Ph.D. candidate investigates inclusion on Christian dating sites

Friday, August 28, 2020

Online dating companies eHarmony and Christian Mingle — two of the most popular websites for Christian singles — initially refused to offer same-sex matchmaking, conceding only after settling separate lawsuits. Even then, the companies did so grudgingly: eHarmony created a separate site called Compatible Partners, and Christian Mingle allowed users to view same-gender profiles but wouldn’t identify who else was seeking gay users. How have these companies evolved their approaches to same-sex matchmaking? What does this mean for LGBTQ+ Christians looking for lasting relationships? Wh

IMLS awards $1.5 million to iSchool-led research projects

Friday, July 31, 2020

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded a total of more than $1.5 million in funding for four projects led by the University of Washington Information School. The projects span several initiatives to benefit libraries and their users: making libraries more inclusive for children with autism, using open data to serve library users, managing post-traumatic stress among library staff, and supporting teen and young-adult patrons of rural libraries. Two of the awards are part of the National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program: Autism-Ready Librari

Seattle teacher adopts Center for an Informed Public's mission with 'MisinfoDay Jr.'

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Shawn Lee and his AP U.S. History students at Seattle’s Ballard High School were gearing up to attend MisinfoDay at the University of Washington in March when concerns over the coronavirus forced the Center for an Informed Public to rethink its planned in-person event. “We were all ramped up and ready,” Lee said in a recent interview about MisinfoDay, an event first held in 2019 and designed to educate high school students, teachers and librarians about how to be better information consumers and less likely to share misinformation. Just as the CIP had to shift gears with MisinfoD

New way to dig into data on access to information

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Meaningful access to information around the world can be studied at a national and regional level by exploring trends in key indicators related to Connectivity, Freedom, and Gender Equity, according to researchers at the Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) at the University of Washington Information School. A new set of data-visualization dashboards allows users to explore TASCHA’s research and see how each nation stacks up. The dashboards offer visual displays that allow users to compare each country with regional averages, and they explain how the data relates to meaningful ac

Justin Wadland, '03, honored with UW Distinguished Librarian Award

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Justin Wadland, who earned his Master of Science in Library and Information Science in 2003 at the University of Washington Information School, was honored this past spring with the UW Distinguished Librarian Award for his work at the UW Tacoma Library, where he has worked extensively with digital scholarship and helped established the UW Tacoma Digital Commons, the campus institutional repository. This annual award recognizes a librarian whose contributions advance the mission of the libraries and the university in the areas of teaching, learning, research and innovative approaches to

Ph.D. candidate named Graduate School Presidential Dissertation fellow

Monday, July 20, 2020

J. Elizabeth Mills, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Washington Information School, has been selected for the 2020 Graduate School Presidential Dissertation Fellowship for her research, which explores the nature and role of reflection in public library storytime assessment. The Graduate School Presidential Dissertation Fellowship assists Ph.D. candidates in the final stages of writing their dissertations, enabling them to work on their dissertation full-time for one academic quarter. The 2020-21 fellowship includes one quarter of UW state tuition and fees, health insurance, and a

Ph.D. graduate named Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation fellow

Friday, July 17, 2020

Lassana Magassa, a recent Ph.D. graduate of the University of Washington Information School, has been selected for the Eugene Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship for his dissertation, “‘I am Not Computer Savvy’: A look into the Everyday Digital Literacy Levels of Formerly Incarcerated People Using a Novel Holistic Digital Literacy Framework.” Established by the Beta Phi Mu International Library and Information Studies Honor Society, the Eugene Garfield Doctoral Fellowship is a prestigious award that consists of a $3,000 cash award to doctoral students who are working on th

iSchool’s Chirag Shah authors 'A Hands-on Introduction to Data Science'

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Chirag Shah, an associate professor at the University of Washington Information School, has authored a new academic textbook, “A Hands-on Introduction to Data Science.” Shah sees data science as an interdisciplinary field where many solutions to problems extend beyond statistical and computational modeling and require people from different fields and backgrounds to work together. “It is not just doing the programming, algorithms and data analysis, but also trying to understand data problems in context,” he said. With the rapid growth of technology over the past decade and

3 iSchool students awarded ALA Spectrum Scholarships

Thursday, July 9, 2020

Two continuing University of Washington Master of Library and Information Science students and one incoming student are among the 61 winners of 2020-21 Spectrum Scholarships, the American Library Association has announced. Jacqui Howell is heading into her third year as an online student, living in Snohomish County. Howell changed careers after working in marketing and said she was drawn to the community-building aspects of public librarianship. “I realized then, ‘You know what, I think the library is the place that does all of these things.’ They show films, they have communit

Students, Pacific Science Center team up on educational game

Thursday, July 9, 2020

At Pacific Science Center, a model of the solar system is a popular attraction for visitors. Kids spin the planets and marvel at the massive size difference between Earth and the sun. While it’s a fun area for young visitors, there’s more playing than learning going on. A group of University of Washington Information School students, working with science center staff, wanted to see if they could find a way to keep the sense of fun, while leaving kids with lasting knowledge. The team created a game that uses mixed-reality technology that allows students to interact with the solar sys

Energetic new director takes the helm of Law Librarianship program

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Carla Wale’s new job directing the UW Law Librarianship program comes with two offices. One is in the iSchool, the other in the School of Law. The iSchool administers the small but prestigious program and issues its specialized Master of Library and Information Science degree. The Marian Gould Gallagher Law Library administers the students’ internships. The program — consistently ranked No. 1 by U.S. News & World Report — turned 80 years old this year. “I plan to build on the program’s history of innovation and excellence,” says Wale, who graduated from the UW progr

iSchool joins Ocean Nexus research partnership

Tuesday, June 30, 2020

The Information School is among the University of Washington units partnering in the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, an interdisciplinary research group announced June 30. The Ocean Nexus Center will study changes, responses and solutions to societal issues that emerge in relation to the oceans and will bring uncompromised, critical voices to policy and public conversations. The center was launched with $32.5 million in funding spread over 10 years. “The sustenance of humanity depends on our mother ocean,” said Yohei Sasakawa, chairman of The Nippon Foundation. “And so today,

Convocation 2.0 spotlights resilience of iSchool's Class of 2020

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

The second time was the charm for the Information School’s 2020 Convocation. After the iSchool’s initial online ceremony on June 6 left many students and their families disappointed, the school decided to redo it and give students a proper sendoff with a “Version 2.0.” Some aspects of the initial ceremony were beyond the school’s control, and it left out some students while not representing others as they wished. For the “do-over” on June 20, the school took control over all aspects of the ceremony. It included a live reading of graduates’ names, new speeches by facul

For Capstone, Informatics students help increase access to loan programs

Friday, June 12, 2020

Community Credit Lab (CCL) is an organization that partners with nonprofits and community organizations to find and create custom loan programs for underserved communities. With limited staff and resources, however, the process of training partners is a major challenge — one that has consequences for the number of communities CCL can reach. For their Capstone project, a group of Informatics students set out to address this problem by developing Community Courses, a centralized online platform to train and onboard new partners and investors. The team is composed of seniors Michae

MLIS team's storytelling Capstone succeeds after plot twist

Friday, June 12, 2020

Hot-air-balloon navigator Flyster Luna takes young readers on a journey to stories real and imagined. Pam Huffman and Nicole Breiner aimed to take Luna to libraries everywhere. Flyster Luna is the narrator of “The Otherworld Balloon” audio series, developed by Whidbey Island-based nonprofit Otherworld Media, which creates educational programs for children and young people. Huffman and Breiner were University of Washington Information School students, who just completed their Master of Library and Information Science degrees. As part of their Capstone project, the graduate