Library Science vs. Information Studies

I don't really have a particularly strong philosophical standpoint on the issue of whether or not to keep the word "library" in the names of library schools and library degrees. I go to a School of Information; that's what it is now and that's what it was when I applied to graduate programs. The same goes for my degree, which is a Master of Science in Information Studies. Prior to starting graduate school, I was a total outsider to the library world. I had never worked in a library and honestly didn't know quite what to expect from "library school," but, obviously, I was undeterred by the lack of the word "library" in the school's name. I think the name, in the specific case of the University of Texas at Austin, reflects that the school trains not only librarians, but also information architects and archivists and conservators. And yes, in practical application, there does seem to be a divide between those studying "techie" stuff and those studying "library" stuff, so I can see why librarians like myself are feeling left out in the cold. However, there really shouldn't be a divide between the two, in my mind, so we should feel like the term "information professional" applies to us, too. Librarians in this day and age need to be tech-savvy.

My issues with the whole "library" versus "information" are more practical than philosophical. "Information" is such an abstract idea. I am constantly having to explain to people what I study at a School of Information in order to earn my Master of Science in Information Studies. In fact, I often refer to my program as "library school" and tell people I'm studying "library science" to make things easier on myself.

So, what is information? Is it books on the shelf? Is it the bits and bytes in my computer? Is it the arrangement of materials in my DNA that led to my having brown hair and brown eyes? We might all say yes to those questions, but then it gets more complicated. Is the food I just ate information? My body is going to break down the sugars differently from the proteins, so they must contain some kind of information that conveys the difference, right? Is the fact that my phone is pink information? Maybe not in and of itself, but now that I've typed that it's pink, it sure is, right?

My other practical concern is that people seem to be making the change to exclude the word "library" based on wanting to upgrade our image. Until we learn to market ourselves strongly and effectively, until we stop living up to the stereotype that librarians are afraid of technology, until we make our value known outside the profession, librarians are still going to have an image problem. Words won't change that, actions will.