Featured Member
- iSchools News
- 6 hours ago
- 4 min read
Issue #8
Koraljka (Kora) Golub
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European/African Region
Sweden
Linnaeus University
Information Institute (iInstitute)
iSchools member since 2017
Hello Kora! Please tell us a bit about you!
I am a Professor in Library and Information Science at Linnaeus University in Sweden. My work focuses on knowledge organization, digital libraries, and information retrieval — particularly how subject metadata, be it created by information professionals, social taggers of by automated tools can improve subject access and discovery.
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I have been coordinating the iInstitute, Linnaeus University’s iSchool since 2017. I played a central role in establishing the institute, helping to bring together diverse disciplines into a cross-institutional hub. I have always appreciated how the iSchool environment connects information science with technology and human values. That interdisciplinary perspective is what drew me to this field in the first place — the idea that information organization and access are not just technical challenges, but also cultural and societal ones.
Among many other projects you are coordinating DARIAH-SE as part of Huminfra, the Swedish national infrastructure supporting digital and experimental research in the Humanities, which joined DARIAH last year as a full member. Can you tell us a bit about this project?
Yes, HUMINFRA is a Swedish national research infrastructure aimed at strengthening digital and experimental research in the humanities in Sweden. It brings together a broad consortium of universities and cultural heritage institutions to provide coordinated access to digital tools, training, and expertise. Through HUMINFRA, we’re building sustainable support for researchers who want to integrate digital methods into their work, while also fostering collaboration across disciplines and institutions. HUMINFRA also hosts Swedish national membership in DARIAH-EU, which Sweden joined in 2024. As coordinator of DARIAH-SE, I work on connecting the Huminfra national efforts with international ones.
DARIAH is also one of the organizing partners of the BAL-ADRIA Summer School. Can you tell us a bit more about this event series?
The BAL-ADRIA Summer School is an international event that brings together students, researchers, and professionals interested in digital humanities. It is jointly organized by the iSchools at the University of Zadar in Croatia and Linnaeus University, with partners from DARIAH and DASH, The Swedish National Doctoral School in Digital Humanities: Data, Culture, and Society – Critical Perspectives. The Summer School offers a combination of lectures and hands-on workshops, focusing on practical methods for digital research.
The iInstitute at Linnaeus University is our iSchool — an interdisciplinary hub for education and research in what we call the ‘iField,’ where information, technology, and people intersect. Our focus is on addressing complex, information-related challenges in today’s digital society through collaboration across library and information science, computer science, digital humanities, health informatics, and related disciplines.
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In terms of education, we offer programmes at all levels — from bachelor’s to PhD — that reflect this interdisciplinary mission. For example, our Bachelor’s programme in Library and Information Science and our Master’s programmes in Digital Humanities and e-Health all blend theory, technology, and practice. At the doctoral level, we currently have programmes in Computer and Information Science and a PhD in Library and Information Studies.
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Research at the iInstitute is equally diverse and collaborative. Our projects range from exploring artificial intelligence in archives and cultural heritage, to digital transformation and open science initiatives, to the development of new methods for information organization and retrieval. We are also closely involved in national and international infrastructures and initiatives mentioned above, such as HUMINFRA and DARIAH, and we coordinate the BAL-ADRIA Summer School in Digital Humanities.
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International collaboration is at the heart of what we do. As part of the global iSchools network, we engage with partner universities through teaching and research collaborations, and Erasmus collaborations. Altogether, the iInstitute strives to be a regional and international centre of expertise where education, research, and innovation come together to address real-world information challenges in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
You have been iSchools Regional European/African Chair for the last 4 years, chairing a region with many countries, languages and national laws and special rules. Looking at all these wonderful different iSchools in your region, what would you say makes an iSchool an iSchool?
That is a great question — and one we often reflect on in the iSchools community. Despite all the diversity across our region — different countries, languages, and academic systems — what unites us is a shared commitment to understanding the relationship between information, technology, and people. An iSchool is not defined by a single discipline or method; it is defined by its mission. Whether an iSchool focuses on data science, library and information science, digital humanities, bioinformatics, eHealth, or information systems, the common thread is the human-centered approach to information — how people seek, create, organize, and use information in their social and technological contexts. In Europe and Africa, this diversity is a strength. Each iSchool brings its own cultural and disciplinary traditions, but together we share values of openness, interdisciplinarity, and collaboration. I would say that what truly makes an iSchool an iSchool is that balance — between local identity and a shared global vision for shaping the information society in responsible and innovative ways.
If you could give just one advice to future information scientists, what would it be?
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I would say: stay curious, but also stay critical. The information landscape is changing so quickly — with datafication and automation influencing how we create and use knowledge — that future information scientists need to combine technical understanding with ethical and societal awareness. While this is something that is often part of training in iSchools, I think it is also our mission to take it further, because not all disciplines remember to keep the human perspective at the center. Information science, at its best, reminds us that technology serves people — not the other way around.
Thank you very much, Kora!
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.