Information architecture in library and information science curricula

Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, Dec 2001/Jan 2002 by Robins, David

Undoubtedly, the kinds of qualifications needed for the types of jobs described above may change over time. The critical task for LIS educators is to distill what can be taught "inhouse" and what cannot. In any case, we can teach some courses immediately because they are already in our curriculum. Other courses will take time to develop, depending on existing faculty.

Skills and Knowledge in Context: Mapping IA to Existing Curricular Elements

Information architecture is a natural fit for LIS curricula. IA is about the organization of information, information technology, usability and user studies, information retrieval and, ultimately, knowledge management. None of these areas should be much of a stretch for LIS schools. Organization of information could be extended to include taxonomies for IA and knowledge management. Metadata for document management and discovery is also related to organization of information.

Information technology (IT) has been a part of LIS curricula since libraries began using computers for catalogs. Courses involving website development and evaluation were offered in many schools soon after graphical Web browsers first became available in 1992. The weakest link in the IT chain is the lack of LIS faculty who can teach programming and database skills for active pages in dynamic websites. I am not suggesting that there are no programs or faculty capable of doing so, but overall, there is a weakness there. In addition, LIS programs typically do not attract students with sufficient technology background to learn advanced techniques. However, capable faculty might drive up enrollments of higher quality students.

All LIS programs offer courses that have their roots in reference work. These courses have a variety of titles, but they are all about service, and many explicitly state their user orientation. Some of these courses are already including user studies as course content, and some are analyzing and developing resources based on usability. These courses may be part of an IA program or concentration. The same may be said of information retrieval programs.

Another way to include IA in a curriculum might be by specifying a curriculum capstone course as IA. Since IA is, in one sense, a culmination of many LIS skills and knowledge, a project-based course at the end of students' course-- work might be a useful demonstration of their level of mastery.

Conclusion

Whether IA will be a permanent fixture in LIS programs or simply a passing fad will depend on the marketplace. If LIS educators feel that a sufficient market for information architects exists, then they might develop curricula around that market. It is too early to determine if the market is there. But there is certainly enthusiasm, and the Special Interest Group on Information Architecture in ASIST is living proof. SIGIAs listserv is very busy. Similarly, ASIST has hosted at least two meetings dedicated exclusively to IA. There is clearly momentum in this fledgling field, and it represents a potential elixir for LIS.