University of Toronto Faculty of Information

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The Faculty of Information (known as the "iSchool") is part of the University of Toronto and is devoted to the study of library and information science. It was originally founded as the Library School within the Ontario College of Education in 1928. In 1972 the name changed to the Faculty of Library Science, the Faculty of Library and Information Science in 1982 and then the Faculty of Information Studies in 1994. In 2008, it was renamed to the Faculty of Information, also identifying itself as "the iSchool at Toronto."

The Inforum's information desk

The faculty has offered a variety of different degrees since its beginning:

  • From 1928-1936, a one-year University Diploma.
  • From 1936-1970, a one-year Bachelor of Library Science degree.
  • From 1970-1995, a two-year Master of Library Science (MLS) degree.
  • In 1971, a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D) program was established.
  • In 1988, a Master of Information Science (MIS) degree was introduced.
  • In 1995, the MLS and MIS were replaced with the Master of Information Studies (MISt) degree, which has three areas of specialization: archival studies, information systems, and library and information science.

The MISt degree is accredited by the American Library Association. Those pursuing this program have the option to participate in further specialized collaborative programs. One of the most noted of these is Colloborative Program in Book History and Print Culture, based at Massey College. In addition to this program, the Knowledge Media Design program is quite popular at FIS. In addition, there are five other collaborative programs that FIS students can undertake: Addiction Studies; Aging, Palliative and Supportive Care Across the Life Course; Centre for Environment; Knowledge Media Design; Sexual Diversity Studies; Women's Health; Women and Gender Studies.

Since 1969, the Faculty has provided graduate education in Museum Studies. As of 2007, Museum Studies is an independent program within the Humanities Division of the School of Graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. Most Master of Museum Studies classes are offered at the Claude T. Bissell Building. The program also requires students to complete a summer internship between the first and second years of study. In 2007, there were 21 museums, art galleries and other cultural institution where Museum Studies worked as interns including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of Ireland and the Ontario Science Centre.

The faculty is in the Claude T. Bissell Building, north of and attached to Robarts Library. FI has its own library, the Inforum, housing over 100,000 items in its collection, including a special collection on subject analysis.

Professor Seamus Ross succeeded Dr.Brian Cantwell Smith as Dean in January 2009. Professor Ross comes to Toronto from the University of Glasgow in Scotland where he was founding director of HATII and professor of humanities informatics and digital curation.

[edit] Faculty of Information Quartery (F/IQ)

The Faculty of Information Quarterly (F/IQ), is a scholarly publication founded and operated entirely by students at the iSchool. The mission of F/IQ is to create an intellectual space for the Information community to analyse and critically assess the divergent topics that comprise the field's study and practice, and to define and direct the iSchool Movement through scholarly and professional communications as a means to fostering collective identity among students, faculty and practitioners of the field. F/IQ was first published in October, 2008.

F/IQ is editor-reviewed rather than peer-reviewed, to encourage greater flexibility of its content and to attract a broad scope of article topics and formats. The journal seeks to provide an environment for the voices of emerging and established scholars and practitioners in diverse Information fields. F/IQ encourages submissions of a broad constellation of works on the study of Information in all of its forms, including but not limited to archival science, accessibility studies, book history and print culture, critical theory, cultural informatics, health informatics, information studies, information systems, library science, museum studies, and technology studies.

Published four times a year, F/IQ accepts of original research, guest editorials, interviews with senior scholars and professionals in the field, and book reviews. It is an open-access e-journal that uses Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open source software for the management of peer-review journals, created by the Public Knowledge Project, released under the GNU General Public License.

[edit] Student and Alumni Success

The students and graduates of the iSchool have enjoyed considerable career success. Between their first and second year of study, many iSchool students take summer jobs with a variety of information organizations, including Library and Archives Canada, the Library of Parliament, the University of Toronto Libraries and other locations. Many of these summer positions are funded by special government programs such as the Federal Student Work Experience Program, the Young Canada Works and various provincial programs.

According to the most recent salary survey (2005) on the Faculty's website, the median salary of FIS graduates is approximately $49,000 per year. Of the 104 students who received the MISt degree in 2005, 33 responded to the survey. Given the considerable increase in the Faculty's enrollment (the 2007-2008 academic saw approximately two hundred students start their program that year), it is unclear if this change will affect employment.

[edit] External links

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