What do public librarians need in research? Why are they not using LIS research more? This is a key question in my research stream as I seek to build better practitioner-scholar collaborations, as well as research grounded in the needs of practice. This study was done under the auspices of Dr. Joyce M. Latham at the University of WIsconsin-Milwaukee.

The data is as yet unpublished from the larger, national study, but some of the data is visible in this site.

As public libraries reexamine and reframe their goals and reasons for existing in a social and information context increasingly mediated by digital media, the way in which they define themselves in their mission statements reveals a range of benefits, values, roles, and institutional standpoints. This critical content analysis of 32 public library mission statements focuses on the roles and standpoints constructed and naturalized through mission statement rhetoric, including the reality claims, metaphors, subject positions, and formulas used to create them. The analysis examines who created the missions and who and what appear privileged within them, focusing especially on the assignment of agency, in light of the call for “user-centered” library services.

This research project addresses the outcomes of art programs in public libraries by asking how these programs can affect civic engagement in teens. Teens participated in six art programs at one public library, from a graffiti art workshop to a modern dance performance. The general research question asked, “How does art programming in public libraries affect civic engagement in teens?” To answer this question, teens answered surveys and participated in interviews on art, libraries, and various measures of civic engagement, and the ways in which these three concepts can intersect. The teen narratives situate the teen within his/her community, within the library, and in relationship to art and civic engagement.

This project, based on a study of the impact of art programs in public libraries on the teenage participants, sought to show how library practitioners can perform embedded, participatory research by adding participants to their research team. Embedded participatory techniques, when paired with grounded theory methods, build testable theories from the ground up, based on the real experiences of those involved, including the librarian. This method offers practical solutions for other librarians while furthering a theoretical research agenda.

Research posters on a variety of topics.