This list of information schools, sometimes abbreviated to iSchools, includes members of the iSchools organization. The iSchools organization reflects a consortium of over 130 information schools across the globe.
The first iSchools Caucus was formed in 1988 by Syracuse, [1] Pittsburgh, and Drexel and was called the Gang of Three (sometimes gang of four with Rutgers). [2] [3] Syracuse renamed the School of Library Science as the School of Information Studies in 1974, and is considered as the first “iSchool” in history. [3] : 366 The group was formally named "the iSchools Caucus" or more casually, the iCaucus. By 2003, the group expanded to include the Universities of Michigan, Washington, Illinois, UNC, Florida State, Indiana, and Texas, and was called the Gang of Ten. [4] [5]
The current iSchools Caucus organization was formalized by 2005, with additions of UC Berkeley, UC Irvine, UCLA, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Toronto, Carnegie Mellon and Singapore Management University. [2] [6]
The iSchools promote an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the opportunities and challenges of information management, with a core commitment to concepts like universal access and user-centered organization of information. The field is concerned broadly with questions of design and preservation across information spaces, from digital and virtual spaces such as online communities, social networking, the World Wide Web, and databases to physical spaces such as libraries, museums, collections, and other repositories. "School of Information", "Department of Information Studies", or "Information Department" are often the names of the participating organizations. [6] [7]
Degree programs at iSchools include course offerings in areas such as information architecture, design, policy, and economics; knowledge management, user experience design, and usability; preservation and conservation; librarianship and library administration; the sociology of information; and human-computer interaction and computer science. [8]
The executive committee of the iSchools is made up of the current chair (Gillian Oliver, Monash University, Australia), past chair (Sanda Erdelez , Simmons University, United States of America) and the chair elect (Ina Fourie, University of Pretoria, South Africa), plus representatives from the three regions (North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific). The current executive director is Slava Sterzer. [9]
Between 2010 and 2025, the organization expanded globally beyond North America, growing to 134 member schools as of March 2025. For an updated and complete list of member schools, please visit the member database of the iSchools. [10]
Members of the iSchools organize a regular academic conference, known as the iConference, hosted by a different member institution each year. [12]
Other information schools and programs include:[ citation needed ]