Public library boards of trustees are a form of community-based shared governance, yet not much is known about trustees, or the problems they encounter. We are studying trustees in the (formerly and partially) IMLS-funded Trustee Project.

How do people use and understand public library makerspaces and use them as tools to accomplish whatever goals are important to them? A multisite ethnographic study and other studies are complete. Other research is in process.

Multiple studies and plans for future studies are here—and YOU can help set the agenda! Let me know what problems or great things are arising in or around public libraries, and I will see if either I or another researcher can address these issues.