Joseph Janes is an associate professor in the Information School and the chair of the Masters of Library and Information Science program. His research looks at the evolving state of libraries and the role information plays in defining the human experience. “We’re an information species,” Janes said. “To most people, a rock is just a rock, but to a geologist it tells you the history of the world. A ticket stub that for anyone else is a piece of garbage might remind you of your first date. We make information all the time, and in return information makes us who we are.”