USF SI @ ALA 2015

USF School of Information faculty, students, and alumni were present and active among the 22,000 attendees at the 2015 American Library Association Annual Conference and Exhibition held in San Francisco June 25th to 30th (see the Look Back at the conference at http://alaac15.ala.org/). The conference opened the day the U.S. Supreme Court ruling made same-sex marriage legal throughout the country, with "inclusiveness and diversity" emerging as a major conference theme for 2015 (as reported in American Libraries magazine (July 22, 2015). The American Library Association has been an advocate for LGBT diversity initiatives and active in supporting and participating in LGBT rights, historically. Being in the center of such a momentous decision and recognition of civil rights made the event even more extraordinary for those attending.Associate Director Diane Austin represented USF at both the booth and reunion, greeting and reconnecting with USF and other school's alum and other conference attendees, sharing stories and what is happening in the SI programs. Other SI professors were busy with multiple committee assignments and event attendance. SI Professor Dr. Vicki Gregory participated on the Notable Books Council this year. She also attended Beta Phi Mu activities on behalf of SI and the Andrew Carnegie Medal awards ceremony. Dr. Kathleen de la Pena McCook served on the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction & Nonfiction committee this year.

School of Information continuously accredited by American Library Assoication

The University of South Florida's iSchool is pleased to announce that the American Library Association's (ALA) Committee on Accreditation has granted continued accreditation status to its Master of Arts in Library and Information Science (MALIS) program. The next comprehensive review of the program is scheduled for spring 2023.

The School of Information Sciences has been continually accredited by ALA since 1974. http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2016/07/coa-announces-accreditation-decisions-made-2016-annual-conference