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25 years in, Information School is more essential than ever

Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Twenty-five years ago, there were no smartphones or social media. Most of us had dial-up internet. We went to Blockbuster when we wanted to rent movies and read newspapers when we wanted to stay informed. Artificial intelligence was the stuff of science-fiction movies. But the internet was evolving rapidly and changing how people interacted with information. Librarianship skills — categorizing, collecting, accessing and drawing value from information — were becoming increasingly powerful.The University of Washington and the leaders of its Graduate School of Library and Information Scienc

Cynthia Leitich Smith to share insights on Indigenous stories

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Children's and young adult book author Cynthia Leitich Smith writes stories that center Indigenous youth as heroes. Her storytelling draws inspiration from moments and experiences she’s had in her own life.“I didn't really think of it as writing stories about Native characters. I thought of it more like I was drawing inspiration from moments of childhood or questions that I had growing up,” she said.The New York Times bestselling author and proud citizen of the Muscogee (Mvskoke) Nation, who will present the Information School’s Spencer G. Shaw Lecture on Oct. 16, has become a powerful

A simple intervention significantly improved patent outcomes for women inventors

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

While innovation is core to American identity, women inventors were named on only 13% of 2019 U.S. patents. In part, that’s because women’s patents are less likely to make it through the examination process. Research by the University of Washington Information School and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, found that some simple interventions increased the probability that female inventors would get patents by 12%. For first-time applicants, that probability increased to 17%. The study, the first randomized controlled trial of inventors at the USPTO, followed inve

'Bears will be boys,' but why? Professor investigates

Monday, September 29, 2025

“The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and “Clifford the Big Red Dog” are just a few of the iconic picture books that have shaped childhoods for generations. The stories found in these pages teach their readers valuable lessons and play a critical role during early childhood development.According to the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, children need books to develop critical thinking skills, connect with characters and better understand themselves and the world around them. But digital humanities expert Melanie Walsh wanted to

As a researcher and teacher, Ricardo Gomez always put people first

Thursday, September 25, 2025

Teaching rooted in real-world experience has always been a core value for researcher and professor Ricardo Gomez. Now having retired after 18 years at the Information School, Gomez has left a lasting impact both in the classroom and in the communities he works with around the world. Gomez joined the school in 2008, and taught several courses across Informatics, Master of Library and Information Science, Master of Science in Information Management and Ph.D programs. One of his most notable courses was LIS 570: Research Methods, which he taught every year while at the iSchool.Prior to joini

Project to help information workers navigate new threats

Thursday, September 18, 2025

A recent study named the jobs most at risk of being replaced by artificial intelligence. The list includes journalists, news analysts, proofreaders and technical writers — all workers who verify and communicate accurate information to the public.Tanu Mitra, an associate professor at the University of Washington Information School, calls these and other individuals “information integrity workers.” She recently was awarded a $649,971 grant from the National Science Foundation to study how large language models will affect these information workers.The Faculty Early Career Develop

MSIM's first online AI elective launches this fall

Friday, September 5, 2025

The Information School is expanding its course offerings specific to artificial intelligence. This fall, online students enrolled in the Master of Science in Information Management (MSIM) program are able to take a new elective, Foundations of Artificial Intelligence.The Foundations of Artificial Intelligence class was developed by Professor Chirag Shah, co-founding director of the UW Center for Responsibility in AI Systems and Experiences (RAISE). From prompt engineering to large language models, the class equips students with a comprehensive understanding of the technical underpinnings and c

Students, faculty collaborate and bond at summer institute

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Melanie Walsh is always looking for ways to expand on research and develop stronger connections with students. “Students often approach me and want to see if they can get involved with my research,” Walsh said. “I really want to work with undergraduate students, but I often don't have time or I don't have money to support them.”The Humanities Data Science Summer Institute (HDSSI) gives Walsh and other faculty an opportunity to work with more students, diving further into their research and developing meaningful relationships. The five-week program, which takes place in June a

Leadership summit trains Indigenous youth in water resource advocacy

Thursday, August 28, 2025

Tribal youth leaders from across the Northwest gathered at the University of Washington on Aug. 14 to learn how to advocate for their communities’ water resources.911������’s Clarita Lefthand-Begay, Diné, hosted the Tribal Youth Water Summit. Themed “Sustaining Waters, Sustaining Knowledge–Tribal Water Security in a Data-Driven Future,” the daylong event featured conversations that elevated Indigenous youth voices and focused on how Indigenous knowledge and technology can support tribal water resources. It was organized in partnership with Changing Current and was part of a weeklo

Pelle Tracey brings expertise on housing, homelessness to faculty

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Pelle Tracey is passionate about housing justice. “Housing is where the personal and political meet in an intimate way,” says the new Information School assistant professor, whose research examines how data-driven record-keeping tools used to allocate rare housing resources often miss the messy realities of homelessness.The tools’ algorithmic prioritization processes quantify each unhoused individual’s level of vulnerability. Scores can determine who gets shelter and who gets left out in the cold. “These tools struggle to capture the nuances of homelessness, leaving highly vulnerable

In new book, Nassim Parvin examines 'creepy' technology

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Smart homes, health-tracking apps, voice assistants like Alexa, even pet robots can trigger an unsettling feeling that’s often referred to as creepiness. This sense of “creepiness” inspired Nassim Parvin to co-author “Technocreep and the Politics of Things Not Seen,” a book that examines the emotional and political dimensions of our relationship with everyday technology.In the book, Parvin, a professor at the University of Washington Information School, introduces a feminist theory of “creep.” She wrote it in collaboration with Neda Atanasoski, professor and chair of the Harriet

MLIS student awarded ALA Spectrum Scholarship

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Second-year Master of Library and Information Science student Sarina Haryanto is among the 60 recipients of 2025-26 Spectrum Scholarships, the American Library Association has announced.Haryanto, who was a residential MLIS student at the Information School in her first year, is now an online student living in Rockville, Maryland. She spent part of her summer in Malang, Indonesia, where she participated in the Critical Language Scholarship Program for intensive Indonesian language and culture instruction.Before pursuing her MLIS, Haryanto worked at Montgomery County Public Libraries in Maryland

MLIS alum named Federal Librarian of the Year

Monday, August 11, 2025

Jared Nistler, a 2020 Master of Library and Information Science graduate, recently was recognized as the Federal Librarian of the Year. The award, announced by the Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK) through the Library of Congress, celebrates federal librarians who have developed innovative ways to serve and meet the nation’s information demands.A senior systems librarian at the Ralph J. Bunche Library in Washington, D.C., Nistler supports the 70,000 employees in the U.S. Department of State. He was nominated by fellow librarians who recognized his commitment to

iSchool's Chirag Shah honored as a leading figure in information retrieval

Thursday, July 24, 2025

Information School Professor Chirag Shah was among the 2025 cohort elected to the SIGIR Academy, a prestigious honor that recognizes leaders who have significantly shaped the field of information retrieval.  SIGIR is the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Information Retrieval. They promote the research and development of search and other information access technologies. Each year, SIGIR selects three to five nominees to join its academy based on the criteria of cumulative contributions, research impact, innovation and service. This

Q&A: Ryan Calo on why 'we need to take a page from the Amish' 

Monday, July 21, 2025

Ryan Calo holds a joint appointment as a professor in the Information School and as the Lane Powell and D. Wayne Gittinger Professor at the UW School of Law. Calo is a prominent voice in tech policy both on campus and globally, with his work appearing in leading law reviews. He is also co-founder of the UW Tech Policy Lab and the Center for an Informed Public. We sat down with Calo to talk about his research on law and emerging technologies, related legal challenges and his upcoming publications. Q: In your view, what are the most pressing legal challenges of regulating AI