It’s official! Florida’s iSchool is the FSU School of Information

Posted by Natalie Kates on

iSchool LogoThe Florida State University (FSU) iSchool is now officially the School of Information.  ISchool Director and F. William Summers Professor, Dr. Kathleen Burnett, said, “For the past twenty years, our commitment to making vital connections between people and information has never wavered.  Today, technology provides us with the opportunity to spread our deep roots to a vast array of information environments.”  Information is everywhere, or as Dr. Paul Marty is fond of saying, in the 21st century “every place is a library.”

FSU School of Information faculty, staff, students, alumni and employers can be found in all kinds of information spaces: conducting assessments of early literacy programs in public libraries, studying the lifecycles of scientists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, building digital libraries and creating new information resources for K12 classrooms, sponsoring hack-a-thons and coordinating information makerspaces, helping consumers judge the credibility of health information on the Web, and implementing broadband in rural communities.

A founding member of the iSchool movement, FSU’s School of Information is internationally recognized as an interdisciplinary, innovative and collaborative force at the vanguard of the information field.  Like other iSchools, the FSU School of information is engaged in critical examination of the relationships among people, information and technology in an era of explosive growth in digital information.  “The atmosphere at the FSU iSchool is one of excitement and anticipation.  There are opportunities everywhere we turn.  Everyone needs information, so everyone needs us!” said Dr. Burnett.

Founded in 1947, the FSU School of Information–Florida’s iSchool, is housed within the College of Communication and Information.  The College’s Dean, Dr. Larry Dennis, remarked, “This change reflects the nature of what the iSchool’s faculty, staff, students and alumni are doing.  The iSchool’s education and research programs address modern information challenges from many perspectives.  They are clearly focused on the most important opportunities of the 21st Century.”

Florida iSchool’s vision statement, People and Information: Making Vital Connections, reflects a commitment to continued growth and outreach.  In keeping with this philosophy, the iSchool’s programs emphasize preparing students for careers that help others use and manage information in an age when information is a vital part of everyone’s lives.

The FSU School of Information offers two majors within the Bachelor’s in Information Technology program; two master’s degree programs available entirely online: an ALA-accredited Master’s of Science in Library and Information Science (MLIS) and a Master’s of Science in Information Technology (MSIT); and specialist and doctoral degrees.  In addition graduate-level certificate programs are offered in Information Architecture, Leadership and Management, Reference Services, School Library Media Leadership and Youth Services.

The School of Information’s programs are consistently top-ranked in the nation and have been for many years.  U.S. News & World Report recently ranked the MLIS program #13 overall, #1 in school library media, #5 in youth services, and #11 in digital libraries.

The iSchool has also received international recognition for its interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to research.  It is leading the development of the FSU Collaboratory and has the following Centers & Institutes:

For more information, visit our website at ischool.cci.fsu.edu or come visit us in the sunshine state and experience our southern hospitality for yourself!

 

Find a CCI news article from Jan. 6, 2014 about the FSU School of Information’s director, Dr. Kathleen Burnett, at:
news.cci.fsu.edu/slis-news/burnett-named-director-of-school-of-library-information-studies