The I-conference: Gathering of the clans of information

Great anticipation accompanied the opening session of the first-ever I-Schools conference. This conference was an historic event -- not quite in the constitutional convention sort of way -- rather the I-Schools conference was similar to a gathering of the clans. The goal of the opening session of the I-Conference was to facilitate engagement by all participants in a discourse aimed at identifying the baseline attributes and qualities defining their affiliation as "information schools." The focus was to be on essentials -- on trying to articulate the essence of an "information school" and the "information field." The centrality of information as the primary object of study was acknowledged but no defining single core set of methods or theories binding the community together emerged. In terms of educational programs, a wide range of views was expressed on what is fundamental or foundational for students in an information school.