I-Schools as a Natural Home for Digital Libraries Education

Given that digital libraries (DLs) bring together technology, information, and people who use information, it can easily be argued that i-schools should play a central role in educating DL professionals. This study examines the existing roles that i-schools play in DL education from two different vantage points: their offering of DL courses and their participation in a DL curriculum development project. In addition, we explore the potential to expand the iSchools Caucus by recruiting those schools that a reactive in DL education efforts (i.e., those that offer courses or participate in curriculum development) but are not yet members of the Caucus. DL courses in the i-schools were further analyzed, in terms of the topics covered, the textbooks used, and the types of assignments used. This analysis was based on the seven course syllabi available on the open Web.