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Vision & Core Values

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Vision & Core Values
We believe information professionals — whether librarians, archivists, user experience designers, or data analysts — can make the world a better and fairer place.

Vision

The University of Texas at Austin School of Information is a premier research and education program for the 21st century field of information.

We are bridgers:

Connecting people to information, connecting the past to the present and to the future, and connecting different disciplines.

We are changing the future by engaging the present and preserving the past. Research and teaching at the iSchool changes the ways that we interact with information and technology, changes how information can make the world a better and fairer place, and changes the ways we protect and preserve our collective memory.

Our Mission

At the School of Information, we are committed to making a positive difference in people’s lives through excellence in research, teaching, and public engagement. Our core values underpin our efforts to shape the field of information for human and social benefit by:

  • Discovering new and vital knowledge about information
  • Educating the next generation of leaders in the information professions
  • Developing new scholars who will advance knowledge
  • Improving society through service and collaboration
  • Applying human-centered values to all our work

Our Values

Information Serves Humanity

We understand that information technologies must serve the needs of people, and that access to reliable information is essential to a functioning civil society.

A People-First Perspective

Information systems must be designed to augment and enhance human and organizational capabilities; doing so requires bringing people into the process from the start.

Technology for Social Good

All emerging technologies raise ethical and social issues that require study, research, and intervention.

An Interdisciplinary Approach

Multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches offer the best hope for building information systems and shaping information practices that will serve the public interest.

Grand Challenges

We live in the Information Age, offering unprecedented opportunities but also unmatched threats and challenges. Rigorous research is required to ensure that we understand the scope of the emerging challenges, and build our responses using the best data and evidence available.

Examples of some of the big questions being addressed at the School of Information include:

 

The future requires us to address these challenges head-on today, and we are doing so at The University of Texas at Austin School of Information.

iSchool Research     Our Programs

iSchool Partnerships

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iSchools Organization

The iSchools organization was founded in 2005 by a collective of Information Schools dedicated to advancing the information field in the 21st Century.

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Texas Computing

Texas Computing brings together exceptional faculty, unique interdisciplinary programs, and a large talented pool of students to create opportunities for learning and research unrivaled in the world.

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Bridging Barriers > Good Systems

Artificial intelligence is changing the way we live and work — often, for the better — but it has the potential to be harmful in ways we fail to predict. Designing AI technologies that benefit society is our grand challenge.

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New America's Public Interest Technology

New America’s Public Interest Technology team connects technologists to public interest organizations. We aim to improve services to vulnerable communities and strengthen local organizations that serve them.