Message from
the Director
Winter has settled in for a
stay in Iowa City and the dust is just settling from another busy
Fall semester here at the School of Library and Information Science.
I've just completed teaching the first offering of our new Organization
of Information I course, one of the two core classes in our Conceptual
Structures and Systems category in the curriculum. This new course
is intended to provide a broad introduction to the nature of information
and how we organize it for access and retrieval. Given the growth
in intellectual perspective that I've seen in my students this semester,
I believe that this course will have substantial impact in the strength
of our future graduates and our interdisciplinary connections on campus.
In a similar interdisciplinary vein, the School is proud to offer
students a new joint M.A.
in Library and Information Science / Certificate in Book Studies,
officially approved in June 2004. The joint program enables students
interested in book studies to complement their M.A. degree in Library
Science with a Certificate in Book Studies. The joint program also
allows students to complete both programs with a combined total of
52 semester hours, instead of the 60 s.h. that would be required to
complete each program separately. Two SLIS students have already begun
working toward the joint program, and this fall and we hope to bring
you a report on their experiences in next year's Newsletter.
The School, as part of a team lead by the University of Iowa Libraries,
and including Iowa State University, and The University of Nebraska
at Lincoln, received funding from the Institute of Museum and Library
Services for PULS, the Program for University Librarians, which recruited
nine students to train as science librarians. Further details can
be found below.
I'm happy to report that Dr. Christine Pawley, who joined the SLIS
faculty in the fall of 2000, was tenured and promoted early to Associate
Professor this summer. She has been central in our interactions on
campus with the Center for the Book (see below). Christine's research
into the history of women's reading in the twentieth century Midwest,
with a particular focus on Iowa and Wisconsin continues to attract
strong interest from her peers and the community. You can read more
about this in the Faculty
News section. We are pleased to extend
congratulations to her, and you are invited to do the same.
On a more regretful note, the School said goodbye to Dr. Rebecca Platzner,
who resigned effective May 2004 to pursue other interests. Rebecca
came to the School in the Fall of 2001 to teach courses in children's
resources. We thank Rebecca for her dedication to teaching at SLIS
and wish her the best of luck. We are currently recruiting a replacement.
In May, the School, alumni, and friends were saddened by the death
of former faculty member, Louane L. (Jerry) Newsome, a co-founder
of the School of Library and Information Science. Jerry's legacy to
the School includes the Festival of Books for Young People, which
she began in 1969 and which has continued annually since. Through
her dedication, hard work and creative endeavors, Louane Newsome served
to inspire generations of Library and Information Science students,
and had a tremendously positive impact on the LIS field. To this day,
the Louane Newsome Lecture Fund helps to support speakers at SLIS
who expose students to historical or current topics in children's
literature.
In closing, I would like to thank all of the Friends of SLIS, the
School's Advisory Panel and the Graduate College, for their strong
and continuing support of the School, its faculty, and the SLIS student
body. In lean times you get to know who your true friends are.
Portfolio to Remain as Replacement
for Comprehensive Examination
Spring 2003 marked a change in the SLIS exit examination as the department
voted to eliminate the Comprehensive Exam. The new Portfolio option,
intended to help students establish a professional identity before
hitting the job market, has proven to be popular both with students
and faculty. The written portion of the Portfolio has been particularly
successful, allowing students to reflect upon coursework and graduate
school accomplishments. The format of the oral portion of the exam
is still being tweaked. All but one graduating student this year chose
to complete a Portfolio instead of the Comprehensive Exam.
Applicant Numbers Remain High
The SLIS Admissions Committee put in long hours this Spring as they
sought to narrow the pool of well-qualified applicants for Fall 2004.
The majority of applicants had a grade point average well above 3.5,
and impressive cumulative GRE scores. From a pool of over one hundred
applicants, thirty-nine students were admitted. All were welcomed
at the SLIS New Student Orientation on August 27th, which included
a faculty-student social hour, tours of the School and the University
of Iowa Main Library, an introduction to L.I.S. professional organizations,
and a student organization meeting. I would like to say how much we
appreciate the individuals who so generously donated their time at
this event.
A
Tribute to Louane L. (Jerry) Newsome
A founding mother of SLIS, Louane L. (Jerry) Newsome, died May 21,
2004 at Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. She was 97 years old. Mrs. Newsome
was present at the creation of the School, having taught library science
in the College of Education in the ten years preceding the founding
of SLIS in 1967. In her twenty years of service at the University
of Iowa, Mrs. Newsome instilled a love of children's literature in
a generation of students who became teachers and librarians throughout
the state of Iowa and beyond. Her enthusiasm and her passion for nurturing
children were hallmarks of her teaching.
One of her special legacies at UI is the annual Festival of Books
for Young People, which Mrs. Newsome established in 1969. At her retirement
in 1973, the School created the Louane L. Newsome Lecture Fund, and
the first Newsome Lecture was given by Madeleine L'Engle the following
year.
--Ethel Bloesch
Funding for Aspiring Public
Librarians--
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant
The School recently received a generous gift from the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation and was able to award the Bill and Melinda Gates
Public Libraries Scholarship to four students this Fall. Eric Melton,
Maria Stepanova, Tamura Sherie, and Samantha Wikstrom, four students
who are committed to serving in a public library after graduation,
each received a scholarship of $5,689, the equivalent of tuition for
the 2004-2005 academic year. The School is extremely grateful to the
Global Library Program and the Gates Foundation for this generous
grant that bolsters students' desires to be positive forces in their
community.
Institute of Museum
and Library Services Grant
helps to train Science Librarians
In late 2003, the School joined forces with the libraries of the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Iowa State University, and The University
of Iowa to seek funding for a program designed to recruit and train
individuals with science backgrounds in order to help address a shortage
of academic librarians in the sciences. The grant application resulted
in the successful procurement of $392,347 in funds for the program,
provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services as part of
a Recruiting & Educating Librarians for the 21st Century grant.
Nine individuals with a background in the sciences and an interest
in academic librarianship became the first participants in the program
in June, 2004. Three of these students were placed at The University
of Iowa, three at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and three at
Iowa State University. Each student benefits from having a half-time
academic assistantship which not only helps to fund their studies
in librarianship but also gives them real-world experience in an academic
library. Students outside Iowa City attend courses in classrooms with
live two-way interactive video capability. The program will end in
December 2005 and the nine students will seek employment in academic
and research libraries.
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