About IUISC

The Irish Universities Information Services Colloquium was founded by Queen's University of Belfast, University College Dublin, and Trinity College Dublin in 1993. It includes the staff of the Libraries and Computer Centres in the nine universities of Ireland. Its aim was to bring together staff working in the broad areas of Information Services, with a view to learning about each other's problems and sharing experiences with one another.

The first IUISC conference held in Newcastle in 1993 was an instant success and became an annual event that has been held in different parts of Ireland ever since. 

The conference is usually held in mid to late March each year, with attendance having grown to around 120 delegates. It has regularly been addressed by influential speakers from Britain, Europe and the USA, along with others from the community and industry in Ireland. One of its unique features is that staff attending come from a broad range of seniority and experience, so there is a mix of senior and junior staff, unlike other major conferences of its type which are aimed mainly at senior staff.

The most recent IUISC conferences have introduced an extra element emphasising the pervasive use of technology in University research, teaching and administration. With increasing presence from networking, telephone and audio-visual sections of the institution, and at least at one site, postal services, the range of services now embraced gives added strength to the theme of the 2003 conference - "Working Differently ~ Opportunities and Challenges in a Changing Working Environment."

Organisationally, the IUISC consists of a steering group consisting of the Directors of Computing Services and the Librarians of seven universities and the Directors of Information Services at the remaining two. The steering group usually meets twice a year to discuss issues of general concern. The other main activity is planning the annual conference.

This conference has become the major event for information services staff at all nine universities in Ireland. The IUISC conference and the concept of the IUISC as a whole has proved successful down the years. It is widely acknowledged that improved communication between the institutions has been beneficial for all concerned. A number of service initiatives have been undertaken that would not have been possible if the co-operative spirit engendered by the IUISC had not been available. The different educational systems and regimes in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland have resulted in a richer and more diverse approach to problem solving throughout higher education in Ireland.

Membership

Dublin City University, National University of Ireland, Galway , National University of Ireland, Maynooth , The Queen's University of Belfast , The University of Dublin, Trinity College, University College Cork, National University of Ireland, University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, University of Limerick, University of Ulster.