One iSchool's Ideas and Identity: Doctoral Training and Research at Rutgers-SCILS 1959-2007

The proposed paper for presentation at the Third iConference addresses the ???Nature and Scope of iSchools and iResearch??? conference theme. It addresses this theme through report of an in-depth case study of the organizational, social, and intellectual evolution of one early pioneer in the iSchool movement, the Rutgers University School of Communication, Information, and Library Studies (SCILS). The paper first situates SCILS within the iSchool movement, examining its commonalities with and uniqueness from other members of the iSchool Caucus. Thereafter, the paper focuses specifically on the evolution of doctoral research and training, beginning with the program???s development as a disciplinary LIS program, followed by its transformation into an interdisciplinary program with the multidisciplinary merger that founded SCILS in 1982. The paper examines the evolution of ideas developed in dissertation research produced before and after the founding of SCILS interdisciplinary doctoral program in 1987. This includes analysis of the 269 dissertation produced in the program from 1961 to 2007. It compares and contrasts these periods in terms of ideas, methods and the influence played by dissertation supervisors (44 in all). Finally, it examines the influence of key organizational changes on the perceived identity of the school, its relationship with external constituencies, and its intellectual vision into the future

iSchool Health and Medical Research Initiatives and Opportunities

The Annual iConference offers an important opportunity for information sharing among member iSchools. Proposed for iConference 09 is a Roundtable Discussion that provides a forum for information sharing about existing and planned iSchool initiatives, and discussion of opportunities related to Health and Medical Research. Because of the transdisciplinary scope of research problems and practical demands in relation to Health and Medical Research, initiatives in these areas offer significant opportunities for cross-disciplinary research collaboration and interdisciplinary partnership with other units in the development of professional training programs