The leading provider of education in library and information management and teacher librarianship in Australia has embraced a new vision as a leading educator for the online world. The Charles Sturt University (CSU) School of Information Studies is repositioning itself as Australia’s national iSchool.

 

The iSchool idea, which is already supported by almost 20 overseas universities, was designed during a recent workshop at CSU’s Wagga Wagga Campus which attracted information industry leaders from Australia and overseas as well as CSU. They examined the future of information education in line with Federal government policy agendas and international trends in information use.

 

“The international group of iSchools is interested in the relationship between information, technology and people. It is committed to learning and understanding the role of information in a wide range of human endeavours,” said Associate Professor Stuart Ferguson, Head of CSU’s School of Information Studies.

 

A driving force behind the iSchool movement in the USA is the Dean Emeritus at the University of Washington’s Information School, Professor Michael Eisenberg. He travelled to CSU to be involved in reshaping information education in Australia. 

 

"The future of education and research for the information field is clearly in the form of iSchools,” said Professor Eisenberg.

 

“CSU is ready to make the major leap to becoming a full iSchool with a rich and impressive array of teaching programs, meaningful scholarship, and outreach to the information field and to a range of professions.”

 

Professor Eisenberg was “particularly intrigued by the possibilities of teaming up with health professions, agriculture, education, and sustainable environment”.

 

The iSchool group is currently made up of the leading providers of information education across North America, including many of Canada’s and the United States’ top universities.