History

The Center for Social Informatics (CSI) had its beginnings around 1996 when Rob Kling joined Indiana University’s School of Library and Information Science (SLIS). At its peak, the Center had about 30 faculty fellows and numerous interested graduate students. However, Rob’s sudden, unexpected death in 2003 put Center activities, and the future of Social Informatics as a field of study at Indiana University, in a hold status. However, with new leadership, several other faculty, including some of Rob’s proteges, interested in teaching Social Informatics, and new students enrolling at Indiana University with an interest in learning about Social Informatics, the Center soon began a period of revival.

In 2004, to honor Rob’s memory, the Center was officially renamed the Rob Kling Center for Social Informatics (RKCSI), and Indiana University’s new School of Informatics (SoI) officially became a co-sponsor of RKCSI. Although there is no physical location for the center, RKCSI activities are jointly sponsored by the two schools (SLIS and SoI), emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of the field. Rob would have approved…