A Social Justice Framework in Community Engagement: The Rural Librarian Information Technology Master’s Scholarship Program

1
A Social Justice Framework in Community
Engagement The Rural Librarian
Information Technology Masters Scholarship
Program
Johnson City Public
Library, TN
Hancock County Public
Library, Sneedville, TN
Sevier County Public Library,
Sevierville, TN
Lake City Public Library, TN
Bharat Mehra (bmehra_at_utk.edu), Associate
Professor School of Information Sciences,
University of Tennessee
2
Agenda

• Theoretical Principles
• Social Justice Considerations
• Community Engagement
• About the ITRL Program and the ITRL Purpose
• Why the ITRL Program is Important?
• Research Goals
• Discussion
• Collaborations in the Planning and Development of
  the ITRL Grant Proposal
• Partnerships in the Five Phases of the ITRL
  Project Design
• Conclusions

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
3
Theoretical Principles

• Fairness and equity in social relationships Does
  the project reflect upon making various
  experiences more equitable for specific
  underserved individuals or populations?
• Empowerment How is the project changing
• Ways in which individuals can take action to make
  a difference in their lives before and after the
  interaction?
• Peoples perception about their role in
  determining the course of their lives before and
  after the interaction?
• Economic, political, social, cultural, and
  environmental impacts How is the interaction
  changing the ways things are at these levels
  before and after the interaction?

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
4
Theoretical Principles

• Community building and community development
  Building equitable partnerships and
  collaborations within and across the academy with
  local, national and international communities to
  promote social equity and social justice for
  individual, social, and community empowerment of
  the disenfranchised.
• Diversity, multiplicity, and democracy Varied
  and participative involvement in decision-making.
• Everyday information needs Does the project
  change how the everyday information needs of the
  disenfranchised get met?
• Community informatics Exploring the role and the
  application of information and communication
  technologies (ICTs) to empower and enable local
  and global communities to meet their goals and
  aspirations.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
5
Social Justice Considerations 

• Recognize traditionally identified marginalized
  as equals who are experts in knowing their own
  situations/realities.
• Develop equitable partnerships in LIS to empower
  people to make changes in their everyday
  circumstances.
•  
• Discard labels that minimize peoples experiences
  and identify all project participants as
  community researchers.

Mehra, B., Rioux, K., Albright, K. S. (2009).
Social Justice in Library and Information
Science. In M. J. Bates M. N. Maack (eds.),
Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences.
New York Taylor Francis Group. Mehra, B.,
Albright, K. S., Rioux, K. (2006). A Practical
Framework for Social Justice Research in the
Information Professions. Proceedings of the 69th
Annual Meeting of the American Society for
Information Science Technology 2006 Volume 43.
poster/short paper
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
6
Social Justice in LIS Research

• Contextualize library and information science
  (LIS) work in the everyday experiences of
  society's "marginalized" in ways that make a
  difference in their socio-economic and
  socio-political experiences of marginalization.
• Recognize the diverse potential of LIS work for
  bringing real change in people's lives.
• Begin to re-examine LIS scholarship, practice,
  and relevance to emerging social contexts of the
  21st century.
• Identify and explore a range of "how to" methods
  and approaches in LIS that may build upon the
  existing measures of social justice outcomes and
  impacts.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
7
Social Justice Elements

• An underserved population
• Identifies which group (or individuals) we are
  working with.
• The information (communication) need Presents an
  asset-based approach that recognizes the
  strengths of various stakeholders (including the
  identified marginalized) goes beyond a deficit
  approach traditionally adopted in LIS research
  and helps to develop a service plan that taps
  into existing strengths embedded in the project.
• Methodologies Examines research approaches used
  in the process of engaging with the study
  population.
• Outcomes What are the tangible and intangible
  changes that have occurred in the lives of the
  targeted individuals before and after getting
  involved in the project?
• Assessment and evaluation Did the original need
  that motivated the interaction get addressed? How
  effective were the strategies that were adopted
  to address the original issue?

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
8
Community Engagement

• American LIS programs and their affiliated
  institutions need more critical/constructive
  approaches to revise traditionally defined
  outreach/service missions that are add-ons to
  teaching and research agendas.
  
• (Osborne, 2004 Fear Sandman, 1995)
• Current developments in LIS education call for
  employing the phrase community engagement to
• Accurately represent integration efforts of
  teaching, research, and service that better
  captures the community essence of social equity
  and justice. (Gibson,
  2006 McCook, 2000)
• Replace historically loaded, socio-politically
  biased words (e.g., outreach/service) symbolizing
  imbalanced power inequities.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
9
Community Engagement

• Recognizes the need for using the right language,
  vocabulary, and unbiased words to represent
  conceptualization and planning of
  socially-relevant research projects in the LIS
  curriculum.
• Adopts more holistic and integrated efforts that
  connect teaching, research, and student
  participation in collaborations of engagement
  with local, regional, national, and global
  communities to achieve socially-relevant
  outcomes.
• Represents a more contemporary and relevant
  strategy in recognizing diversity and the assets
  and skills of the underserved populations on
  societys margins.
• Presents a model that is reflective and
  forward-oriented in its efforts to build
  equitable partnerships, involving LIS students
  and community members, to achieve
  collaboratively-defined community goals.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
10
Grant Project

• Rural Library Professionals as Change Agents in
  the 21st Century Integrating Information
  Technology Competencies in the Southern and
  Central Appalachian Region (ITRL) (567,660).
  Institute of Museum and Library Services, Laura
  Bush 21st Century Librarian Program , October
  2009 September 2012 (PI B. Mehra, K. Black, V.
  Singh).

ITRL Planning Meeting 13 November, 2009
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
11
About the ITRL Program

• Information Technology Rural Librarian Masters
  Scholarship Program (ITRL) in the School of
  Information Sciences at the University of
  Tennessee meets an urgent need for rural
  librarians in the Southern and Central
  Appalachian (SCA) region to develop information
  technology competencies and training in a
  masters program (accredited by the American
  Library Association) that combines work
  experience and practice with graduate instruction
  and curriculum support.

Hamlin-Lincoln County
Public Library, Hamlin, WV
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
12
The ITRL Purpose

• The purpose of the ITRL Scholarship Program was
  to recruit sixteen paraprofessionals working in
  rural libraries in the SCA regions to complete
  their masters degree with a focus on IT and
  rural librarianship in the UTs SIS program via
  distance.

• ITRL students are receiving
• Part-time degree in a program accredited by the
  ALA
• A structured, individually-tailored IT and
  rural management curriculum
• Rural library practices and needs incorporated
  into the curriculum
• IT competencies in developing rural library
  work applications
• Formal/informal professional mentoring by
  educators and practitioners
• Full-tuition scholarship for two years
• Allowance for materials
• Provision of a laptop computer

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
13
Why the ITRL Program is Important

• The Southern and Central Appalachian Region is
  experiencing
• Information poverty and unemployment
• Economic challenges
• Low levels of information literacy and
  educational attainment
• A lack of access and use of IT
• Other unique environmental challenges

Library professionals who are embedded in their
communities are in a strong position to help
address and develop solutions to these needs.
Laurel Jones Public Library, Laurel, MS
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
14
Research Goals

• To identify collaborations that were significant
  in the planning
  and development of the ITRL grant proposal.
• To explore partnerships that will be instrumental
  in implementing future activities in the five
  phases of the ITRL project design
• 1. Recruitment of ITRL students from the SCAs
  rural libraries.
• 2. Needs assessment of library
  services/information challenges in the SCA .
• 3. Implementation of educational and training
  activities.
• 4. Professional mentoring by professional
  educators and practitioners.
• 5. Evaluation/assessment of program outcomes,
  and dissemination of program
  results/experiences.
• To discuss social justice principles and
  community engagement in
  the ITRL project.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
15
Collaborations in the ITRL Planning
and Development of the Grant Proposal

• Ongoing feedback from regional librarians in the
  UTs SIS advisory board and alumni networks and
  paraprofessional experiences shared
  by SIS DE students developed a fuller picture
  about the context of study.
• Participation in local, regional, and
  state-level professional library networks
  established professional ties with rural
  librarians in the SCA region and gained their
  support and involvement in the grant proposal.
• Contributions by East Tennessees regional
  public librarians in a pilot study furthered
  formal assessment of need and provided evidence
  to inform the grant development process.
• Strategic planning in East Tennessees two
  regional libraries provided the impetus to take
  action to address the experienced challenges
  (e.g., lack of resources) in the regions public
  libraries.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
16
Collaborations in the ITRL Planning
and Development of the Grant Proposal

• A pilot quantitative web-based survey with select
  open-ended
  questions was conducted to explore the
  perspectives of East Tennessees regional
  librarians about the extent of their need for a
  professional library education to integrate IT
  competencies and information management skills in
  their work environments.
• Research questions
• What are the key information needs of rural
  communities in the region?
• What are the library services provided by rural
  information professionals in the region?
  
• What is the extent of perceived need for formal
  library professional education among
  information professionals in the region?
• What specific training/educational programs are
  needed by information professionals
• in the region?

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
17
Collaborations in the ITRL Planning and
Development of the Grant Proposal

• Involvement of project partners throughout the
  grant activities is
  providing validity, leadership, knowledge,
  networks, experience, and drive to promote
  IT-based development and change in the regions
  communities.
• Nancy Renfro, Director, Watauga Regional
  Library
• Donald B. Reynolds, Director, Nolichucky
  Regional Library System
• Susan Simmons, Director, Clinch-Powell Regional
  Library
• KC Williams, System Director, Sevier County
  Public Library
• Representatives from other regional and county
  library systems in the nine states within
  the SCA region are
  participating in the various grant activities.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
18
Collaborations in the ITRL Phase 1 Recruitment

• Created the ITRL Recruitment Board with
  members who helped recruit potential ITRL
  applicants, developed a plan for competitive
  recruitment of students to the program, including
  development of recruitment materials and criteria
  for selection (e.g. members of ARSL, ETLA).
• State librarians, regional library directors,
  county library directors, and others in the SCA
  region assisted in marketing and promotion
  efforts, identifying potential candidates from
  their staff and community populations, and
  helping them complete admission procedures and
  application materials.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
19
Heather Ruble Duby, Acquisitions Assistant,
Pellissippi State Community College, Knoxville TN
Brittany Renee Fletcher, Elementary School
Teacher/Media Team Member, Mountain City
Elementary School Media Center, Mountain City, TN
Julie Forkner, Reference Librarian,
E. G. Fisher Public Library, Athens, TN
Becky Boatman Grindstaff, Software Support
Specialist, Knox County Schools, Knoxville, TN
Angela Cortellino Glowcheski, Information
Specialist, Lumpkin County Public Library,
Chestatee Regional Library, Dahlonega, GA
ITRL Students
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
20
Richard George Haynes, Director, Harlan County
Public Library System, Harlan, KY
Kevin Sean Jump, Circulation Assistant,
Weeks-Townsend Memorial Library, Barbourville, KY
Lauren Long, Library Technologist,
Madison County Public Library,
Marshall, NC
Helen Frances Owen No picture Instructional
Supervisor for Materials and Supplies, Teacher
Resource Center, Sevier County School System,
Sevierville, TN
Susan Elaine Macrellis, Library Director, East
Ridge City Library, East
Ridge, TN
ITRL Students
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
Sally Elizabeth Gilliam, Library Assistant,
Lonesome Pine Regional Library, Big Stone Gap,
Virginia.\ Angela Cortellino Glowcheski,
Information Specialist, Lumpkin County Public
Library, Chestatee Regional Library, Dahlonega,
Georgia. Richard George HaynesHaynes, Director,
Harlan County Public Library System, Harlan,
Kentucky. Kevin Sean Jump, Circulation Assistant,
Weeks-Townsend Memorial Library, Barbourville,
Kentucky. Lauren Long, Library Technologist,
Madison County Public Library, Marshall, North
Carolina. Susan Elaine Macrellis, Library
Director, East Ridge City Library, East Ridge,
Tennessee. Helen Frances Owen, Instructional
Supervisor for Materials and Supplies, Teacher
Resource Center, Sevier County School System,
Sevierville, Tennessee. Marilyn J. Pontius,
Hancock War Memorial Branch Library, Washington
County Free Library, Washington County,
Maryland. Deborah J. Ratliff, Branch
Manager/Program Specialist, Goshen Public
Library, Rockbridge Regional Library, Goshen,
Virginia. Christine Maness Smith, Branch Manager,
C. Bascom Slemp Memorial Library, Lonesome Pine
regional Library System, Big Stone Gap,
Virginia. Susan J. Williams, Resource
Center/Education Coordinator, Highlander Research
and Education Center, New Market,
Tennessee. Vicki Michelle Crawford Winstead,
Library Media Specialist, Jackson Elementary
School Library, Kingsport, Tennessee. Amber Dawn
Woodard, Library Technical Assistant, Cumberland
University, Lebanon, Tennessee.   Vandana Singh,
Assistant Professor Carol Tenopir,
Professor Peiling Wang, Professor Cindy
Welch, Assistant Professor
21
Marilyn J. Pontius, Hancock War Memorial Branch
Library, Washington County Free Library,
Washington County, MA
Deborah J. Ratliff, Branch Manager/Program
Specialist, Goshen Public Library, Rockbridge
Regional Library, Goshen, VI
Christine Maness Smith, Branch Manager, C. Bascom
Slemp Memorial Library, Lonesome Pine regional
Library System, Big Stone Gap, VI
Susan J. Williams No picture. Resource
Center/Education Coordinator, Highlander
Research and Education Center, New Market, TN
Amber Dawn Woodard, Library Technical Assistant,
Cumberland University, Lebanon, TN
Vicki Michelle Crawford Winstead, Library Media
Specialist, Jackson Elementary School Library,
Kingsport, TN
ITRL Students
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
Sally Elizabeth Gilliam, Library Assistant,
Lonesome Pine Regional Library, Big Stone Gap,
Virginia.\ Angela Cortellino Glowcheski,
Information Specialist, Lumpkin County Public
Library, Chestatee Regional Library, Dahlonega,
Georgia. Richard George HaynesHaynes, Director,
Harlan County Public Library System, Harlan,
Kentucky. Kevin Sean Jump, Circulation Assistant,
Weeks-Townsend Memorial Library, Barbourville,
Kentucky. Lauren Long, Library Technologist,
Madison County Public Library, Marshall, North
Carolina. Susan Elaine Macrellis, Library
Director, East Ridge City Library, East Ridge,
Tennessee. Helen Frances Owen, Instructional
Supervisor for Materials and Supplies, Teacher
Resource Center, Sevier County School System,
Sevierville, Tennessee. Marilyn J. Pontius,
Hancock War Memorial Branch Library, Washington
County Free Library, Washington County,
Maryland. Deborah J. Ratliff, Branch
Manager/Program Specialist, Goshen Public
Library, Rockbridge Regional Library, Goshen,
Virginia. Christine Maness Smith, Branch Manager,
C. Bascom Slemp Memorial Library, Lonesome Pine
regional Library System, Big Stone Gap,
Virginia. Susan J. Williams, Resource
Center/Education Coordinator, Highlander Research
and Education Center, New Market,
Tennessee. Vicki Michelle Crawford Winstead,
Library Media Specialist, Jackson Elementary
School Library, Kingsport, Tennessee. Amber Dawn
Woodard, Library Technical Assistant, Cumberland
University, Lebanon, Tennessee.   Vandana Singh,
Assistant Professor Carol Tenopir,
Professor Peiling Wang, Professor Cindy
Welch, Assistant Professor
22
Collaborations in ITRL Phase 2 Needs Assessment

• An ITRL Needs Assessment Symposium online and
  face-to-face meetings was conducted in
  March/April 2010 and fifty library and
  information professionals from across the SCA
  region provided feedback about library services
  and information challenges experienced in their
  rural libraries.
• Online break-out sessions and face-to-face focus
  groups were orchestrated to address local
  information needs, use of information resources
  and services, challenges and barriers, areas of
  improvement, and use of computers and information
  technologies.

Doddridge County Public Library, West Union, WV
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
23
Collaborations in ITRL Phase 3
Education/Training Implementation

• IT deliverables applied towards rural libraries
  include
• Technology planning, assessment, and analysis
• Database and web design, development, and
  usability
• Building digital library, web portals, and
  Library 2.0 tools
• Establishing hardware and software configurations
  for networking systems 
• Management outcomes in rural library courses
  include
• Service evaluation/assessment in rural libraries
• Planning/management of a rural library program
  for youth and adults
• Readers advisory and other information services
• Grant writing and partnership development

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
24
ITRL Course Schedule
(42 Credit Hour Program)
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
25
Collaborations in ITRL Phase 3 The
Possibilities in IT Courses

• Partnerships to facilitate student developed
  course outcomes related to
• Creation and use of technology and online tools
  (e.g., digital libraries, OPAC, electronic
  databases) to access local materials, bringing
  together state and local library networks.
• Understanding of IT-related planning and
  application of research methodologies to train
  other employees/ patrons to fully utilize
  available databases and search engines.
• Community based electronic communications (using
  Web 2.0 to promote and expand library services).

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
26
Collaborations in ITRL Phase 3 The
Possibilities in Rural Management Courses

• Collaborations with rural libraries where ITRL
• students work to facilitate development of
  course outcomes related to
• Library service evaluation based on understanding
  of user needs
• as assessed by students and the library.
• Working within individual libraries with
  employees and patrons to offer appropriate
  services and materials responding to changes in
  expectations of various populations (current
  interests, activities, etc.).
• Improving reader s advisory methods and
  techniques, creating partnerships between their
  library and other libraries, writing grant
  proposals for the library.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
27
Collaborations in ITRL Phase 4 Professional
Mentoring

• Sixteen librarians with MLS degrees have formed
  the ITRL Mentoring
  Board that is working with ITRL educators
  to tailor individual students academic program
  in integrating IT competencies to meet the needs
  of their rural library and
  community since May 2010.
• ITRL students, educators from UTs SIS, and
  practitioner-mentors from the ITRL Mentoring
  Board identified learning objectives, course
  recommendations, and research projects to enhance
  IT skills with rural
  library applications.
• Faculty and practitioner-mentor participants
  developed profiles of work/position descriptions
  and IT expectations for each ITRL student.
• Each work/position profile is incorporating
  specific IT content and rural management
  applications.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
28
ITRL Connections Practitioner-Mentoring Board

• Nancy Renfro, Director, Watauga Regional Library,
  Johnson City, TN.
• Practitioner-Mentor of Heather Duby.
• Amy Bond, Director, Lonesome Pine Regional
  Library, Big Stone Gap, VA.
• Practitioner-mentor of Brittany R. Fletcher.
• Cindy Church, Continuing Education Consultant,
  Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA.
  Practitioner-mentor of Julie Forkner.
• Susan Simmons, Director, Clinch-Powell Regional
  Library, Clinton, TN.
• Practitioner-mentor of Angela C. Glowcheski.
• Jennifer Cowan-Henderson, Director, Upper
  Cumberland Regional Library, Cookeville,
  TN. Practitioner-Mentor of Becky Boatman
  Grindstaff.
• Lori Acton, District Director, Laurel County
  Public Library, London, KY.
• Practitioner-Mentor for Richard G. Haynes.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
29
ITRL Connections Practitioner-Mentoring Board

• Chris Durman, Music Librarian, University of
  Tennessee, Knoxville, TN.
• Practitioner-mentor of Kevin Sean Jump.
• Melodi Goff, Director, Cumberland County Public
  Library, Fayetteville, NC.
• Practitioner-mentor of Lauren Long.
• Connie Pierce, Media Specialist for Ganns Middle
  Valley Elementary School,
  Chattanooga, TN. Practitioner-Mentor of Susan E.
  Macrellis.
• K. C. Williams, System Director, Sevier County
  Public Library System,
• Sevierville, TN. Practitioner-Mentor of Helen
  F. Owen.
• Patrick Davison, Reference Librarian, Hazard
  Community Technical
  College, Combs, KY. Practitioner-Mentor of
  Marilyn J. Pontius.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
30
ITRL Connections Practitioner-Mentoring Board

• Karen Kuhn, Library Director, Clifton Forge
  Public Library, VA.
• Practitioner-Mentor of Deborah J. Ratliff.
• Michael Gilley, Director, Mountain Empire
  Community College, VA. 
• Practitioner-Mentor of Christine M. Smith.
• Dr. Fred Hay, Librarian, Appalachian State
  University, Boone, NC.
• Practitioner-mentor of Susan J. Williams.
• Helen Whitaker, Director, Kingsport Public
  Library, Kingsport, TN.
• Practitioner-mentor of Vicki M. C. Winstead.
• Don Reynolds, Director, Nolichucky Regional
  Library, Morristown, TN.
• Practitioner-mentor of Amber D. Woodard.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
31
Collaborations in ITRL Phase 5 Evaluation

• Feedback from ITRL mentors, students, rural
  library professionals, and rural library patrons
  are being regularly collected.
• Throughout the ITRL duration we will continuously
  analyze the effectiveness of students
  experiences in developing IT course applications
  for their rural work environments.
• Quantitative survey-based online student
  evaluation at the beginning and end of each
  class.
• Qualitative interviews in alternate semesters.
• This will include data on community outcomes,
  career choice, academic success, and the
  graduates evaluation of the program.

CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
32
Conclusions

• ITRL is a collaborative effort from conception to
  completion. Educators, partners, students, and
  libraries are working together to improve
  community services and materials across the SCA
  rural belt. It is helping to apply social justice
  and community engagement efforts to promote
  progressive development in the region. We hope
  this collaboration will continue long after the
  ITRL students graduate.

Upshur County Public Library, Buckhannon, WV
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
33
Acknowledgements
We appreciate the funding from IMLS that is
helping to support activities reported in this
presentation. We gratefully acknowledge the
participation and contributions of the SCA
regional public librarians and others who
participated in various data gathering methods.
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra
34
Questions and Comments?
Thank you for your attention and participation.
CCI 620, March 2011 Mehra