IS News 
iSchool to Welcome Sheila Corrall, Professor and LIS Program Chair
The iSchool is pleased to announce that Sheila Corrall will be joining the faculty in Fall 2012 as a Full Professor and as Chair of the Library and Information Science Program. Dr. Corrall is Professor & Chair in Librarianship and Information Management at the Information School, University of Sheffield, UK; she also served as Head of School from 2006-2010. Dr. Corrall has earned a Master’s in Classics from Cambridge; a postgraduate diploma in Librarianship from the Polytechnic of North London; an MBA from the Roffey Park Management Institute; a Master’s in Information Systems from the University of Southampton; and a Certificate in Higher Education from Sheffield University. In addition, Corrall has had a wide-ranging career in the library profession having worked in public libraries including the British Library, as well as several academic libraries at Aston University, the University of Reading, and the University of Southampton. Learn more.
iSchool to host SFI annual lecture on March 29, 2012
The 2012 Annual Lecture will be held on Thursday, March 29 at 3:00 pm in the Lower Lounge of the William Pitt Union. The SFI speaker will be David H. Holtzman, Author, Privacy Lost and Surviving Identify Theft. Holtzman will discuss "Stealing digital assets—Piracy and privacy." Learn more.
Detlefsen, Barsh win WISE Online Teaching Awards
The iSchool offers congratulations to Ellen Detlefsen and Adele Barsh, who were recently honored by the Web-based Information Science Education (WISE) Consortium. Detlefsen and Barsh were recipients of the WISE Excellence in Online Teaching Award for 2011. The awards are given to faculty nominated by WISE students from institutions other than the faculty member's home institution. Dr. Detlefsen, Associate Professor, was recognized for her efforts to promote “sharing amongst classmates” through a series of interactive exercises in her Special Topics course, Information Sources, Services, and Technology for an Aging World. Adele Barsh, who serves as an adjunct for the iSchool, was noted for incorporating real-life examples and collaborative learning in her Special Topics course on Collection Development for Academic Libraries.
iSchool notes the passing of Sara Fine, Professor Emerita
The School of Information Sciences notes with sadness the passing of Sara Fine, Pitt Alumna and Professor Emerita of the School. Dr. Fine, who most recently served as Professor of Information Science at Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv, Israel, passed away on Friday, February 3 in Israel. During her 23-year teaching career at the iSchool, Dr. Fine focused her teaching and research on human interaction with information and technology, exploring how technology affects individuals, organizations and societies. She worked with libraries and other organizations on preparing staff for the constant evolution of technology. She also consulted with industry on the design and marketing of technological products as well as the information seeking behavior of researchers and scientists. Upon her retirement, former students and colleagues created an endowment to foster Dr. Fine’s work through the Sara Fine Institute and the Sara Fine Annual Lecture. The purpose of the Institute and the Lecture are to examine novel issues emerging from the impact of technology. For more information about the Sara Fine Institute at the School of Information Sciences, visit http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~fineinst/history.html.
Faculty, Staff and Students to present at iConference 2012
The School of Information Sciences will be well-represented at iConference 2012, to be held February 7-10 in Toronto. Themed around “Culture…Design…Society,” the conference will attract an international audience of scholars and researchers who work on critical information issues in contemporary society. A number of faculty, students and staff from the iSchool at Pitt will present at this year’s conference addressing topics ranging from information seeking in adolescents to the advantages of instant feedback systems in a museum environment to defining the iSchool concept for prospective students. Learn more.
iSchool introduces MLIS: Pitt Online degree program
The iSchool is pleased to announce that students will be able to earn the Master of Library & Information Science (MLIS) through the Pitt Online platform hosted by the University of Pittsburgh. For more than a decade, the School has offered an online version of its ALA-accredited MLIS degree program. Beginning in Fall 2012, the MLIS: Pitt Online program will be available to those students who want to earn the much sought-after MLIS, but who don’t wish to relocate to the Pittsburgh campus.
Through Pitt Online, students will be able to take the general course of study or one of several specializations within the MLIS program: Information Technology; Resources and Services in Children and Youth, Health or Reference; and the School Library Certification Program. Support services have been carefully designed to provide an excellent learning environment through carefully conceived virtual access to the University’s comprehensive digital library, to a wide range of instructional materials, and to advising. For more information about the MLIS: Pitt Online degree program, please visit http://www.ischool.pitt.edu/online-mlis/ .
Dr. Bowler wins 2012 ALISE/Pratt-Severn Faculty Innovation Award
Congratulations to Leanne Bowler, Assistant Professor at the iSchool, for her recent honor from the Association of Library and Information Science Educators (ALISE). Dr. Bowler, who is lead faculty for our Library Service for Children and Youth Specialization in the MLIS program, was recognized with the 2012 ALISE/Pratt-Severn Faculty Innovation Award. The Award is designed to “identify innovation by full-time faculty members” … “in incorporating evolving information technologies in the curricula” of accredited MLIS programs. For her proposal, Dr. Bowler described several innovative teaching practices that she implemented in her class Technology in the Lives of Children and Youth. These technology-based learning activities were designed to facilitate students investigating the use of new technologies, determining how libraries can use technology to enhance the traditional mission or promoting literacy, and evaluating how technology effects young people’s cognitive and social development. Some of the activities included utilizing multiple formats of literature, digital storytelling, creating e-posters, and “field trips” to virtual worlds. Dr. Bowler will be recognized on Thursday, January 19, at the ALISE meetings in Dallas, TX.
iSchool Welcomes New Faculty
Join the iSchool faculty, staff and students in welcoming new faculty members Stephen M. Griffin and Patrick Keilty. We’re very excited to have them join the faculty and look forward to their many contributions to the School.
Dr. Griffin comes to the iSchool after a successful 32-year career at the National Science Foundation (NSF). He most recently held the position of Program Director in the Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS); prior to that, he was engaged in program planning, development and evaluation for several NSF divisions. He was a champion of the inter agency Digital Library Initiatives in the 1990s and has continued as a spokesperson for raising broad understanding of the critical importance of digital curation. Dr. Griffin will serve as a Visiting Professor and the Mellon Cyberscholar at the iSchool.
Dr. Keilty recently earned his PhD (2011) at the University of California, Los Angeles. His doctoral work in the Department of Information Studies culminated in his dissertation on “Seeking Sex: Embodiment and Electronic Culture.” Dr. Keilty has co-authored a book that will be published in 2012: Feminist and Queer Information Studies Reader (Litwin Books) and has also published articles in Knowledge Organization, Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences, and InterActions. Keilty’s research interests include gender and sexuality, critical theory, digital culture, digital humanities, visual studies, information activity, information structures, philosophy of science and technology, rare books and manuscripts, and the history and theory of information studies.
Scholarships for Service in Information Assurance Available
The School of Information Sciences is pleased to announce that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has continued its funding for the Federal Cyber Service: Scholarship for Service (SFS) program at the iSchool. The scholarship funds will support students as they earn their Master’s Degree in Information Science (MSIS) or Telecommunications (MST) in the Security Assured Information Systems specialization. The SFS program addresses the critical need for a workforce trained to develop, design, and implement secure information systems. This NSF-funded program aims to create a cadre of professionals that can protect the nation’s critical information infrastructures. The scholarships cover tuition, books, fees, a paid summer internship, and conference travel. For more information, please contact us at isinq@sis.pitt.edu.
NSF awards Brusilovsky grant to model latent communities
Peter Brusilovsky, Professor, was awarded a grant for $140,145 from the National Science Foundation. The grant was made as part of the “Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research” (EAGER) program. The funds will permit identifying the composition and intent of online communities, and to present that understanding in ways so as to better understand the community’s structure. Technology permits the creation of latent communities through tools such as blog comments or tagging. If properly collected and analyzed, data about such communities could be modeled and visualized to support recommendation approaches. In the case of the numerous scientific communities, the awareness of such communities could lead to the development of broad-based scientific collaborations. For more information about Dr. Brusilovsky’ s grant, please visit the NSF’s awards page.
Karimi authors book on “Universal Navigation on Smartphones”
Hassan Karimi, Associate Professor at the iSchool, has authored a book on navigation technologies and trends, particularly looking at navigation using Smartphones. The volume covers the development of navigation technology and users’ needs for navigation assistance, the differences in indoor and outdoor navigation, and the need for improved navigation tools. The volume introduces the concept of “University Navigation Technology” (UNIAVIT), which provides navigation assistance anywhere, at any time and for any user. The potential features and architecture for such a system are discussed, as well as the various devices one might use to take advantage of Universal Navigation. In addition, the book examines social navigation networks which provides location-based services on mobile devices through the input of social networks. Learn more.
iSchool PhD Students Recognized at International Conferences
The faculty, staff and students extend their congratulations to Denis Parra and Brian Cumer, PhD students at the iSchool. Each participated in a major conference in their field and was recognized for excellence in their research. Learn more.
Pitt Provost Awards Three Grants to iSchool Faculty
The University of Pittsburgh’s Provost, Patricia E. Beeson, recently announced that three grants have been awarded to faculty at the School of Information Sciences. These internal grant program funds, administered by the Provost’s Office, are distributed through competitive proposal processes open to faculty from across the University. The iSchool congratulates those faculty members who successfully garnered funding for their projects in research and in education. Learn more.
Peter Brusilovsky Promoted to Rank of Full Professor
The iSchool is pleased to announce that Peter Brusilovsky has been promoted to the rank of full professor. The faculty, staff and students congratulate Dr. Brusilovsky on this recognition of his research, teaching and leadership contributions to the School, the University, and the field of Information Sciences. Brusilovsky is internationally-renowned for his work in the areas of adaptive Web-based systems, adaptive hypermedia, intelligent tutoring systems, human-computer interaction, and adaptive interfaces. Here at the iSchool, he has led the development of two significant research and educational efforts: the Personalized Adaptive Web Systems (PAWS) Lab and the Teaching and Learning Research Lab (TALER). Recently, the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, recognized his research impact by bestowing upon him the degree of Doctor honoris causa. Learn more.
Zadorozhny awarded competitive Norwegian Research Council Grant
Associate Professor Vladimir Zadorozhny was awarded a Leiv Eiriksson Fellowship by the Norwegian Research Council. The Leiv Eiriksson Mobility Programme is a highly-competitive initiative designed to attract top-level researchers to Norway and to strengthen the long-term escalation of R&D collaboration between Norway and countries within North America. In the 2011 round of competition, only 42 projects were funded; approximately 150 proposals were submitted. Learn more.
Cox explores Archival Profession’s Mission and Health
Richard Cox brings his years of experience as an archivist and as the lead faculty member for the Archives, Preservation and Records Management specialization in the iSchool to bear on this exploration of the health and the mission of the archival profession. “Archival Anxiety and the Vocational Calling,” Cox’s 16th book about his chosen profession, was recently published by Litwin Books LLC. In it, he provides his personal reflections on the evolution of the field and his attraction –calling --to it. Learn more.
Hirtle Authors Monograph on Geographic Design
Faculty member Stephen Hirtle has authored a monograph which looks at how humans process spatial concepts and how interfaces can be improved to take advantage of that understanding. Geographical Design: Spatial Cognition and Geographical Information Science was published in March 2011 by Morgan & Claypool as part of the Synthesis Lectures on Human-Centered Informatics. The monograph is extremely timely in that the use of GPS, Smartphones, and online tools such as GoogleMaps has become an everyday part of life. Hirtle explores how people conceptualize space, how they perceive wayfinding, and users’ expectations. He discusses the various types and benefits of technologies to acquire locational information including the interfaces through which people access that information. Hirtle pays special attention to innovative geographical platforms which provide users with intuitive access to spatial knowledge. In conclusion, he examines challenges to interface design for location information including the changing role of maps as well as security and privacy concerns. Learn more.