Featured Member
- iSchools News
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Issue #1
Hello Tina! Please tell us a bit about you!
I am Head of School and a Full Professor of Information Sciences at the School of Information and Communication Studies, Charles Sturt University (iSchool@Charles Sturt) in New South Wales, Australia.
I lead the Information and Innovation Research Group, which includes academics, postdoctoral researchers, and doctoral students. My research interests are interdisciplinary, focusing on user–technology interactions, community engagement, information behaviour and journeys, and marginalised communities. I am the lead Chief Investigator of the current Discovery Project, “Australian Public Libraries and Social Capital: An Exploratory Study,” funded by the Australian Research Council.
Originally from mainland China, I have lived in Australia with my family since 2007. I am married and have two lovely sons, aged 12 and 9.
Could you tell us a bit about your school, please?
In 2025, the School of Information and Communication Studies (iSchool) at Charles Sturt University celebrates 50 years of Library and Information Science (LIS) education and research, tracing its roots through predecessor institutions including the Riverina College of Advanced Education and the Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher Education. Since welcoming its first cohort of 30 librarianship students in 1975, the School has grown to over 1,800 enrolments by 2024 across diverse fields such as librarianship, archives and records management, information architecture, data management, and teacher-librarianship. The School has been a leader in distance education—now fully online—with all LIS courses accredited by the Australian Library and Information Association, Records and Information Management Professionals Australasia, and the Australian Society of Archivists. In 2021, communication academics joined the School following the closure of the School of Communication and Creative Industries, forming today’s multidisciplinary School of Information and Communication Studies. Staff teach and research across a wide range of LIS and communication areas, while supervising a large number of doctoral students.
Research at the School addresses critical social, cultural, educational, and economic challenges, with a focus on the intersection of information, communication, people, technology, society, and psychology. In the LIS domain, key areas include GLAM institutions (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums), scholarly communication, human information behaviour, knowledge representation, and the history and practice of collecting institutions. Communication research spans journalism, radio, multimedia, organisational communication, social media, fan studies, animation, creative practice, and public policy—particularly in areas such as workplace resilience and wellbeing. The "50 Years and Beyond" milestone is a unique opportunity to honour the School’s legacy while embracing new interdisciplinary directions across information, technology, communication, and media studies.
The School has maintained a partnership with the University of Hong Kong’s School of Professional and Continuing Education (HKU SPACE) for over 30 years, delivering LIS courses in Hong Kong with local tutorial support. Recently, the School signed MOUs with the University of Lampung (Indonesia) and Nanjing University (China) to foster academic and research collaboration.
What benefits do you see in belonging to the global iSchools Organization?
The School of Information and Communication Studies at Charles Sturt University is proud to be an active member of the iSchools Organization, joining over 130 universities worldwide in a shared commitment to advancing information research and education. Membership also offers valuable opportunities for global networking and collaboration.
You are organizing RAILS 2025 this year, please tell us a bit about it!
RAILS (Research Applications in Information and Library Studies) is Australasia’s premier annual conference for researchers, educators, and practitioners in library and information science, archival studies, and related fields. Since 2004, it has fostered innovation and research excellence across the region.
RAILS 2025, hosted by our School, will take place from Monday 3 November to Wednesday 5 November 2025 at Charles Sturt University’s Sydney Campus in North Sydney, Australia. The event will include keynote sessions, the Australasian Information Educators’ Symposium (AIES), and a Doctoral Consortium.
This year’s theme -"Library and Information Research: Reflecting on the Past, Shaping the Future" - highlights the importance of strategic, forward-looking research in LIS. As part of the School of Information and Communication Studies' "50 Years and Beyond" celebration, we warmly invite national and international scholars, students, and professionals from LIS, communication, media studies, and the broader social sciences to attend and contribute.
The submission deadline has been extended to 1 June 2025. Don’t miss the opportunity to be part of this important event. Submit your contribution: https://railsconference.wordpress.com/call-for-contribution/
If you could give just one advice to future information scientists, what would it be?
As future information scientists, you’re entering a dynamic and exciting field—centered on people, information, and technology—that plays a vital role in our AI-augmented world. Through information education and research, you’ll be well equipped to thrive in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
Thank you very much, Tina!
Featured Members is a new iSchools Feature series spotlighting members of iSchools who are part of the development and organization of thought provoking projects or conferences. Please contact admin@ischools-inc.org in case you would like to be featured as well.
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