University of Sheffield Information School

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University of Sheffield Information School
Established1963
Location
Sheffield
,
England

53°22′52″N1°28′46″W / 53.38114937342727°N 1.4795279191451092°W / 53.38114937342727; -1.4795279191451092
LanguageEnglish
Website https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is

The Information School or iSchool of the University of Sheffield, in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, was founded in 1963 as the University's Postgraduate School of Librarianship and became in 2010 the first UK iSchool. Other names were the Postgraduate School of Librarianship and Information Science (PGSLIS, 1967–81) and Department of Information Studies (1981-2011). [1] As of 2021, it employs 33 academic staff, 16 administrative/support staff, 6 affiliated research staff, and has about 65 research students. The current head of school is Professor Val Gillet.

Contents

The department opened in 1964 as a library school, becoming only the second university-based department in the UK. [2] Since then, like many information science departments it has grown to encompass teaching and research in cheminformatics, educational informatics, health informatics, information retrieval, information systems, knowledge and information management, as well as libraries and information society. Such is the status of the school, that it has twice been honoured with a special issue of the Journal of Information Science devoted entirely to the department, its staff and its research outputs. [3] [4]

Research achievements

The School is Number One in the World for Library and Information Studies in the QS World University Rankings 2021. [5] The school has ranked highest or joint highest in its subject rating in every Research Assessment Exercise since the running of the first exercise in 1986. In this UK-government sponsored assessment of research outputs, no other department in its subject field (or its University) achieved this consistency; few departments of any subject area in UK universities managed such a high level of continuous research output (see the following links to the 1992, [6] 1996, [7] 2001 [8] RAE results). In 2008, rankings of departments was left to news organizations; the Times Higher Education placed Sheffield at No. 1 again. [9]

In 2008, an analysis of citations showed four of the ten most cited UK information studies academics were working in the Sheffield department. [10] It is also the first UK-based (and 2nd European) department to become an iSchool.

Notable staff, past and present

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

Cheminformatics refers to the use of physical chemistry theory with computer and information science techniques—so called "in silico" techniques—in application to a range of descriptive and prescriptive problems in the field of chemistry, including in its applications to biology and related molecular fields. Such in silico techniques are used, for example, by pharmaceutical companies and in academic settings to aid and inform the process of drug discovery, for instance in the design of well-defined combinatorial libraries of synthetic compounds, or to assist in structure-based drug design. The methods can also be used in chemical and allied industries, and such fields as environmental science and pharmacology, where chemical processes are involved or studied.

The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) was an exercise undertaken approximately every five years on behalf of the four UK higher education funding councils to evaluate the quality of research undertaken by British higher education institutions. RAE submissions from each subject area are given a rank by a subject specialist peer review panel. The rankings are used to inform the allocation of quality weighted research funding (QR) each higher education institution receives from their national funding council. Previous RAEs took place in 1986, 1989, 1992, 1996 and 2001. The most recent results were published in December 2008. It was replaced by the Research Excellence Framework (REF) in 2014.

The UCLA School of Education and Information Studies is one of the academic and professional schools at the University of California, Los Angeles. Located in Los Angeles, California, the school combines two distinguished departments whose research and doctoral training programs are committed to expanding the range of knowledge in education, information science, and associated disciplines. Established in 1881, the school is the oldest unit at UCLA, having been founded as a normal school prior to the establishment of the university. It was incorporated into the University of California in 1919.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of library and information science</span> Overview of and topical guide to library science

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to library science:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drexel University College of Computing and Informatics</span>

The Drexel University College of Computing & Informatics (CCI), formerly the College of Information Science and Technology or iSchool, is one of the primary colleges of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The College of Computing & Informatics has faculty and administrative offices, research laboratories, collaborative learning spaces, and classrooms at 3675 Market Street. Its current dean is Yi Deng.

Education for librarianship, including for paraprofessional library workers, varies around the world, and has changed over time. In recent decades, many institutions offering librarianship education have changed their names to reflect the shift from print media to electronic media, and to information contained outside of traditional libraries. Some call themselves schools of library and information science, or have dropped the word "library" altogether.

The School of Chemistry is a school of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) the school was ranked sixth in the UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Washington Information School</span>

The Information School at the University of Washington is an undergraduate and graduate school that offers BS, MLIS, MS, MA, and PhD degrees. Formerly the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences (GSLIS), the Information School changed its focus and name in the late 1990s.

The University of Texas School of Information is a graduate school and undergraduate school at the University of Texas at Austin, offering master's and doctoral degrees in information studies, as well as certificates of advanced study and an undergraduate minor. In 2021, they began offering a bachelor's degree in informatics. UT iSchool graduates find careers in archival enterprise, information architecture, information policy, information systems design and management, information usability, librarianship, multimedia design, museum work, preservation and conservation, and records management.

Informatics is the study of computational systems. According to the ACM Europe Council and Informatics Europe, informatics is synonymous with computer science and computing as a profession, in which the central notion is transformation of information. In other countries, the term "informatics" is used with a different meaning in the context of library science, in which case it is synonymous with data storage and retrieval.

Peter Willett is an Emeritus Professor of Information Science at the University of Sheffield, England.

Michael Felix Lynch MBCS is a Professor Emeritus in the Information School of the University of Sheffield, England, his main research having been in chemoinformatics. Lynch obtained B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in chemistry from University College, Dublin in 1954 and 1957. Following two years in industry in the UK, he joined the staff of Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) in Columbus, Ohio in the US, in 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Birmingham City University School of English</span>

The School of English is part of the Faculty of the Arts, Design & Media at Birmingham City University. The School offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses, is home to the Research and Development Unit for English Studies.

Chaminda Chiran Jayasundara obtained his bachelor's degree in Statistics from the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka in 2000, MSc in Information Management from the University of Sheffield, UK in 2002 and Doctor of Literature and Philosophy in Information Science from the University of South Africa in 2010. He has worked at the University of Colombo Library as the Deputy University Librarian, Fiji National University as the University Librarian, Sir John Kotelawala Defence University as the University Librarian and currently the University Librarian of the University of Kelaniya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vicki L. Gregory</span>

Dr. Vicki L. Gregory is professor at the School of Information at the University of South Florida (USF). She and was director of the School from 1999 until 2007. Her fields of specialization include: academic libraries, digital librarianship, technical services, information science, library networking, library automation, and collection development. She currently teaches Introduction to Library Administration, Collection Development/Maintenance, and Digital Libraries. Prior to teaching at USF Dr. Gregory was Director of Systems and Operations for the Auburn University at Montgomery Library. She is currently President of Beta Phi Mu. She was Treasurer for the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) and the winner of the 2014 Watson Davis Award. She is also the author, co-author, or editor of seven books and has published numerous articles.

The Department of Information Studies is a department of the UCL Faculty of Arts and Humanities.

Hatoon Kadi is a Saudi Arabian comedian and activist who hosts the Noon Al Niswa comedy show on YouTube, which has 292,912 subscribers. She presents social phenomena from a woman's perspective, using sarcasm, avoiding judgment and without trying to find solutions. She is known for her satiric videos about women's and family issues, often highlighting everyday life in Saudi Arabia. Dr. Hatoon Kadi started with comedy when she realized that there were plenty of Saudi Arabian internet comedians, but a lack women in the field. In 2014, she was named one of the BBC's 100 Women.

Sheila Mary Corrall is Professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research interests are in scholarly communication, collection development in the digital world, professional competence, and intellectual capital in library and information services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazel Hall (information scientist)</span> British information scientist and academic

Hazel Jane Read Hall is a British Information scientist and academic. She is Emeritus Professor in the School of Computing, Engineering, and Built Environment at Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland and Docent in Information Studies in the School of Business and Economics at Åbo Akademi University, Finland.

Professor Wilfred Leonard Saunders CBE was a British librarian and the founding director of what became the University of Sheffield Information School.

References

  1. ↑ "iSchool Timeline". University of Sheffield: Information School. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  2. ↑ Saunders, W. (1989). "The University of Sheffield Department of Information Studies". Journal of Information Science. 15 (4–5): 193–202. doi:10.1177/016555158901500402.
  3. ↑ "The University of Sheffield Department of Information Studies". Journal of Information Science. 15 (4–5). 1989.
  4. ↑ "Special Issue, 40 years of the Department of Information Studies, University of Sheffield". Journal of Information Science. 29 (4). 2003.
  5. ↑ "Library & Information Management". Top Universities. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  6. ↑ "UFC 26/92 - RAE92: The Outcome Table 64". Rae.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  7. ↑ "1996 RAE - Unit of Assessment: 61". Rae.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  8. ↑ "Results : 2001 Research Assessment Exercise : Unit of Assessment : 61 Library and Information Management". Rae.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  9. ↑ "Times Higher Education Table of Excellence" (PDF). Times Higher Education. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Sanderson, M. (2008). "Revisiting h measured on UK LIS and IR academics". Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 59 (7): 1184–1190. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.474.1990 . doi:10.1002/asi.20771.
  11. ↑ "Professor Wilfred Saunders". The Times. 8 October 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  12. ↑ "Prof Paul Clough". Information School. University of Sheffield. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  13. ↑ "SIG USE : Awards". Asis.org. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  14. ↑ "Alasdair Paterson". Scottish Poetry Library. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  15. ↑ HatoonKadi (5 March 2021). "My School". Twitter. Retrieved 13 April 2022.

Further reading

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