IOPN Journals (Illinois Open Publishing Network)
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Symposia influencing LIS curriculum and society
Full text linkThis study examines the impact of Heritage Month symposia hosted by the School of Information at San José State University since 2021 on the library and information science (LIS) curriculum and society and through thematic analysis of transcripts from 21 events, the research team, comprising two LIS faculty and two graduate assistants, identified common themes and differences across various heritage celebrations, including AANHPI, Black/African American, Disability, Hispanic, LGBTQ+, Deaf, and Native American/Alaskan Native communities. The findings highlight the importance of identity, representation, and cultural heritage in LIS, emphasizing the need for proactive diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. The study underscores the necessity for structural changes within the LIS field to support underrepresented groups and foster a more inclusive profession. This research provides a foundation for future efforts to diversify LIS beyond the classroom and into broader societal contexts
How Much Do Universities Care About Us: Lecturers\u27 Perspective Towards the Use of Learning Management Systems
Full text linkWhile there has been tremendous development and support in the use of learning management systems (LMS) such as Moodle, Canvas, and Blackboard by lecturers to enhance their teaching and learning interfaces in the university environment, there are significant ethical concerns associated with the adoption of new technologies in creating, changing, and sharing information with students during lectures. Many lecturers, in their bid to render teaching and learning services, continue to struggle with new LMS technologies introduced in universities without prior notice and preparation, due to the application of software and thinking skills (Snyder & Snyder, 2008) required by the lecturers. In the US and other parts of the world, many universities frequently introduce new LMS platforms, even when the existing ones are still functional, possibly due to changes in institutional policy. This practice has led to considerable frustration among lecturers, who feel the university does not care about their opinions.
The lack of consultation and preparation for such changes leaves many lecturers feeling daunted and unsupported and struggling in silence, not knowing how to adapt or where to seek help, even when their complaints go unheard. This study demonstrates innovative ideas that the Library and Information Science (LIS) curricula could address to prepare future lecturers wishing to go into the librarianship profession.
This ongoing study will apply ethnography and observation methods from interactions with lecturers (faculty members) to serve as a blueprint for library users and anticipated librarians who might want to consider a teaching position at the university
Xenoglossophobia and information seeking behavior of African Graduate students
Full text linkThis study explores the effect of xenoglossophobia on information needs and seeking behavior of African Graduates, using graduate students from Nigeria and Ghana at the University of South Carolina, United States, as a case study. Xenoglossophobia is the abnormal and exaggerated anxiety of speaking a foreign language (Böttger & Költzsch, 2020). Although previous investigations have focused on how the realities of moving to a new city may shape the information needs of transnational newcomers (Kim & Lingel, 2016), there is a dearth of empirical evidence in Library and Information Science literature on how xenoglossophobia affects information needs and seeking behavior. The purposive random sampling was adopted to select 36 graduate students from Nigeria and Ghana to participate in the pilot study. Findings revealed that xenoglossophobia, such as accent-related anxieties affect information needs and everyday life information-seeking behavior of African students, especially in their first year of arrival in the United States. This implies that accent is an important factor in accessing and using information, especially for foreign graduate students who are non-native English speakers. This aligns with the findings of Colón-Aguirre and Alcalá (2021). For African graduate students in the United States to effectively seek and use information for everyday life activities it would be critical for them to speak English clearly and in a manner that it is understood by either a librarian or other information service providers. This study has implications for students, information workers, librarians, and agencies who work directly with new international students
A Journey Towards Personal Cultural Heritage
Full text linkThis Creative Track presentation is a bilingual recitation in English and Spanish of my poem “The Journey.” The poem is part of the forthcoming edited volume, Poetry in LIS, by Drs. Bharat Mehra and Vanessa Irvin. Catalyzing my submitted chapter on oral personal cultural heritage practices that make connections to my identity as a daughter of immigrants through oral traditions like storytelling, I share insights into my family, their traditions, and their past in Havana, Cuba. These traditions reveal emotions, words, and memories expressed through joy, sorrow, and sometimes anger and fear—insights into experiences we may not have personally witnessed. Such practices have deepened my connection to my heritage, especially when physical traces of my family history are not visible, tangible, or preserved. As an archival educator, I am particularly concerned about the future of these vital personal oral artifacts that exist solely due to the age-old craft of storytelling. The risk of these stories being lost is confirmed as a daily concern. Having experienced life as a child of immigrants, witnessing my family share their stories has fostered a healing that spans generations. Oral storytelling provides an opportunity to reclaim identity and enable future generations to learn about their ancestors. Additionally, oral personal cultural heritage practices allow previously invisible family members to be seen. As a personal record keeper, I treasure these moments to listen to stories and share memories, traditions, and the resilient ways my family has lived through the narratives passed down, capturing the essence of who I am. As a child of immigrant parents, I hope this poetry recitation inspires others to seek and preserve their own stories.
The presentation begins with an introduction to my work, which will run for 2 minutes. I will introduce attendees to the context and theme of my poem. This will be followed by a 5-minute recitation of the poem in English and Spanish. After the poem is recited, the last two minutes are reserved for the conclusion
The Great Unravelling: Unmaking and Remaking Information Worlds
Full text linkThe ‘Great Unraveling’ is a term that encapsulates the gradual unspooling of environmental and social systems essential to human prosperity (Heinberg & Miller, 2023). It serves as a critical counter-narrative to prevailing discourses of either unchecked technological progress or inevitable collapse—both of which often lead to passive acceptance of the status quo. Instead, the Great Unraveling suggests that systemic deterioration is already in motion, compelling us to consider whether and how intervention is possible. This panel will explore the role of library and information science (LIS) professionals in addressing these challenges, emphasizing the need for resilience, adaptation, and decolonization.
The metaphor of unraveling evokes a powerful image: a well-worn fabric slowly coming apart, thread by thread. This process illustrates how the interconnected systems that uphold society—including libraries and archives—are increasingly vulnerable to disruption. The COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturns, geopolitical instability, and the ongoing polycrisis all highlight the fragility of these institutions. The concept of polycrisis, first introduced by Edgar Morin (1999), describes the compounding and interdependent crises—ecological, social, economic—that threaten global stability. In this context, LIS professionals are not merely passive observers; they must actively engage in understanding, mitigating, and even reversing the unraveling process where possible.
A central theme of this panel is the intersection between the Great Unraveling and the need for decolonization within LIS. Decolonization, as Smith (2012) and Tuck & Yang (2012) emphasize, is not a metaphor but an ongoing process of dismantling colonial structures embedded in knowledge systems, bureaucratic practices, and cultural norms. Decolonization restores Indigenous worldviews as foundational to knowledge organization and dissemination (Lilley, 2021). Libraries have historically functioned as repositories of dominant knowledge paradigms, often marginalizing Indigenous, non-Western, and alternative epistemologies. The imperative, then, is to use this moment of systemic unraveling to create space for knowledge systems that have historically been suppressed and to recommit ourselves to supporting communities who have experienced epistemicide and epistemic injustices (Patin et al., 2021).
The panel will challenge attendees to consider the moral and ethical imperatives of LIS in an era of unraveling: How can LIS professionals integrate resilience-building into their work? What does it mean to create an epistemically just library system? How can libraries serve as hubs for decolonial knowledge production and community empowerment? In posing such questions, we must acknowledge when systems are broken, we cannot just fix it: we have to rebuild. Akin to a controlled burn in forest management, we must hold space to enable new and renewed ways of being and knowing in LIS: we must deconstruct in order to reconstruct. Against the relentless forces of onto-epistemicide (Patin et al., 2024), we must resist the urge to solely fix what we know about the world, rather, we must reconsider how we exist within and alongside the world itself.
In collaboration with the audience, panelists will work to identify actionable steps for incorporating themes of resilience, decolonization, and community engagement into LIS practice. Rather than viewing the unraveling as an insurmountable crisis, this discussion reframes it as an opportunity—a chance to mend broken systems, restore neglected knowledge traditions, and forge new, equitable pathways for the future of information stewardship.
Ultimately, the Great Unraveling is woven from the threads of history, philosophy, and ethics. Understanding what has happened, how we think about it, and what we do about it determines whether we merely witness the unmaking of our systems or actively participate in their transformation. This panel will argue that LIS professionals are uniquely positioned to not only document the unraveling but to engage in the vital work of reweaving—creating stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient networks of knowledge for the generations to come
Emperor Alexander I and the Nobility in the Russian Empire, 1801-1825
Full text linkReview of Patrick O\u27Meara, The Russian Nobility (2019
Introduction: Russo-European Artistic Encounters in the Eighteenth Century
Full text linkIntroduction: Russo-European Artistic Encounters in the Eighteenth Centur
Гравированный автопортрет и портрет гравера. К вопросу о самосознании и социальном статусе граверов в России второй половины XVIII века
Full text linkThis paper examines the unique self-portrait prints which provide rich material for raising a number of previously overlooked questions related to Russian art in the age of Catherine the Great. It reveals why self-portrait prints were so rare in eighteenth-century Russia; what were the motives of those few printmakers who decided to turn to such an unpopular type of portrait at the time; what was the social position of printmakers; how they viewed themselves and their profession and what are the specifics of self-portraiture in printmaking in comparison with self-portraits in other media. As is shown in this work, the printed self-portrait allowed a printmaker to freely express himself in the way he wanted and also claimed a privileged social position for the depicted, reflecting the desire of the author-model to fit his image into the social hierarchy. The phenomenon was set somewhat apart from the official strategy for the development of Russian art in the eighteenth century, for it presumed a higher status for the artist as individual than was usual at the time, and anticipated, however unconsciously, the depths that would be discovered in artist’s self-portraits in the era of romanticism.This paper examines the unique self-portrait prints which provide rich material for raising a number of previously overlooked questions related to Russian art in the age of Catherine the Great. It reveals why self-portrait prints were so rare in eighteenth-century Russia; what were the motives of those few printmakers who decided to turn to such an unpopular type of portrait at the time; what was the social position of printmakers; how they viewed themselves and their profession and what are the specifics of self-portraiture in printmaking in comparison with self-portraits in other media. As is shown in this work, the printed self-portrait allowed a printmaker to freely express himself in the way he wanted and also claimed a privileged social position for the depicted, reflecting the desire of the author-model to fit his image into the social hierarchy. The phenomenon was set somewhat apart from the official strategy for the development of Russian art in the eighteenth century, for it presumed a higher status for the artist as individual than was usual at the time, and anticipated, however unconsciously, the depths that would be discovered in artist’s self-portraits in the era of romanticism.
In Search of Nature and Consciousness in Andrei Bialobotskii’s Pentateugum: Classical Echoes and Modern Impulses
Full text linkThrough close reading and reference to the philosophies of the time, this paper demonstrates how the long poem Pentateugum (1690s) by Andrei Bialobotskii (ca. 1640-1720) offers us a dynamic picture of the tensions —between Classical and Orthodox cultures and between religious and secularized literatures—leading to the East Slavic Enlightenment. According to Andrei Bialobotskii, culture is vain because such is human knowledge. Simultaneously, culture triumphs because, through it, the subject acquires and expresses their consciousness in a summa that comprises the whole history of humankind. In this context, Classical culture provides a model for writing techniques and functions as the highest instance of punished vanity, while expressing the harmony between nature and the individual