IOPN Journals (Illinois Open Publishing Network)
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“What Library?": A Survey of Charter School Leaders About School Library Services
Get PDFAlthough charter schools are a growing segment of the US education market, they are less likely than traditional public or private schools to have dedicated library facilities, staffing, or services. Currently there is little data about what services charter schools provide to support literacy, research, or technology skill building - services commonly provided by school libraries. Without these data it is unknown whether, how, or to what extent charter schools without school libraries ensure that their students have access to these crucial learning resources. This study collected data in 87 US based K-12 charter schools across 11 states using an online survey completed by school administrators. This survey addresses library services of charter schools both with and without school library facilities. The survey shows that most charters lack facilities and staffing to provide quality school library services. In charters that have a school library the data suggests the school benefits from more services to encourage reading for fun and information literacy instruction that can improve technology use and research skills. This study informs future research and advocacy for charter school libraries
Bringing Practice Into the Classroom: Case Studies and EDI
Get PDFCollaboration between faculty, faculty practitioners, and practitioners enhances teaching and research opportunities, provides more hands-on learning opportunities, and improves the knowledge and experience of all of those involved. Students benefit from learning about real world scenarios to couple with theoretical knowledge. Such experience improves student outcomes and informs their professionalism. Practitioners bring value added to the department with real-time information on new practices, trends, and solutions. Administrations recognize this value added and are striving to foster more inclusivity. Collaboration builds more resiliency into LIS programs and encourages the development of new leaders in our classrooms.
Most LIS programs include a management course that is usually required. Anecdotally many students react to the course with a disdain or non-preference for supervisory work and self-identify as not expecting to move into management or supervision. Many course designs include an assignment that requires the students to apply learned theory to a real-world scenario. An emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion when applying learned theory to real-world scenarios has proven beneficial for students in our program.
This panel will encourage participants to think critically about the role of practitioners in LIS education, with a particular emphasis on preparing students for future roles in administration. Practitioners, whether as adjunct faculty, guest speakers, or full-time lecturers, bring greater emphasis to the lived experiences of the field to the classroom. This blend of current research with current experience offers a more holistic program to the student. Both administrators and accrediting agencies recognize the depth this blend brings to departments as evidenced by shifting attitudes and the development of greater support.
This panel will discuss:
Incorporating EDI into your curriculum
Class discussion
Assignments
Case Studies
Using case studies to practice applying learning
Practitioners as educators
Full-time
Adjunct
Guest Speaker
What is the mood? Cross-language mood description for works of fiction
Get PDFFiction is a popular resource type for pleasure reading. Many readers pursue escapist moments and emotional experiences through reading fiction. While mood is a critical factor in fiction reading, most information systems fail to support mood description and mood-based retrieval of fiction. To address this gap, previous study[1] collected mood terms from fiction readers, and identified 30 mood categories (e.g., happy, nostalgic) and 3 overlapping families of mood in fiction: atmosphere/setting, emotion, and tone/narrative. The findings were based on English data.
Expanding on the previous study, this study explores cross-language mood description for fiction. Through an open-ended online survey, we collected reader-assigned mood terms in Chinese and Korean. With a small sample size (16 Chinese and 13 Korean responses), the purpose is to observe unique or challenging cases rooted in language differences.
One type of challenging cases is metaphorical mood terms. These terms describe mood with metaphors and require interpretation. For instance, one reader uses eclosion in Chinese to describe the complex feeling of relief, empowerment, and gaining freedom after transformation. Other challenges, such as the lack of satisfactory match in English, were observed as well.
Identifying translation challenges and unique mood terms could set directions for further research, and ultimately improve cross-language mood description and retrieval for fiction.
[1] Cho, H., Lee, W.-C., Huang, L.-M., & Kohlburn, J. (2023). User-centered categorization of mood in fiction, Journal of Documentation, 79(3), 567-588. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-03-2022-007
LISCrit: Critical Race Theory as Library and Information Science Pedagogy
Get PDFCritical Race Theory (CRT) is an intellectual framework intended to explain the day-to-day situations that affect the lives of members of minoritized groups. Its main goal is to help bring about revised social and systemic structures, which in turn can ameliorate the detrimental effects of racism and racist systems for historically marginalized and excluded groups. As a framework, CRT stands on a set of principles which serve as a foundation. Although the wording and structure of these principles varies among scholars, some of the ideas presented are stated throughout. For example, some of the main principles for CRT is that racism is ordinary and not aberrational, that race is a social construct which is not objective, inherent, or fixed on any genetic or biological reality, making it a purely social phenomenon, and that CRT due to differences in their historical experiences with oppression, Black, American Indian, Asian, and Latinx individuals are better equipped to communicate their experiences than their white counterparts (Delgado and Stefancic, 2017).
These principles have been met with active resistance on multiple fronts which have started all the way at governmental levels. The debate is particularly incendiary in the field of education, where there has been strong pushback and hostility. This mostly over the assumption that CRT based curricula is being applied to education in public K-12 school systems. Most of these arguments do not take into consideration that CRT itself is taught at the graduate level as a method of analysis, it is not a topic taught in K-12 settings. This opposition to CRT has been so strong that as of 2021, 16 states were pushing legislation banning the teaching of CRT in public institutions of higher learning (Flaherty, 2021).
This volatile and increasingly resistant environment serves only to highlight the importance of centering CRT, especially for a field such as Library and Information Science (LIS), but particularly for LIS pedagogy. The LIS field has lagged behind on many aspects related to bringing about racial equality, despite a generalized idea that the field is a pioneer of social equality and egalitarianism (Cooke and Colón-Aguirre, 2021; Ettarh, 208; Honma, 2005). As LIS educators, we must focus not only on preparing our students for the work they will perform but also to present the challenges faced by their chosen career.
In what Colón and Cooke have named LISCrit (for CRT in information science) (2022), CRT is foundational to the equity LIS strives for. Seen from this perspective it is essential that as LIS professionals and educators we understand that if we can’t name the structural and racist barriers and oppressions that CRT warns of, we can’t address them. This inability in naming and identifying barriers means that true and sustainable equity will not be possible. Bringing CRT more squarely into the LIS ecosystem is necessary and provides the language for much needed innovation, assessment, and change.
Buy in from the field at all levels is required in order to bring LISCrit to the future generations of information professionals, and one of the ways to do that is to clearly and consistently demonstrate how CRT undergirds and informs the profession and its teachings. The tenets are CRT are baked into LIS, one only need to look closely and critically through a lens of intellectual and cultural competence and humility.
In this presentation the panelists will discuss their efforts to infuse CRT into graduate LIS curricula (LISCrit). The discussion will focus on three main initiatives geared at bringing about more discussions and enabling the field’s multiple facets to benefit from the contexts and discussions which CRT facilitates. The panel will take place in three parts, including:
Colón-Aguirre and Dr. Cooke (2022) will discuss their article that introduces the LISCrit framework and its main propositions,
Colón-Aguirre and Dr. Cooke will share their scholarly efforts to produce an edited collection (Advances in Librarianship) and special journal issue (Library Quarterly), which have been designed to enable LIS educators to better include this content in their LIS classrooms,
Harris will present and demonstrate a digital CRT in LIS toolkit developed through an American Library Association Carnegie Whitney Grant
Digital Cultural Heritage : Case Studies towards Innovative Pedagogy
Get PDFSession 1: Preserving Memories during the Wartime: Ukraine
Ulia Gosart, Assistant Professor, School of Information, San Jose State University
The first session focuses on pedagogical strategies supportive of utilizing and preserving Digital Cultural Heritage. Presented in a case study manner, the panel connects experiences of digital preservation with development of relevant curricula. The case studies include preserving memories during wartime in Ukraine; African American cultural heritage in the southwest of the US; conserving traditional knowledge (TK) and indigenous knowledge (IK) within Indigenous communities in Western Pacific. Each Case can lead to innovative pedagogy possibilities be they emerging as components of traditional educational programs; or exist as elements of innovative teaching centers, and/or growing interdisciplinary collaborations.
Session 2: African American Digital Cultural Heritage through the San Antonio Public Library
DL Grant jr, Carver Library Branch Manager, San Antonio, TX
Libraries now transcend more traditional services and resources offering informal gatherings and community events that uniquely uplift the various communities they serve. History harvests, as they are sometimes known, celebrate the cultural heritage of the users leading to preservation of archival matter via digitization. This San Antonio based case study touches on two such services: 1) oral history events that weave stories of the past and document as well as entertain; and 2) a funeral program collection gone digital, making researching African American cultural heritage easier to research. With so much as a cellphone phone one can connect to electronic representations that document families, communities, rituals, institutions and genealogy, to name a few. These library programs encourage donations and help to ensure survivability of cultural heritage.
Session 3: Digital Cultural Heritage and Our Existential Threat
Cecilia Salvatore: Professor, School of Information Studies, Dominican University
In communities where their existence is threatened by global climate change, the need for a digital cultural heritage repository is stark and poignant. For example, the small island nations in the Western Pacific, which are responsible for only 0.03% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and yet they are disproportionally facing many of the threats of climate change head on. The communities on these islands are not simply passive towards what’s going on. They want to be equipped with the resources to tackle climate change. And they know that their own traditional knowledge and indigenous knowledge, which has been passed on for hundreds of years, is the most critical resource. The presenter describes TK/IK in the Pacific Islands, some current practices for preserving this knowledge, and the role of digital cultural heritage tools and methodologies
First-generation College Students, Academic Libraries, and Social Reproduction: A Case Study of a University Library System
Get PDFFirst-generation college students (FGCS) are an increasingly significant population at institutions of higher education in the United States. While only one aspect of college student identity, first-generation students collectively enter higher education without parent(s) who have obtained, at minimum, a bachelor’s degree. As such, FGCS tap into wider networks for advice and support in making the transition to college. In this way, tapping into one’s social capital can contribute to college access, persistence, and success in the field of higher education. These terms – capital and field – are core concepts, along with habitus, that comprise Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical apparatus.
This dissertation applies Bourdieu’s concepts of capital, habitus, and field to first-generation college students’ attitudes, perceptions, and use of academic libraries within the general library system of a large, public, historically White university. The critical qualitative study adapts Phil Carspecken’s (1996) 5-stage framework for conducting critical qualitative research and Bourdieu’s (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992) recommendations for conducting a study of field. The resulting analytical framework includes inductive and deductive coding, meaning field and reconstructive horizon analysis, and an analysis of system relations. Findings can inform academic library practice and are also applicable to higher education more generally, e.g., via early intervention for FGCS. Three primary themes emerged during the data analysis process: (1) perceptions of academic libraries as anxiety-inducing spaces, (2) perceptions of libraries as sites of assurance and comfort; and (3) the relationship between students’ capital composition and their perceptions and use of academic libraries
LIS Core Curriculum, Technology Agility, and Instructional Design: A Re-visitation
Get PDFCloud-based library management systems, the Spring Share® suite of library service applications, open resources and publishing, Press Books®, learning management systems integration, and instructional design librarians have all become commonplace in the library services industry over the past decade. Agility for information and communication technologies is thus a core objective posed for the students in pre-professional training for graduate library and information sciences degrees. Over 15 years ago, this author proposed a template for a graduate library science course that incorporated key aspects drawn from an analysis of the field of educational technology.1 That course template was addressing the gap in library science curricula whereby the research had revealed that only a single course amongst all ALA accredited library science programs incorporated concepts from educational technology and instructional design. The current research project endeavors to see if the pre-professional graduate core requirements have expanded to address these important changes within the library sector. Preliminary results on the updated inventory of library and information science core curricula will be shared. Indications for further investigations and considerations will be presented
The Contested Nature of the Public in Policy: Implications for Educators
Get PDFCo-sponsored by the Information Policy and Information Ethics special interest groups (SIGs), this proposal is for a pair of traditional 90-minute speaker panels, facilitated by the respective SIG convenors and supporting interlocutors, which will address the contested nature of the public in policy and implications for educators, including the ALISE community.
The first co-sponsored panel explores the past decade’s ramped-up effort among activists to defund or use punitive measures against public institutions that support and enact diversity, equity, inclusion, and decolonization (DEID) efforts. For example, many libraries have purposefully endeavored to increase the diversity of their collections and programs with respect to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ authors, speakers, and themed displays. Many school systems have invested in DEID curriculum and resources to better serve their students, and universities have invested in staff and faculty development to support students, staff, and faculty of color. However, some community members and politicians are opposed to any DEID efforts and thus seek to eliminate them, using either legal or punitive financial means. This panel will give attention to the historical context of DEID efforts and current implications for public institutions; lobbying; advocacy work in public institutions; and legislation and states/provincial/territory rights and federalism. The Information Policy SIG convenor, with the support of interlocutors, guides the audience in a critical discussion of implications for multiple constituent groups (e.g., library users, people working within library and information institutions, trustees, mayors, legislators, police and security workforce, journalists). At the close, participants are encouraged to surface connecting topics and potential conversationalists for ongoing engagement co-hosted by the Information Policy and Information Ethics SIGs.
The second co-sponsored panel pivots attention to instances of censorship and self-censorship among some of the people who work in higher education and K-12 public educational institutions and their libraries therein in various national contexts. The topics covered in this panel include the effect of censorship and self-censorship on teaching, learning, and curriculum; the contested nature of intellectual freedom, represented through specific cases of censorship, challenge and critique; implications for ethical AI in research and higher education; workplace expression, and employer; rights and responsibilities of academic freedom; and the use and abuse of civility codes. The Information Ethics SIG convenor, with the support of interlocutors, will guide the audience in a discussion of implications for the education of library and information professionals and those individuals who are engaged in teaching them. This includes critical discussion with respect to: employees and scholars at risk (e.g., equity deserving, precariously employed or under-employed, international work); threats on tenure and tenured members of academic staff (e.g. faculty, archivists, librarians); bargaining and job action; curtailing of academic freedom; declining collegial/shared governance in higher education; the importance of strong administrative and trustee support in our educational institutions; and related legislative priorities. At the close, participants are encouraged to surface connecting topics and potential conversationalists for ongoing engagement co-hosted by the Information Policy and Information Ethics SIGs
Bridging Qualitative Methods Research and Practice in Information Studies Education
Get PDFInformation studies education has perennially adapted to changes in the information landscape, shifting recently toward an apparent privileging of data-centered and computational skill building (Raju, 2020; Tait & Pierson, 2022; Wang, 2018). While it is widely acknowledged that information and technology are biased and socially mediated, the question remains how research methods pedagogy should evolve to best equip graduate students with the holistic understanding needed to critically engage with emerging technologies (Galliers & Huang, 2012). This poster presents a research project exploring how qualitative methods play a role in the information studies education. We are conducting a baseline analysis of existing methods courses from various information schools in North America. We are also analyzing syllabi from some of the qualitative methods courses identified, which may reveal key paradigms and practices covered and how they relate to larger trends in information studies education. Using an interpretive analytical approach, we have induced a set of two main preliminary findings. First, pure qualitative methods courses are potentially underrepresented in information schools. Second, qualitative methods course syllabi represent valuable but limited resources for understanding how graduate students are prepared to confront complex information problems from multiple perspectives. In the future, we will also conduct semi-structured interviews with the instructors who provided their syllabi for analysis. Through this poster, we hope to invite our colleagues into conversation about some existing disparities and opportunities in information studies education, bridging the gap between qualitative methods research, practice, and teaching
Body Utilization, Body Grief
Get PDFThis interactive poster involves a shawl that participants are encouraged to put on to explore how the body is lost to different systems, especially public-facing, capitalist, work systems. It is easy to lose oneself to the larger institution and those who are served. In this poster, viewers will be encouraged to engage with the piece and even take it and wear it for a period of time to reflect on the loss of self to the piece. This interactive art piece is tied to an ongoing exploratory study to look at library worker’s bodies at work, which can be built upon to study issues like trauma in the library workplace.
The study asks participants to complete a draw and write prompt (Hartel, 2014; Hartel et al., 2018), which allows for explanation of the self beyond just the written or verbal. As the study focuses on the body both in drawing and words, the drawings will be added to this shawl to fully share the experiences and feelings that have been expressed. In having a tactile research output through the art of the shawl, readers and participants will be able to directly reckon with the drawings and the feeling of putting on the identities people assume while working at the library