Dr. Villagran will be presenting at the joint conference of the International Academy for Intercultural Research (IAIR) and the Regional Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology (IACCP).

Culturally Competent Research in Library and Information Science (CCRLIS) is a project to develop evidence-based interventions to improve cultural competence in Library and Information Science (LIS) research, particularly in terms of applying cultural competence to research team development and the research process. Two key research questions will guide the study: RQ1: How do researchers incorporate or consider cultural competence in research team development and throughout the research process? RQ2: Which criteria do researchers recommend for developing culturally competent research?

This presentation will focus on initial findings and ongoing research that began in spring 2025 and continues through 2027. LIS practitioners in the field, funded scholars and their research teams, consultants, and partners working to complete any LIS research play a key role in CCRLIS and help inform each project phase. Villagran used two critical library-related communities to conduct the research: the American Library Association Library Research Round Table (ALA LRRT) and the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE). The survey and semi-structured interview results focus on addressing the key research questions including development of a draft framework. The presenter welcomes input on the framework as this is only phase one of CCRLIS. The second phase occurring in 2026 will include working with cultural experts to fine-tune the already developed framework criteria (from pre-research with library professionals in 2025) and help develop an online open course deliverable.

Cultural competence in research is the ability of a research team to provide high-quality research that considers the population’s culture and diversity. Within the LIS domain, the lack of strong cultural competence research leads to only literature about multiculturalism, diversity, and cultural sensitivity when considering services for specific groups and recruiting diverse library personnel without consideration to research. In the early 1990s, the term cultural competence became recognized in the LIS literature (Robins, 1994; Elturk, 2003). Since the 2000s, there has been an increase in a national focus on a broader understanding of how culture affects library use within the LIS professions. Press and Diggs-Hobson (2005) first suggested a codified cultural competence code comparable to those in the healthcare field and proposed characteristics of a culturally competent librarian. Overall (2009) developed a conceptual cultural competence framework for LIS professionals; however, this framework only focused on improving services and increasing library use by diverse groups, with no application to research. These efforts demonstrate a push towards the practice of cultural competence and cultural intelligence within the LIS domain but not in research.

While the transformation of practice around cultural competence has advanced in recent years, the procedures for conducting culturally competent research within LIS remain underdeveloped—a problem that not only inhibits future knowledge development but also affects practice by embedding unidentified bias within research and projects. Join the presenter to learn more about the initial findings and ongoing research on CCRLIS. The presenter welcomes your input as well to make this a robust project.

Presenters: Dr. Michele A. L. Villagran
Date: Tuesday, July 1, 2025
Time: 10:05 am – 11:20 am (Australian Eastern Standard Time)
Location: Brisbane, Australia Room 6 Andrew N. Liveris Building – Bld 46 – 230