The library plays a crucial role in the production of an informed electorate and providing information access to the community, while occupying a precarious space within the legal landscape. As fraught as the existing complexity is, it is further complicated by regulations that continue to evolve, with constant changes to policies and laws and challenges … Read more
Library users are diverse in their identities and cultures. This diversity can prompt a wide array of information needs, and affect the sources they consult when seeking information to meet them. The type of information they may need can vary from ready reference to deep research to new enormous datasets. There is more information than … Read more
Libraries face a variety of ethical concerns in their operations. Librarians often have to contend with concerns of equitable access, material copyright, and patron privacy (Luo, 2016). In order to fulfill their mandates, both public and academic libraries need to provide high quality materials that allow for the education of learners, both inside and outside … Read more
Librarianship is a two-sided coin, with the discipline of library and information science on one side, and the professional praxis in the institution on the other. Understanding the perception of librarianship requires examining both sides of this coin from both the perspective of outsiders who interact with the library and those who constitute its practitioners. … Read more
The mission of libraries has been in flux since their invention. Starting as record storage for merchants and national archives, they became status symbols for wealthy individuals, and today have become a cornerstone of the international infrastructure for national, private, and public information. Modern libraries have a broad set of goals, including entertainment, cultural preservation, … Read more
Below is a topical essay I composed for my application to graduate school. It talks about book banning, how data on challenges is hard to come by, and how the American Library Association needs to do more to track that data so we can mount an effective defense.
Below I’ve reproduced the personal statement essay I submitted when applying to my MLIS program. It outlines a bit about my history, and one of the things I might do with my MLIS after the program. I guess you can use this to get to know more about me and why I’m blogging about my … Read more
