The UH Mānoa Library Science Program’s New Home

by Ellen-Rae Cachola

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library and Information Science (LIS) program is part of the School of Communication and Information (SCI). The SCI held their open house on April 11, 2025 to introduce visitors and guests to the disciplines within this school, situated in the College of Social Sciences. It was a day of intriguing mini workshops covering Communication, Journalism, Library and Information Science, and Peace and Conflict Resolution.

One workshop I attended was “Communication: Recognizing the Strategic Nature of Communication During a Crisis,” which was about tracing the strategy behind message creators based on the organization they are speaking from and the emotional impact they want to make on their audience.  
 
I also attended the Matsunaga Institute for Peace workshop, “Deep Listening and Communication for Leadership and Life,” which was about how our emotional reactions can affect how we communicate.

Lastly, I attended the keynote speech by Dr. Kasisomayajula “Vish” Viswanath on “Communication of Science & Health in the Era of Misinformation,” which discussed the damages health misinformation can inflict on society and how such misinformation can be mitigated..  

From left to right: HLA Vice President Ellen-Rae Cachola, poses with Mandi Hull, Program Coordinator for the LIS Program, and LIS students, while tabling at the SCI Open House. 

The University of Hawaiʻi’s Library and Information Science Program is well-positioned in this new School of Communication and Information. Library Sciences brings a unique lens with its focus on physical and digital stores of both historical and current data, knowledge, and wisdom and how best to preserve and make accessible these invaluable resources today and for future generations.  In addition, the library field faces challenges similar to other communications disciplines, including rampant misinformation and emerging technologies  like AI. For example, school librarians are working hard at teaching children how to identify misinformation and avoid being misled. By working alongside the disciplines of communication, journalism, and peace and conflict resolution, library science students, faculty, and researchers can engage in relevant dialogue on how information is disseminated and experienced in different contexts. Together these disciplines will find new ways to address our shared challenges. We wish the LIS Program an exciting chapter of learning and scholarship ahead! ​