Information studies: Library development of an undergraduate curriculum for the information age

Abstract

In today's information-rich environment, students need to understand how to navigate information challenges such as mis/disinformation, conspiracy theories, algorithmic and information literacy, and artificial intelligence. As we have seen, such information challenges will continue to have an outsized impact on our online lives, civic health, and democratic norms. To address these challenges, librarians at a large public university used both qualitative and quantitative methods such as an environmental scan, stakeholder analysis, focus groups, and interviews to inform the development of an Information Studies Minor designed to intervene in this complex information landscape. The Information Studies Minor is intended for a broad audience of students across all disciplines who seek opportunities to combine their disciplinary knowledge with a focused education in all aspects of information. Such a curriculum will not only provide important understandings of being a digital citizen, but also essential workplace and academic skills for the twenty-first century. Understanding the social, political, and economic dynamics of information will be an essential cornerstone of comprehensive higher education in the United States, and our minor will play a central role in advancing such educational objectives.