One of the questions I am asked quite frequently is whether we have changed the College's name. The answer is simple. We remain the College of Information Science and Technology.

We have, however, added an element to our identity: The iSchool at Drexel. This element helps to align our work over the past several decades as an information school with several other colleges, also variously named, throughout the United States and Canada. The iSchools Caucus is a group of colleges that offer degrees in information science and technology-related fields. We share a common focus on people (or society), which is then followed by a focus on the use of technology to seek, access or share information. Our research centers on the problems people have finding the information they need quickly, appropriately and efficiently.

Many of the Caucus' members joined together recently to support the Internet Public Library. The IPL began life about a decade ago at the University of Michigan and continued to be located there until we became its host in January 2007. The various services the IPL currently has in place will remain and the site itself will grow. The services offered, however, are only part of the story. We are as interested in the questions people ask and how they seek information on the site as we are in its service aspects, and perhaps more so. While services help some people now, understanding how people seek knowledge will inform the design of new information systems and will ultimately help more people tomorrow.

So, enjoy the information you find here. When in Philadelphia, please come see us in person! The iSchool at Drexel (College of Information Science and Technology) continues to change in terms of its place in the world and what we think about. Such change is necessary to continue as a leader in our ever-evolving Information Age.

David E. Fenske, Isaac L. Auerbach Professor and Dean