Digital Commons Network^™

Listening, Learning, Accommodating: A Critical Look At Inclusive Research Help, Michelle Lee, Laura Beane, Kristina Lang, Jillian Speck, Kristina Clement

Faculty Articles

Research consultations continue to be a valuable means of connecting with users and supporting their research needs. As we’ve received an increasing number of research consultations where one or more accommodations have been requested, the Kennesaw State University Libraries have been exploring ways to provide accommodations in research consultations. Since there is a lack of research on this specific facet of research consultations, this literature review focuses on the related topics of assistive technology in libraries, accommodations in library services and spaces, and library anxiety to show how these topics relate to providing accommodations in research consultations. The objective of …

The Evolution Of The Modern Library Brand: Transforming Community Engagement Into Sustainable Revenue, Slone Williams

Georgia Library Quarterly

This article examines the development of the Cobb Library Shop, an e-commerce initiative launched by the Cobb County Public Library to generate sustainable funding through brand engagement. Built on a modest startup budget, the shop integrates a multichannel sales strategy and leverages internal talent to create a scalable, community-centered retail model.

The project achieved a full return on investment within 14 days and continues to demonstrate steady revenue expansion. By combining entrepreneurial practices with public service values, this case study highlights how libraries can diversify funding streams, enhance community engagement, and establish a replicable model for revenue-generating library systems.

Making Open Work: Research Data Management As A Foundation For Open Infrastructure And Intercultural Engagement, Qinqin Zhang, Lily Y. Ko

FORCE 2026

At The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), Research Data Management (RDM) plays a vital role in advancing our commitment to research integrity, transparency, responsible research, and open science. Through services such as a Data Management Plan (DMP) tool, a FAIR-aligned institutional repository, and targeted training, we enable researchers to manage, share, and reuse data across disciplines and cultures.

CUHK Library’s RDM initiatives emphasize collaboration, inclusivity, and intercultural exchange. A key program is Data Champions, a peer-led network that empowers students and staff to advocate best practices in research data management. Data champions co-develop learning materials, lead workshops, and provide …

Georgia Library Spotlight The Success Of Cobb County Public Library Perks Program, Katherine Zavala

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Academic Libraries As A Platform For Indigenous And Agricultural Knowledge Sharing In Rural Communities: A Conceptual And Review-Based Approach, Jenifer Yesmin Laskar, Pradip Kumar Singha

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Agriculture and traditional knowledge are the roots of rural economy, particularly in biologically sensitive areas with diverse cultures. Preserving traditional knowledge in terms of local farming practices is an activity that is generally associated with cultural practices in these areas. The potentiality of academic libraries in terms of bridging roles for dissemination, curation, and sharing of Indigenous knowledge as well as Agriculture knowledge in the respective areas remains largely overlooked. It is an attempt to explore, indicate, and address through the theoretical approaches based upon an understanding of library science concepts, Indigenous studies, community development, sustainability studies, the roles of …

Building The Blueprint: Seven Years Of Laying The Foundation For Leadership And Community Impact, Karen Manning, Tamika Barnes, Angiah L. Davis, Priscilla Dickerson, Thomas Jackson Jr., Deon King Sr., La Loria Konata, Sarah Rodgers

Georgia Library Quarterly

This article presents a foundational blueprint for establishing and sustaining the Georgia Library Association (GLA) Black Caucus Interest Group. Drawing on seven years of documented activity, it highlights the group’s most notable programs, advocacy efforts, and community‑building initiatives that have shaped its identity and impact within the broader library profession. The article traces key events that strengthened the caucus’s mission, including professional development offerings, strategic partnerships, and leadership engagement across the state. A timeline of the caucus’s chair history illustrates the evolution of its governance and the contributions of successive leaders who guided its growth. Together, these elements offer a …

Reorienting Library Technology Through Slowness And Care, Sanjeet Mann

Library Faculty Publications & Presentations

Nearly all operations and services in contemporary libraries are mediated by technology. This makes systems and technology work an important place in the organization from which to address issues of time, power and culture.

In this essay, published as a chapter in a collection of essays about Slow Librarianship, I describe the origins of the associations between time, speed and technology in Western society. I articulate an alternative understanding of technology as relational, grounded in the needs and lived experience of those who work in and use libraries. I draw from several emerging concepts, including Slow Librarianship, feminist ethics of …

Museums In Public Libraries: An Ethnographic Case Study Of The Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library, Yadira Y. Quintero

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Access to information is a human right, and this thesis explores the benefits and challenges of integrating museums into public libraries by conducting an ethnographic case study of the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library. The study's findings highlight the complexities of integration. The biggest benefit is the increased access to museum collections, information, and resources. However, challenges arise from the lack of cohesion within the museum and library disciplines, as well as strained community relations. Engaging the community is crucial for successful collaboration, emphasizing the importance of a bottom-up approach that allows for active participation. Integrating museums into public libraries …

The Multifaceted Role Of Green Libraries In Advancing Sustainable Development In Kenya, Arnold Mwanzu, Yin Yeling

Libraries

t Sustainable development has become a global priority as societies recognize the need to address environmental degradation, social inequality, and economic challenges.The paper sought to establish the role of green libraries in Kenya in championing UN SDGs with a descriptive research design and mixed-methods case study approach. Interviews were conducted with head librarians from 12 representative green libraries in Kenya. An observation checklist was used to complement the interviews. Framework analysis was the mode of data analysis used in line with the interpretivism paradigm that formed the pillar of the research. The findings showed that green libraries in Kenya have …

Living Heritage, Resilience And Ethically Informed Infrastructures In Malawi, Martha B. Lerski, Frank Puluputu Mwale

Publications and Research

Rooted in a rural community’s needs, this paper explores how historically, and ethically informed infrastructures can support community engagement towards identification, documentation, and dissemination of local, traditional, and indigenous knowledge relating to climate change. The paper examines climate adaptation and sustainability issues through the lenses of community organizing and Library & Information Science best practices. It draws on a growing body of literature identifying a role for expanded epistemological and subject discipline perspectives. While the impacts of climate on material culture are increasingly recognized, intangible, and biocultural heritage have not received as much attention. Living heritage traditions and knowledge systems …

Our Common Cause: Advocating For Human Labor For Outreach, Technical Expertise, And The Future Of Institutional Repositories, Grace R. Swinnerton, Dylan Mohr

Librarian Publications

Since 2021, SURFACE, Syracuse University’s institutional repository, has seen substantial growth in both content and commitment to long-term digital preservation. This progress is largely due to the Syracuse University Libraries’ investment in a dedicated three-person team focused on sustainability and development. As we face emerging technologies and AI, we question whether AI can replace human labor to reduce costs. Despite the financial appeal of cost-cutting, our presentation underscores the essential role of human labor. Through community-focused outreach and technical advancements like mass minting DOIs and restructuring our platform, we have demonstrated the irreplaceable value of human involvement. This presentation will …

"Social Media Is Imperfect, But It's The Best We Have": Understanding And Addressing Sexual Health Information Seeking Challenges Among Young Adults, Alexander N. Vera

MUSC Conference Presentations

Objective:

Young adults in South Carolina face increasing challenges when seeking accurate sexual health information due to limitations in traditional and authoritative sexual health education and healthcare access. This paper investigates the future of libraries and health science librarians by exploring how young adults use social media platforms to seek sexual health information. It identifies the primary barriers young adults face and investigates opportunities for developing innovative digital health literacy resources.

Methods:

This study employed a dual-method qualitative approach, utilizing 90-minute semi-structured interviews and digital walkthroughs with 20 young adults aged 18-25 from across South Carolina. The interviews explored participants' …

Healing Histories: Implementing Trauma-Informed Care Practices In Libraries To Support Resilience And Recovery, Cearra Harris

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the impact of public library closure on the Edgewood community in Columbia, South Carolina, an area with a rich history and significant ties to the two nearby historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Benedict College and Allen University. It explored the intergenerational effects of historical trauma through the lens of collective memory, as documented in oral histories from community members and public library staff. The research aimed to understand the implications of the library's absence in a marginalized community context, emphasizing how such closures can exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Through oral histories, questionnaires, and interviews, the findings reveal …

2025 Furman University Scholarship Reception Program, Madeline Eastergard, Kathie Sloan

Libraries Institutional Records

On February 14, 2025, the Libraries and the Office of the Provost hosted the Furman University Scholarship Reception. The reception showcased scholarly publications, creative works, and professional accomplishments of Furman faculty or staff from the 2024 calendar year. It highlighted Furman faculty and staff who completed a degree, received a grant from an external funding source totaling more than $1,000, and/or published books, book chapters, journal articles, exhibits, recordings, performances, films, or other works. The following Furman presenters provided four-minute speeches about their scholarly or creative works:

• Liz Bouzarth, Professor of Mathematics
• John Harris, Professor of Mathematics
• Kevin Hutson, Professor …

Addressing Anti-Black Racism In Library And Information Science Curriculum: A Canadian-Centric Learning Model, Amber Matthews

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Canadian communities are facing a crisis of inequity, and library service providers must do more to respond to the causal conditions of anti-Black and other forms of systemic racism (Black & Mehra, 2023). Beginning in 2022, the first known Canadian MLIS course, Anti-Racism in Library and Information Science, was piloted at Western University. It aimed to allow students to engage with transformative and collaborative anti-racism frameworks relevant to the Canadian library sector and MLIS curriculum. The one-semester (13-week) course was offered once each summer in 2022 and 2023. The multi-faceted course aimed to equip students with community-based approaches to learning …

Collections As Data: A Data Literacy Tool For Community Engagement, Daria Orlowska, Lynn Houghton

University Libraries Faculty & Staff Publications

The Collections as Data initiative begun by Thomas Padilla strives to reframe digital objects as data that is community-oriented, contextualized for easy reusability, and empowering reimagination in creative ways. In an effort to increase the accessibility of University Libraries archival collections to researchers and students, we began investigating the feasibility of this initiative on our campus using the digitized South Haven Lighthouse Log Collection as a starting point. The lighthouse logs are a series of digitized journals originally compiled at South Pierhead Light in South Haven, Michigan, recording passing vessels, weather remarks and lighthouse expenditures between 1878-1892. A collection assessment …

The Politics Of Memory: The Memorialization Of Student Protests And The Archive, Jane Orkand Lovett

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explores the politics of memory and archival power in student activism at Scripps College, arguing that archives are active sites where social power is negotiated and contested. Using frameworks of institutional versus collective memory and John Gaventa’s three dimensions of power, it examines how architectural, digital, and physical archives shape narratives of resistance and institutional authority. Case studies, including the Drop Sodexo campaign, Scripps Graffiti Wall, and the Liberation Through Education movement, demonstrate how students use archives to assert agency, counter institutional narratives, and sustain political momentum. The study highlights the co-optation of activism by institutional actors and …

Addressing Anti-Black Racism In Library And Information Science Curriculum, Amber Matthews

STEMPS Faculty Publications

This paper explores the development of the graduate course Anti-Racism in Library and Information Science that was piloted at Western University in 2022 and 2023. The one-semester (13-week) course was designed with Black-led community organizations and students contributed to anti-racist information and memory work through experiential learning partnerships. The course used critical Library and Information Science (LIS) literature alongside Black Canadian scholarly perspectives that were grounded in anti-oppression and anti-racism frameworks. The course goals were for students to develop an understanding of how race and other structural inequities inform lived experiences and tools to support collaborative community-led projects. The LIS-tailored …

Culture Wars In The Commonwealth: Public Libraries, Book Bans, And The First Amendment, Natisha Harper, Amber Matthews

STEMPS Faculty Publications

Public libraries are quickly losing the ‘culture war’ being waged against them (Jones, 2024). They also lack the coordinated support, resources, and legislative power of those leading the national assault on the right to read, intellectual freedom, and the First Amendment (ALA, 2024). Few resources provide timely and relevant guidance for public libraries on negotiating book challenges with concerned community members, elected officials, and interested parties. This research study responds to nascent ‘culture war’ developments in Virginia – specifically, recent government interference in public library governance in Warren County in December (Schneider, 2024) and a new bill targeting ‘obscene’ materials …

Public Librarianship & Food Justice: Exploring The Intersections, Christine D'Arpa, Noah Lenstra, Elizabeth Thornburg, Chloe Williams

School of Information Sciences Faculty Research Publications

This report explores and examines some of the intersections between public librarianship and food justice. Food justice is a topic many working in public libraries wish to understand and put into action. Many struggle to do so in a way that is sustainable for the institution of the public library. These findings emerged from focus groups with public library workers conducted from November 2023 to March 2024. This report introduces five themes based on focus group conversations. Three themes describe how public library workers think about the intersections of food justice and public librarianship (1-3). Two describe how library workers …

Summer 2024, Georgia Library Quarterly

Georgia Library Quarterly

No abstract provided.

Archiving Living Historical Narratives With Youth Participatory Action Research, Leah Panther, Elizabeth Burbridge, Robbie Barber, Rosi Sanchez

Georgia Library Quarterly

As part of an interdisciplinary place-based summer program, the three adults and nine youth explored local communities as a co-researchers, seeking to preserve and sustain their community’s literacies, histories, and stories. Youth co-researchers led the data collection, analysis, and creation of archival resources to capture community literacies, histories, and stories that expanded beyond traditional print-centric resources and archival collections management systems. From our youth co-researchers we learned: (1) prioritizing people as archival sources, (2) living historical narratives lead to critical readings of historical artifacts, and (3) public digital composing practices with historical narratives and historical artifacts. The implications result in …

The Oneal Project - Eresources Fusion Friday, Courtney Fuson

Library Faculty Scholarship

An overview of the ONEAL Project, its mission, the curriculum and research so far. ONEAL stands for Open Negotiation Education for Academic Librarians and is a project generously funded by IMLS grant RE-252353-OLS-22.

Data For All: Creating A Sustainable Community Partnership To Increase Health And Racial Equity, Emily Zoe Mann

Tampa Library Faculty and Staff Publications

This poster discusses the formation of a collaborative partnership between several community institutions including an academic library, public library and center for health equity in order to increase community data literacy working towards racial equity within the community. We will discuss working across communities to assess needs and how to meet needs within the different community guidelines, strategic goals, and theories of change. The overarching goal of this ongoing project is to make data less intimidating and empower our community to use local data to create local change. In an effort increase collaborative work in different communities there will be …

The Oneal Project: Negotiation Education For Library Workers, Courtney Fuson

Library Faculty Scholarship

Come and learn about a new open educational resource and community to support library workers as they develop their negotiation knowledge and skills. Designed to help all library workers learn negotiation best practices and strategies for both their personal and professional lives, this OER includes lectures, readings, assessments, and hand-on assignments. In addition to learning about this resource, attendees will learn about the community being created to provide support for library professionals responsible for negotiations and about key issues and trends uncovered during an interview research study. While the content developed around licensing is geared toward an academic audience, the …

2024 Furman University Scholarship Reception Program, Madeline Eastergard, Kathie Sloan

Libraries Institutional Records

On February 16, 2024, the Libraries and the Office of the Provost hosted the Furman University Scholarship Reception. The reception showcased scholarly publications, creative works, and professional accomplishments of Furman faculty or staff from the 2024 calendar year. It highlighted Furman faculty and staff who completed a degree, received a grant from an external funding source totaling more than $1,000, and/or published books, book chapters, journal articles, exhibits, recordings, performances, films, or other works. The following Furman presenters provided four-minute speeches about their scholarly or creative works:

• Chris Alvin, Associate Professor of Computer Science
• Caroline Davis, Assistant Professor of Theatre …

Social Media As Fragile State, Caroline A. Haythornthwaite, Philip Mai, Anatoliy Gruzd

School of Information Studies - Faculty Scholarship

Social media platforms are grappling with how to respond to hate speech, misinformation, and political manipulation in ways that address human rights, free speech, and equality. As independent ‘states’, they are enacting their own rules of conduct, deriving their own ‘laws’, convening their own extrajudicial self regulatory institutions, and making their own interpretations and enactments of human rights. With the rise of social states such as Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, how fragile are they in their ability to achieve outcomes of fair, equitable and consistent application of their own laws? Could an assessment of the fragility of …

The Information Literacy Class As Theatrical Performance: A Qualitative Study Of Academic Librarians’ Understanding Of Their Teacher Identity, Mark Aaron Polger

Publications and Research

This qualitative study examines how academic librarians understand, conceptualize, and describe their teacher identity. The role of the academic librarian has greatly changed due to the advent of information technology. Traditionally, they were generalists, who were responsible for selecting and maintaining library collections. Academic librarian roles have evolved into web developers, information literacy (IL) instructors, emerging technology innovators, marketing and outreach coordinators, open education resources (OER) advocates, and scholarly communication experts. This research investigates the academic librarian as teacher phenomenon, how they describe their professional identity as teachers, the skills, knowledge, and competencies they teach, and their beliefs of how …

Batch Cataloging At Jmu: A Framework And Four Projects, Rebecca B. French

Libraries

Many libraries have uncataloged collections or backlogs which could benefit from batch processing, but little guidance exists on how to conceptualize and plan such a project. I will share a framework I developed which categorizes types of batch cataloging projects and outlines the steps involved. I will also describe four projects we've done at JMU to illustrate how the framework can be applied to design a variety of metadata workflows.

Grand Valley Magazine, Vol. 23, No 1, Fall 2023, Grand Valley State University

Grand Valley Magazine

Grand Valley Magazine is a quarterly publication about Grand Valley State University produced by University Communications since 2001.