APRIL-MAY 2000

McCLURE

EPPES SUPERPROFESSOR IN INFORMATION STUDIES

By Marcia Welch
Special to the Florida State Times

In the world of information management and policy, Charles McClure has become a pioneer of the Information Age. For increasing numbers of people, today is a .com world with immeasurable amounts of information available and digested via the World Wide Web. Millions of Web sites are already in existence, and many more are on the way.

Getting information on the Web is becoming easier and easier. But managing it? That's another story.

McClure's story.

He's interested in the best way to im-prove organizations' and individuals' quality of life. His aim is even more pragmatic - to look at everything from the users' perspective.

"We cannot fathom the degree of change and the degree in which people operate differently in a networked environment," McClure said. "We ain't just libraries anymore."

When the Eppes Professorships became available, the name Charles McClure came to the minds of just about everyone at FSU's School of Information Studies.

"Not only does he meet the criteria, he truly does interesting work that is valuable to the person on the street," said Jane B. Robbins, dean of the School of Information Studies.
Robbins says FSU's move from the discipline of library science into the broader field of information services drew McClure to FSU. The position also allowed him to establish and direct the Information Use Management and Policy Institute.

He says FSU is making great strides in becoming a top research university.
McClure has a bachelor's degree in Spanish and a master's degree in American West history from Oklahoma State University. He also has a master's in library science from the University of Oklahoma and a Ph.D. in information policy from Rutgers.

It's clear things have changed a great deal since his college days -even since five years ago.

"What's changed the most is the public recognition of how information management and information policy issues and the Internet are now a part of daily life," McClure says.

He says privacy and equal access have become two of the most important issues at stake in the information management and policy arena.
"One thing that's clear: there's a digital divide out there, a segment of the population that hasn't taken advantage of the technology," McClure says.
For this reason, a staple of his work has been seeking universal access to the Internet.

At Syracuse, McClure said, much of his time was spent as a research advocate. The research, he says, "is not enough." McClure has a passion about information and its importance. "Once (the research) is done, you have to follow through."

At the Information Use Management and Policy Institute, McClure and his team are working to help people and organizations use information and technology effectively. McClure is tackling one of the biggest and newest challenges facing the world. The challenge is so new that, for most people, it doesn't exist.

"We have to invest in the next generation of researchers," he said. "That's really important to me."

McClure's research has won him the respect of national leaders in the information field. He has been the recipient of many awards and is widely published.

"Where will the information management field be 50 years from now?"
"It's hard to imagine," McClure demurs. "When people ask me to help them come up with a five-year strategic plan, I tell them to forget it. The best you can see out ... is two to three years."

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