased to announce that we are moving forward in our preparations to
join with the School of Informatics and Computing.
We are grateful for the genuine support from our new colleagues.
To help prepare for our system-wide merger on July 1st, we are starting to
update our name and acronym.
One place we are working to update is our websites.
Within this next week, the tan bar on our home pages will be changed, and
our URLs will be updated.
Our current URLs will be forwarded to help make a smooth transition.
Bloomington:
Department of Information and Library Science (ILS)
School of Informatics and Computing
ILS.INDIANA.EDU
Indianapolis:
Department of Library and Information Science (LIS)
School of Informatics and Computing
LIS.IUPUI.EDU
Students will also see new course numbers for Fall 2013 registration.
Bloomington: ILS-Z
Indianapolis: LIS-S
By early summer, there will be a new school-wide portal page [SOIC.IU.EDU] that will help connect all of the units involved.
Follow updates on our website on our “merger” page"
http://www.slis.indiana.edu/news/merge.php
We also have an “acronym” page:
http://www.slis.indiana.edu/news/acronyms.php
Let me know if you have any questions. Best, Rhonda
Indiana University
School of Library and Information Science
spencer@indiana.edu
direct: 812.855.2666
Fall registration will be coming soon. Course numbers will change to be ILS-Z instead of SLIS-S.
To help prepare for the formal SLIS and SoIC merger on July 1st, we are going to start updating our website with our new name and acronym:
Department of Information and Library Science (ILS)
School of Informatics and Computing
We will also start updating emails and listservs that have the SLIS acronym. We will set up forwarding features to help with a smooth transition.
We have a merger page for reference.
And, on that page is an “acronym” page.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, Rhonda
• Published in FOCUS: Indiana Libraries (Vol. 67, No. 2, February 2013) — page 5
The School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University will merge with the School of Informatics effective July 1, 2013. The name of the new school (on both the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses) will be the School of Informatics and Computing. At Bloomington, the Department of Information and Library Science (I.L.S.) will be responsible for the master of library science and master of information science degrees. On the Indianapolis campus, the Department of Library and Information Science (L.I.S.) will oversee the master of library science degree program. In charge of the new school will be current Informatics Dean, Robert Schnabel. He and current SLIS Dean Debora Shaw meet regularly and are working with faculty, staff, and alumni to enable a smooth transition.
The IU Trustees approved the merger on October 12, 2012. In announcing the merger, President Michael A. McRobbie described this as “an opportunity to create a single school of expanded breadth, size and quality that addresses the rapid evolution of informatics, computing and libraries.”
“The study of information and computation has become more closely linked and important than ever,” he added. “Combining these two high-quality, highly ranked schools will create a single unit that can compete more effectively with the best schools in the world in this area.”
Through the years, IU has encouraged the education in library and information science under several umbrellas: School of Education (1930), Graduate School (1949), Graduate Library School (1966), School of Library and Information Science (1980), and now School of Informatics and Computing (2013.) Even as the university changes the administrative superstructure, the commitment to preparing capable, confident librarians and information professionals remains strong.
The professional landscape is changing rapidly as well. The demand for librarians (specifically) has declined markedly in some areas, even as librarians’ skills become more important than ever. Current students and recent graduates are using mentors and professional networks as they enter the job market.
Many Indiana Library Federation members have contributed to the school’s long and successful history as GLS/SLIS students, alumni, and faculty members. SLIS alumni are key in supporting the next generation of professionals who will continue to provide guidance, insight, and perspective through these challenging times for our field.
-Debora Shaw, Dean, SLIS (shawd@indiana.edu)
-Rhonda Spencer, Admissions and Placement, SLIS (spencerr@indiana.edu)
As SLIS and the School of Informatics and Computing (SoIC) move closer to our formal merger date (7/1/13), we are seeking ways to help introduce our students to the other school’s news, programs, and events.
A collection of announcements about the merger can be found on this page (linked from the SLIS home page)
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Best, Rhonda
Rhonda E.L. Spencer
Director of Admissions and Placement
Indiana University
School of Library and Information Science
spencerr@indiana.edu
direct: 812.855.2666
With the July 2013 merger, SLIS will become the Department of Information and Library Science within the School of Informatics and Computing. The move builds stronger connections with resources and technology that will help SLIS/ILS alumni in many ways.
If you wish to change from August to June to fall under SLIS before the merger, please contact me to change your graduation date.
The merger of SLIS with the School of Informatics and Computing will be effective July 1, 2013. SLIS faculty voted in favor of the merger and the IU Board of Trustees approved it on October 12. What will be the implications for SLIS students?
1. Both master's degrees (MLS and MIS) are unchanged. Both are accredited by
the ALA and accreditation continues. 2. All specializations and dual degrees
continue as they are.
3. All student organizations continue as they are.
4. Our offices and classes stay in the Wells Library.
5. SLIS will become the Department of Information and Library Science (ILS);
the signs in front of the building and the URLs for our website will change
this summer. 6. If you graduate after June, the name of the school on your
ranscript will be School of Informatics and Computing.
7. SLIS/ILS students will have access to SoIC career services. We are working
out the arrangements and will post an announcement when we know more.
As always, if you have questions or suggestions, please contact slis@indiana.edu or talk with Rhonda Spencer, Howard Rosenbaum, or Ralf Shaw.
The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) and School of Informatics (SoI) have common research and teaching interests in understanding the complex relationships among information, technology, and people. With the approval of IU President Michael McRobbie, the schools have begun exploring opportunities that could result from a merger.
As the discussions progress, both parties have agreed that SLIS would retain authority and responsibility for its degree programs, including the MLS, MIS, Specialist, and PhD. Requirements for admission and graduation, as well as selection of instructors for the courses in those programs, would remain under SLIS's control. SLIS would probably become a department in the new school, and would remain in its current quarters on the Bloomington and Indianapolis campuses. For SLIS students, the most immediate change would likely be access to the more extensive student and career services that SoI supports.
Both SLIS and SoI are members of the iSchools Caucus; Indiana University is the only university with two distinct members in this group of distinguished schools and colleges of information and computing. A merged school would build upon IU's strengths in these areas and bring together a range of disciplines, unequaled among iSchools, that is essential to investigate the technologies and implications of the information age.
President McRobbie has asked for a proposal to present to the Board of Trustees at their October 2012 meeting; the tentative effective date for a merger would be July 2013.
Please let Rhonda Spencer (spencerr@indiana.edu) or me (shawd@indiana.edu) know if you have questions or comments.
ralf shaw
Debora Shaw, Professor and Dean
Indiana University School of Library and Information Science
1320 East 10th Street, LI 011
Bloomington, IN 47405-3907
812.855.3261
The School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) and School of Informatics (SoI) have common research and teaching interests in understanding the complex relationships among information, technology and people. With the approval of IU President Michael McRobbie, the schools have begun exploring opportunities that could result from a merger.
Both schools are members of the iSchools Caucus; Indiana University is the only university with two distinct members in this group of distinguished schools and colleges of information and computing. A merged school would build upon IU’s strengths in these areas and bring together a range of disciplines, unequaled among iSchools, that is essential to investigate the technologies and implications of the information age. As discussions move forward, SLIS and SoI are committed to maintaining the integrity and strength of their existing programs.
Faculty and staff from both schools on both the Bloomington and IUPUI campuses of Indiana University will be involved in the merger discussions. The Bloomington portion of the School of Informatics, which contains degree programs in both computer science and informatics, is called the School of Informatics and Computing. President McRobbie has asked for a proposal to present to the Board of Trustees at their October 2012 meeting; the tentative effective date for a merger would be July 2013.
Questions or comments can be sent to:
Debora Shaw-School of Library and Information Science, shawd@indiana.edu
Jim Shea, School of Informatics and Computing, jpshea@indiana.edu
Last modified: 04/30/2013
