Anne Marie McLean

LS 590-905
Dr. Laurie Bonnici
Information Service Prototype

For my Information Service Prototype project, I chose to synthesize the creation

of a subject guide with social bookmarking functions, combining an Information Needs

Assessment with a timely online information resource. The community organization of

this Information Needs Assessment was the International Qurnic Studies Association

(IQSA), an independent, international, non-profit learned society dedicated to the critical

investigation of the Qurn. The IQSA community includes scholars, students,

publishers, and members of the public. IQSA was formed in 2012 as an affiliate

association of the Society of Biblical Literature funded by a grant from the Henry Luce

Foundation.

The International Qurnic Studies Association was founded in response to the

recent growth and development of Qurnic Studies as a scholarly field. While certain

aspects of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, the tradition of Tafsr, studies in Late

Antiquity, and even Biblical Studies intersect with Qurnic Studies, IQSA is the first

organization solely dedicated to the critical, interdisciplinary study of the sacred text.

Given the widespread critique that ideological divides in the field of Qurnic Studies

project a barely coherent or even chaotic1 discipline, one of IQSAs primary aims is to

provide a network for a diverse range of scholars and educators from around the world

to engage in a collaborative, constructive academic discussion. IQSAs practical

1Devin Stewart and Gabriel Said Reynolds Afterword: The Academic Study of the
QurnAchievements, Challenges, and Prospects, Journal of the International
Qurnic Studies Association 1 (2016): 183.
 2

methods for achieving this goal are centralized online communication, international

meetings, organization-based publications, and professional development, particularly

advocating for the field of Qurnic studies in higher education and in the public square.

The International Qurnic Studies Association by nature is one that depends on

the organization, presentation, and exchange of information to function as a

professional guild and learned society. Executive Directory Emran El-Badawi explains

that the organizations website housed through Wordpress.com and Wild Apricot

membership software (iqsaweb.org) is IQSAs central tool in this regard. Given IQSAs

already developed public face on the web, the key challenge was centralizing this online

presence with a relevant subject guide for the organization. IQSA needed an

organization-based resource to point members to when faced with subject inquiries that

preserves the purpose and public face of the organization. This was a perfect

intersection for reference library services, informatics, social media, and the current

needs of the International Qurnic Studies Association.

While I incorporated standard features of subject guides, particularly in the critical

study of religious texts, the most important aspect for this course to discuss is the

homepage which centralizes IQSAs social media face. Apart from the general

introduction box, there are six boxes that consolidate IQSAs web presence. The first

two boxes embed IQSAs social media presence on Facebook and Twitter through

widgets and rectangular html codes. These functions continually update in real time with

the social media accounts to match the dynamic communications of the organization.

There are two boxes that feature IQSAs main website via Wordpress: one that offers

the homepage menu and another that enables users to view an introductory video
 3

without visiting Youtube. Additionally, I embedded code that offers a search box for

worldcat.org, a creative way to give members around the world a tool to locate

resources suggested on the guide near them. Lastly, the box on the far right highlights

my profile as the Subject Specialist, offering the user a real person connection that is

so often requested in an age of technology-centered services. Other features that

reinforce the organization across the subject guide are IQSA Spotlight boxes in other

tabs to highlight resources available via member benefits and published through the

organization, including JIQSA and the Review of Quranic Research on the Journals

and Reference Works tab and the Quran Seminar Commentary (open access) on the

Commentaries tab.

While this prototype is online, published, and functioning, it is far from finished. I

would ideally conduct usability studies of the guide to analyze feedback on its

organization, aesthetic features, and ease of use. This Social Media and Informatics

course, however, has been a critical step in making this guide a branch of IQSAs wider

presence on the web.