Canadian Association for Information Science

The Canadian Association for Information Science (L’Association canadienne des sciences de l’information), also known as CAIS, is a Canadian society that promotes the advancement of information science in Canada, and encourages and facilitates the exchange of information relating to the use, access, retrieval, organization, management, and dissemination of information. It is a bilingual (English/French) association with the French name L’Association canadienne des sciences de l’information, also known as ACSI. Established in 1971, the association publishes a quarterly journal, The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science (CJILS) and sponsors an annual conference. Along with contact information, the association’s web site, www.cais-acsi.ca provides information about past and future conferences and access to conference proceedings. CAIS members include information scientists and archivists, librarians, computer scientists, documentalists, economists, educators, journalists, psychologists, and others who support its objectives.

The Computing and Data Processing Society of Canada, formed in 1958, was the first professional association for information technology professionals in Canada; in 1968 it became the Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS).. Canadians who were interested in broader aspects of managing and using information joined the American Society of Information Science (ASIS). In 1969, a group of Ottawa ASIS members met with the intention of forming an Ottawa chapter of ASIS. Some members argued that to represent Canada adequately at the international level a Canadian association was needed. By the next year Letters Patent incorporating the Canadian Association for Information Science were granted, and CAIS was formally operational in early 1971. The first conference was held in 1973. Modelling itself on larger associations such as ASIS, the initial structure included active chapters across the country. Ultimately this structure proved to be unsustainable in the relatively small population of information scientists in Canada and the last remaining chapter closed in the early 1990s. Since then, the association has functioned as a single national association serving members through its journal and annual conferences.

In the 1970s members were often computer scientists and other practitioners from industry and government, with only a sprinkling of academics. Corporate and government people were involved in early days of information technology implementation, and membership provided a means of learning new developments and exchanging experiences. Beginning in the mid-1980s, the association evolved into a more academic (learned) society. Today the membership is heavily weighted to academics from the library and information science faculties at Canadian universities. Membership in CAIS is automatic for all who attend the annual conference and includes a subscription to The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science. Membership can also be purchased by simply subscribing to the journal through the University of Toronto Press Website.