School of Information Studies
About the School of Information Studies
- Information about Library and Information Management
- Information about Teacher Librarianship
The Wagga Wagga Teachers' College became the Riverina College of Advanced Education (RCAE) in 1981 and later merged with Wagga Agricultural College. A new campus was developed in Albury and the RCAE became the Riverina Murray Institute of Higher Education (RMIHE) in 1986.
Two of the Schools established as part of the RCAE were the School of Library and Information Science and the School of Computing Studies.
The School of Library and Information Science offered the Bachelor of Arts (Library and Information Management), Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Management and the Graduate Diploma in School Librarianship, as well as providing library services and curriculum resources for the College.
The School of Computing Studies was established to be responsible for the presentation and development of courses in computing, in particular the Associate Diploma in Computing; to provide computing subjects in other courses and for the maintenance and development of computing equipment and computing systems within the College.
In late 1983 the two Schools merged to become the School of Information Studies in order to meet the developing needs of information transfer. The amalgamation brought together a strong group of academics with a wide range of backgrounds in the information professions. Many of the staff had the additional advantage of having worked in the field, in industry, information agencies and other relevant professional areas.
The beginning of a new decade saw the amalgamation of the Riverina Murray Institute of Higher Education (Wagga Wagga and Albury Campuses) with the Mitchell College of Advanced Education (Bathurst) to become Charles Sturt University. Charles Sturt University became Australia’s 26th university when it was established by legislation on 19 July 1989.
The advent of university status allowed, in the School, the expansion of postgraduate research degrees to complement the success of the undergraduate and postgraduate coursework programs for which the School is well known nationally and internationally. The rapid development of the School’s research activities is testimony to the enthusiasm of its staff who have identified the critical need for quality research for the professions and to inform teaching.
A particularly significant event for the School of Information Studies in 2006 was the realignment of Faculties at CSU in light of the University Strategy, 2007–2011. The result of this process was a reduction in the number of Faculties at CSU from five to four from January 1, 2007. As part of the realignment, the School of Information Studies moved from the Faculty of Science and Agriculture to the Faculty of Education. A consequence of the realignment was that our colleagues in the Information Technology group moved to the newly created School of Computing and Mathematics. The outcome for the Library and Information Management (LIM) and Teacher Librarianship (TL) groups was a smaller academic unit within a well–focussed Faculty with professional groups similar to its own. Staff members from the existing Faculty of Education and from the LIM and TL groups quickly identified some common areas of research interest such as information literacy, the knowledge society and learning cultures. The transition into the new Faculty has been progressing well and we look forward to making the most of the opportunities our new "home" will provide. The Dean of the Faculty of Education is Professor Toni Downes.