SLIS ranked No. 1 for scholarly productivity

IU's School of Library and Information Science has recently been named the nation's top library and information studies program in terms of faculty and program productivity for the second time in a row.\nThe ranking comes after the school was tied for seventh in this year's U.S. News and World Report list of the top overall library and information studies graduate programs in the country. \nThe most recent ranking is the result of an extensive study by researchers Denice Adkins and John Budd of the University of Missouri that placed the school ahead of second place Rutgers in a cumulative ranking of programs. The study was based on publication and citation data for the years 1999 to 2004, according to a press release.\nThe study, "Scholarly productivity of U.S. LIS faculty," will appear in an upcoming issue of Library & Information Science Research and will express the scholarly output and academic influence of IU's SLIS faculty. According to a press release, two of the top 10 most widely published and most frequently cited faculty members in the current study are affiliated with IU -- SLIS Dean Blaise Cronin and Charles R. McClure.\nIn a similar study conducted by Budd in 2000, the IU SLIS also received a No. 1 ranking based on publication data from 1993 to 1998, edging out runner-up University of Illinois.\nDebora Shaw, associate dean and professor of library and information science, said the school is proud of the ranking. She said the school does indeed have a very strong and active research faculty and the recognition by researchers across the country reflects this. \nA strong ranking in faculty research and productivity is good news for students at the SLIS, she said. \n"For students it means that the faculty and professors of the school are active and engaging in academic research on a national level," she said. "This allows faculty to better prepare students for the changes that occur in the field." \nThe SLIS has recently hired two new faculty members. Professor John Walsh will specialize in digital libraries and will work with University Information Technology Services and campus libraries to build this area of the program. Professor Hamid Ekbia, a specialist in human-computer interaction and social informatics, will add his expertise when he joins the SLIS faculty in the spring.\nShaw said the addition of Walsh and Ekbia and their specialty fields will help the SLIS continue as a strong research facility in future.\n"These are both areas that are important for students to study while they are in the graduate program," she said.