CIRI Blog

Published: June 20, 2019 by Dr. Anthony Bernier

“It’s not that people haven’t been inclusive. It’s just… a feeling I have in myself. You feel like an imposter. Like, especially when you go back into your family life.”

In Fall 2018, the American Library Association awarded Dr. Anthony Bernier a Diversity Research Grant (the committee’s top pick from among 30 proposals) to study the experience of the iSchool’s First Generation (FG) students. The project defined FG students as people coming from family backgrounds in which neither parent earned a professional degree.

Published: April 4, 2019 by Dr. Michelle Chen

I met former iSchool student Tawa Ducheneaux (who is currently an archivist at Oglala Lakota College) in one of my Information Visualization classes, and the idea of using information visualization to further assist tribal library operations emerged from there. After the semester, Tawa approached me with an abundance of data from Oglala Lakota College Library and, with tremendous help from Tawa and her colleagues at Woksape Tipi Library and South Dakota State Library, we analyzed the data and eventually published a paper in Library Management [1]. In this blog post, I would like to share a little more about our research.

Published: February 5, 2019 by Dr. Shelly Buchanan

The first months of 2018 presented me with significant professional shifts when I joined the iSchool full-time faculty and shortly thereafter in March earned my Ph.D. for my dissertation titled, “The lived experience of middle school student engaged in student-driven inquiry: A phenomenological study.”

Published: November 18, 2018 by Dr. Cheryl Stenstrom

The California Library Services Board is funding and supporting a project called the Value of Libraries. Work on this project is being carried out by the California State Library under the direction of state library consultant, Dr. Natalie Cole, with assistance from iSchool faculty member, Dr. Cheryl Stenstrom and iSchool alumna, Rachel Hanson.

Published: September 5, 2018 by Dr. Lili Luo

Public libraries are uniquely positioned to play an active role in supporting health literacy enhancement in this nation. They provide a no-cost, convenient way to assist the public in navigating health information resources and fulfilling their health information needs. The Public Library Association (PLA)’s Deputy Director Scott G. Allen acknowledged that health literacy is a key topic for public libraries, as the majority of consumers struggle to make sense of the health information they encounter each day. He emphasized public libraries’ role in promoting health literacy, explaining that “consumers need help understanding what’s relevant to their health, what’s legitimate, and how marketing and sensational headlines might be drawing attention away from valid research findings”.

Published: January 14, 2018 by Sue Alman

Blockchain technology. It’s more than a buzz word, and it’s time librarians explore how it can be used to enhance the role played by libraries within their communities. Get involved in the research while the implementation of the technology is still in the infancy stage.

Published: May 26, 2017 by Sue Alman

Urban or rural, public or private, large or small, libraries are living in a moment in which they are juxtaposed between their traditional role as a respected historical institution and their emerging role as a platform for progress. In an age where innovation occurs at the speed of thought, how can libraries embrace technology as well as employ it to build stronger communities? (Excerpt from The Aspen Institute – Libraries in the Exponential Age: Moving from the Edge of Innovation to the Center of Community, 2016.)

Amidst unprecedented technological change, library staff are faced with an uncertain future but a landscaped filled with rich opportunities. One response has been a focus on continuing education and current awareness programs related to these shifts. Faced with these evolutionary transitions in research and learning, Library and Information Science professionals, are seeking new ways to quickly expand their own knowledge and expertise.

Published: November 30, 2016 by Mary Ann Harlan

In light of the recent conversation regarding evaluating information and fake news, teacher librarians should be considered an asset to schools. 

On November 17, 2016 the State of California released a report on their findings of an audit of school library services in California. The findings were not particularly surprising to teacher librarians in California, but they will be a surprise to many California residents.