Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

“You Can't Self-Care Your Way Out Of A Broken System”: The 2022 Urban Libraries Trauma Forum, Leah T. Dudak, Lauren Comito, Christian Zabriskie

School of Information Studies - Post-doc and Student Scholarship

The Urban Libraries Trauma Study (ULTS) conducted by Urban Librarians Unite (ULU) examines trauma that urban public library workers experience in the workforce through their work with the public and interlibrary relationships. Drawing on interviews, focus groups, and a trauma forum, this paper discusses the problem of trauma in the library. It demonstrates a grounded way to engage library staff in research and change. Finally, this paper concludes with ideas proposed by the forum participants to begin addressing trauma in the library workplace and provide areas to look to going forward.

Design Thinking And Methods In Library Practice And Graduate Library Education, Rachel Ivy Clarke, Ann Rosenblad, Satyen Amonkar

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Despite interest in the application of design thinking and methods in librarianship, there seems to be a disconnect between application and education to support it. This study used an online

questionnaire to elicit feedback from library workers in the United States about interest in and use of design thinking and methods in library practice, and the need for design skills and abilities in library education. We found that practicing librarians perceive the relevance of design thinking and methods to library work, although opinions vary based on library and work type. Design thinking and methods were used mostly for space planning …

How We Done It Good: Research Through Design As A Legitimate Methodology For Librarianship, Rachel Ivy Clarke

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

“How we done it good” publications—a genre concerning project-based approaches that describe how (and sometimes why) something was done—are often rebuked in the library research community for lacking traditional scientific validity, reliability, and generalizability. While scientific methodologies may be a common approach to research and inquiry, they are not the only methodological paradigms. This research posits that the “how we done it good” paradigm in librarianship reflects a valid and legitimate approach to research. By drawing on the concept of research through design, this study shows how these “how we done it good” projects reflect design methodologies which draw …

& Lo Yr Letter Hit Me Hard: Live(S) And Work(S) In Special Collections And Archives, Patrick Williams

Libraries' and Librarians' Publications

This chapter explores the dual roles of poet-librarians in professional practice and as documented in archival and special collections.

Toward A Design Epistemology For Librarianship, Rachel I. Clarke

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

The design of information tools and services is an integral component of librarianship, yet American librarianship has self-identified as a social science for more than 100 years. This paper suggests an alternative epistemological perspective to the scientific tradition in librarianship: design epistemology. The paper discusses key elements that comprise design epistemology and presents examples of manifestations of these elements in librarianship. Analysis reveals that librarianship has much in common with design epistemology, yet the field lacks explicit acknowledgement of design as a fundamental epistemological framework. The paper concludes with a call for reconceptualizing librarianship as a design discipline.

Obligations And Opportunities, R David Lankes

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

A discussion of how library service should match how people build knowledge. It also discusses the obligation and power of libraries participating in their communities and society as a whole.

Franz Leopold Ranke, The Ranke Library At Syracuse And The Open Future Of Scientific History, Siegfried Baur

The Courier

"The recent purchase of the great historical library of Dr. Leopold von Ranke by an American suggests some reflections. There is no doubt that this library, which numbers many thousands of books, pamphlets, manuscripts and documents of all times and all languages, is the finest historical collection in the world.... But this great and invaluable collection, which should have gone to one of the large cities like New York, Boston, Philadelphia or Chicago, or to one of the university towns like Cambridge, New Haven, Ithaca or Ann Arbor, is going to Syracuse, which is neither a large city nor a …

What Academic Librarians Should Know About Creative Thinking, John Olson

Libraries' and Librarians' Publications

Librarians need to explore their individual creativity. Creative thinking is an underutilized problem-solving skill that can be learned and applied to any situation. This article explains how librarians can understand, develop, and use their creative thinking abilities and skills in the workplace.