LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE NEWS
The School of Information Studies at Syracuse University 
 
The Original Information School
October 2005
 
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Dean von Dran heads pioneering i-Conference

At major universities across the nation, a revolution is under way in
teaching and learning in information technology. Old departmental silos
are toppling, discipline lines are being crossed, and a whole new breed
of information school-"i-school"-is emerging. In response, more than
250 deans, faculty members and students from across the country -
including Dean Raymond von Dran of the School of Information Studies -
converged at Penn State September 28-30 for the First Conference of the
i-School Community. 

Under the leadership of von Dran, Dean James B. Thomas, Penn State
School of Information Sciences and Technology, and colleagues John L.
King, University of Michigan; Debra J. Richardson, University of
California, Irvine; and Harry Bruce and Mike Eisenstein from the
University of Washington, and representatives from 18 i-schools sought a
common understanding of what makes the i-schools unique, what they offer
society, and the challenges they face.

Joining representatives from the convener schools were conferees from
the University of California, Berkeley, UCLA, Drexel, Florida, Georgia
Tech, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Rutgers,
and Texas.  

Sessions at the i-schools conference were built on faculty and graduate
student papers organized around essentials of the field of information,
grand challenges, identity, and i-school life. A centerpiece of the
conference was von Dran's presentation, "i-School Grand
Challenges," which included talks by von Dran, as well as breakout
sessions led by faculty members from other universities. 

According to the i-Conference web site, "These challenges include
themes associated with security, community, decision making, medical
care, and education (among many more) - the fundamental challenges faced
by our society in this century."

Addressing the theme "Bridging Disciplines to Confront Grand
Challenges," the conference was sponsored in part by the National
Science Foundation. A book to be released by MIT Press will distill the
results of the conference.

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S.O.S. for Information Literacy expanded 
with support from IMLS grant

With support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the
Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Syracuse University
will extend its successful S.O.S. for Information Literacy program to
grades 9-12 and create a higher education version. The expanded program
will begin on October 1, and S.O.S. for K-8 will be launched at a
special event on October 7 in Pittsburgh at the AASL national
conference, with AASL collaborating.

S.O.S. for Information Literacy is a dynamic, multimedia, Web-based and
freely accessible resource for K-8 library media specialists and
classroom teachers. S.O.S. (Situation, Outcomes, Strategies) is a
database of standards-based information literacy lesson plans and other
teaching materials, emphasizing collaborative planning and delivery with
classroom teachers and integrated with the curriculum, that can be used
"as is" or adapted to specific needs. 

"S.O.S. is unlike other lesson plan databases because of its emphases
on collaboration, motivation, and quality control," said Ruth Small,
one of the project's directors.

S.O.S. for Information Literacy is a project of the Center for Digital
Literacy at Syracuse University and IMLS, in collaboration with the
American Association of School Librarians (AASL). In addition to project
directors Dr. Ruth Small and Dr. Marilyn Arnone of the Center for
Digital Literacy at Syracuse University, there is an S.O.S. advisory
board, consisting of college faculty, pre-service graduate students,
practicing teachers and library media specialists, and consultants,
including such luminaries as Pam Berger, Sharon Coatney, Bernie Dodge,
Alan November, Kathy Schrock, Ross Todd, and Julie Walker.

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Brown Bag lecture series kicks off 

Two of the School of Information Studies' most prolific researchers,
professors Catherine Arnott Smith and Scott Nicholson, came together on
Friday, September 16 to present the inaugural Brown Bag lecture for the
new academic year. 

The lecture focused on the Web of Science database, a recent addition
to the array of electronic resources provided by Syracuse University
Libraries that provides a citation index to more than 8,000 journals.
Titled "Web of Science in Context," the talk examined the practice
of citation research with relation to that database and a variety of
other electronic resources.

Smith presented first, focusing her presentation on "impact
factor," a quality metric found in the Web of Science Product
"Journal Citation Reports." She stressed that while impact factor
ratings can provide useful information for researchers, they are not the
last word on the quality of a journal. 

She recommended that researchers use Web of Science to identify
journals, scholars, and articles, but reminded listeners that they
should keep the database in context by comparing journals within a
particular field and comparing the productivity of scholars publishing
in the same journal.

Nicholson spoke during the latter half of the hour, expanding the topic
of citation research to include free Web resources, such as CiteSeer,
GoogleScholar, GooglePrint, and Amazon's A9, all of which allow
searchers to track down elusive citations that might not be contained in
traditional databases.

Using the Web, Nicholson demonstrated searching practices using each of
those tools and explained that good citation research allows students
and professors to put together all the pieces of a puzzle by examining
the impact a certain scholar has had on a particular field.

Nicholson said web resources can be used to complement Web of Science,
which indexes a subset of citations and includes few non-periodicals.

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A faculty profile:  Gisela von Dran
As director of the Library and Information Science program, Gisela von
Dran takes on a host of essential activities at the School of
Information Studies, from leading the LIS program to teaching graduate
students the ins and outs of organizational management.

In the role of program director, von Dran works closely with nearly
everyone at the School of Information Studies. Along with the assistant
dean for student services, she focuses on admissions, student advising
and career and internship opportunities. She leads the Faculty Program
Advisory Committee for LIS and works with faculty and other program
directors on marketing, curriculum, and course offerings. 

von Dran also helps the School connect with the greater library and
information science community by serving as the primary contact for
professionals in the field and for prospective students considering
degrees in information studies.

As a member of Syracuse's faculty, von Dran teaches organization
management courses on the graduate level, as well as teaching the
School's freshman gateway course. This semester, she taught IST-601:
Information and Information Environments with Dean von Dran and the
other department heads during opening weekend, and currently teaches
IST-614, the School's core management course.

von Dran conducts research on information-based organizations,
information interfaces, and quality web design. She has also published
several articles and three books about library management issues,
organizational change, and employee empowerment in the public and
private sectors. A research project she conducted in 2004 explored
Organizational Cultures of Libraries as a Strategic Resource.

Most recently, von Dran's research focuses on culture as a
competitive strategy in information organizations.
von Dran joined the IST faculty in 2003. She received a PhD in Public
Administration from Arizona State University in 1992, a Master's
degree in public administration from Tennessee State
University/University of Tennessee at Nashville in 1981, and a
Master's degree in library science from Vanderbilt University in
1975.

Before becoming director of the LIS program, von Dran served as an
assistant professor of management at Syracuse University's Whitman
School of Management. She has also worked in the professional sector as
a public service librarian at the University of Tennessee at
Nashville/Tennessee State University and as a library science librarian
at Vanderbilt University.

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Visit the School of Information Studies at NYLA!

Wednesday, 10/26 -- Friday, 10/28
Booth #32

Alumni and Prospective Student reception:
Thursday, October 27, 2005
5:30 - 7:00 p.m.
Deco Restaurant, at the Adam's Mark Hotel
120 Church St.
Buffalo, New York

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For more information. . .

Amy Sloane-Garris
Executive Director of Communications and Enrollment Management
Syracuse University--School of Information Studies
Tel:  315.443.6885
Fax:  315.443.6886
[log in to unmask] 
www.ist.syr.edu