Pintar and Hopping’s new book explores the basics of information science

Judith Pintar
Judith Pintar, Teaching Professor

Teaching Associate Professor Judith Pintar and Teaching Assistant Professor David Hopping have written a new book, Information Science: The Basics, which was recently published by Routledge.

"We centered the book around the core vision of the iSchool movement, which is to view information science as simultaneously a humanities, social science, and STEM field that takes as its central area of concern the spaces (physical, digital and metaphorical) where society, technology and information interact," Pintar said. "The book situates information science within the foundational history of library and information science (LIS), addressing the wide range of professions that have emerged from LIS. In addition to core topics, like knowledge organization and information retrieval, it surveys fields ranging from data storytelling, to universal design, to artificial intelligence and other emerging professional areas for which our programs provide training."

Information Science: The Basics is not intended to be a textbook, but the authors hope that it will be useful in the classroom. Routledge Publishing asked Pintar to write the book because of her history in designing and teaching the iSchool's introductory course. The volume is part of the company's book series, "The Basics," which provides a wide variety of academic books for general audiences. Pintar invited Hopping to serve as co-author because of their complementary interests and common background as "sociologists of science, technology, and information."

The book is organized by following key concepts, technologies and professions associated with each step in the information life cycle: from collecting and organizing information; through utilizing, governing, and studying information; to designing, curating, and archiving information. Each chapter addresses critical contexts and information challenges of the contemporary world, including digital equity, censorship, algorithmic bias, disinformation, the global surveillance industry, and challenges arising from accelerating breakthroughs in artificial intelligence.

"Information technologies are being developed and released into the world more quickly than the effects of their implementation can be anticipated, or negative consequences ameliorated," Pintar said. "Information science as a discipline can guide the development of information technology in a more human-centered way. This contribution increases in importance as the effect of information technologies reach into every corner of human life."

The final chapter, in summarizing arguments made throughout its chapters, asks if it is possible to imagine an information future that is more accessible, inclusive, responsive, restorative, diverse, ethical, secure, discerning, transformative, collaborative, and equitable. "The book suggests that the challenge is not only imagining such a future but acting in ways that bring it about," Pintar said.

At the iSchool, Pintar directs the Game Studies and Design Program, and Hopping directs the Workforce Development/Continuing Education program. Pintar's research and teaching interests include narrative design, game studies, and gameful pedagogies, which she pursues through the Extended Literatures & Literacies Lab (EL3). Hopping's research and teaching  interests include web design and information architecture, social and community informatics, and social network analysis.

Tags:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

New book explores video standards in film and archives

A new book co-authored by iSchool Adjunct Lecturer Jimi Jones and Marek Jancovic, assistant professor of media studies at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, examines video file standards and the tensions that have emerged between the film industry and the archiving community that is tasked with preserving cultural cinematic productions. 

Jimi Jones

Chin receives NSF CAREER award

Assistant Professor Jessie Chin has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award to support lifelong learning and foster information literacy. This prestigious award is given in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Chin’s project, “Search as a Mechanism for Learning,” will be supported by a five-year, $629,451 grant from the NSF.

Jessie Chin

What are the effects of trade restrictions on digital technologies?

President Donald Trump has threatened to levy higher tariffs on more than two dozen countries and on various products in the past few months. China in particular has been a target of the administration’s trade wars, aimed at preventing its dominance in areas such as artificial intelligence, although the U.S. government announced recently that it would sell advanced semiconductors used in AI to China. Assistant Professor Meicen Sun spoke with News Bureau arts and humanities editor Jodi Heckel about the effects of trade restrictions.

Meicen Sun

School welcomes specialized faculty

The iSchool is pleased to announce the appointment of two specialized faculty members. Yildiz Esener and Nitin Verma will join the School as teaching assistant professors in August 2025.

iSchool to present research at the Digital Humanities 2025 conference

iSchool faculty, staff, and students will present their research at DH2025, the annual conference of the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO), which will take place on July 14–18 in Lisbon, Portugal. The digital humanities (DH) conference is the largest event of the international DH community and unites scholars from across the globe.