Spanning the Theory-practice Divide in Library and Information Science
Spanning the Theory-practice Divide in Library and Information Science

Author: William A. Crowley

Publisher: Scarecrow Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 260

ISBN-13: 9780810851658

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Reveals how practitioners, consultants, and faculty can derive theories from actual experience and use such theories in solving real world problems. Bill Crowley explores why theory, in particular theory developed by university and college faculty, is too little used in the off-campus world. The volume examines the importance of solving the theory irrelevance problem, and drawing on a broad spectrum of research and theoretical insights, it provides suggestions for overcoming the not-so-hidden secret of the academic world - why theory with little or no perceived relevance to off-campus environments can be absolutely essential to advancing faculty careers. It also addresses the implications for theory development of fundamental aspects of the American culture and economy, including: the American ambivalence towards intellectuals, the rise in the "theory-unfriendly" environments of for-profit educational institutions, and public demands for enhanced accountability.

Libraries and the Global Retreat of Democracy
Libraries and the Global Retreat of Democracy

Author: Natalie Greene Taylor

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing

Published: 2021-11-04

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 1839825987

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Libraries and the Global Retreat of Democracy focuses on how libraries coordinate their work in political and information literacy and how these efforts can be improved, the recommendations and examples within which will serve as inspiration and motivation to its readers.

Research Methods for Librarians and Educators
Research Methods for Librarians and Educators

Author: Ruth V. Small Ph.D.

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2018-04-19

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13:

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Using an innovative, real-world approach that makes the research problem and method relevant and valuable to the reader, this book provides a broad overview of research methods used in library and information studies and associated fields. Research remains a core purpose of every library. This book provides a text for LIS students and a practical handbook to librarians and other educators who need to conduct research in their libraries. In Research Methods for Librarians and Educators, contributors reinforce the essential nature of research and provide readers with the confidence that they can conduct research to find solutions to various problems and improve their libraries and library programs. The book details various research methodologies and uses a unique perspective on research that presents authentic scenarios to immediately make the research problem and method relevant and valuable to the reader. It covers topics ranging from various research methods, including Causal, Collaborative, Design-Based Research, Longitudinal, and Mixed Methods, as well as interview methods, learning assessment, literature review, and observation and survey methods. Each chapter includes questions intended to spark discussion and deeper reflection that make the book more useful in learning settings. The summary charts throughout provide a handy and easy reference for readers who want a quick refresher on the research method without rereading the entire chapter.

Defending Professionalism
Defending Professionalism

Author: Bill Crowley

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2012-05-15

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13:

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This book provides overdue guidance for demonstrating and preserving library, information, knowledge, and archival professionalism in American, British, and Canadian communities and organizations. There is no longer any way to deny or to escape the responsibility of marketing services and being an advocate for one's profession. Practitioners also need effective arguments and approaches for combating library and information deprofessionalization. This book offers the antidote for ineptitude in the fight to preserve professionalism in all major library and information environments. Composed of 14 chapters written by contemporary practitioners and practitioners-turned-theorists, Defending Professionalism: A Resource for Librarians, Information Specialists, Knowledge Managers, and Archivists clearly justifies the employment of the professional librarian, information specialist, knowledge manager, and archivist. The contributors offer both short-term and long-term political, cultural, and other approaches for the ongoing effort to retain and expand professionalism. The book provides managers, funding authorities, educators, and practitioners with practical, political, and theoretical reasons why it is in their self-interest to employ professionally educated personnel for positions within libraries, information or knowledge management centers, and archives.

Attitude and Stance in Discourse
Attitude and Stance in Discourse

Author: Liliana Ionescu-Ruxăndoiu

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2022-01-27

Total Pages: 511

ISBN-13: 1527579484

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Stancetaking is inherent in verbal communication, as it is connected with the expression of subjectivity and the construction of intersubjectivity in discourse. This book presents theoretical findings in this field and their practical implications, exploring the variations in time and space of meaning negotiation processes in a large variety of communicative forms, including political and judicial discourse, journalism, fiction, private letters, informal conversations, and school debates. Some articles refer to events with a strong impact on social and political life, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or Ceaușescu’s trial. The volume’s approach is mainly pragma-rhetoric and interactional, but also interdisciplinary, promoting dialogue between stance researchers in different fields. There is a specific focus on possible applications of some key findings of stance research in improving inter-ethnic communication and the teaching of foreign languages, as well as students’ communicative abilities.

Humanizing LIS Education and Practice
Humanizing LIS Education and Practice

Author: Keren Dali

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-10-29

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 1000203220

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Humanizing LIS Education and Practice: Diversity by Design demonstrates that diversity concerns are relevant to all and need to be approached in a systematic way. Developing the Diversity by Design concept articulated by Dali and Caidi in 2017, the book promotes the notion of the diversity mindset. Grouped into three parts, the chapters within this volume have been written by an international team of seasoned academics and practitioners who make diversity integral to their professional and scholarly activities. Building on the Diversity by Design approach, the book presents case studies with practice models for two primary audiences: LIS educators and LIS practitioners. Chapters cover a range of issues, including, but not limited to, academic promotion and tenure; the decolonization of LIS education; engaging Indigenous and multicultural communities; librarians’ professional development in diversity and social justice; and the decolonization of library access practices and policies. As a collection, the book illustrates a systems-thinking approach to fostering diversity and inclusion in LIS, integrating it by design into the LIS curriculum and professional practice. Calling on individuals, organizations, policymakers, and LIS educators to make diversity integral to their daily activities and curriculum, Humanizing LIS Education and Practice: Diversity by Design will be of interest to anyone engaged in research and professional practice in Library and Information Science.

Looking for Information
Looking for Information

Author: Donald O. Case

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing

Published: 2012-04-19

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13: 1780526547

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Focuses on the topics of information seeking, information behavior and information practices. This title covers such topics as: the nature of information, information needs and uses, sensemaking, information avoidance, communication among scientists and scholars, relevant social and psychological theories, and applicable research methodologies.

Renewing Professional Librarianship
Renewing Professional Librarianship

Author: William A. Crowley

Publisher: Libraries Unlimited

Published: 2008-03-30

Total Pages: 188

ISBN-13:

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Can professional librarianship exist, let alone thrive, in the 21st century? Does accreditation protect the profession, or reduce it to a minor component of information science? The prognosis is not good, claims cultural pragmatist Bill Crowley, with worse to follow unless library studies and information studies are viewed as separate cognate areas. While an information-centric definition may be appropriate for corporate information specialists, he notes that academic, public, and school librarians are already suffering the effects of devaluation. The remedy is to embrace a concept called lifecycle librarianship, the ability to meet crucial public needs from the lapsit to the nursing home, by honing the library's time honored role as a vital resource for reading and lifelong learning; and he concludes with a series of recommendations for library associations, library and information education educators, and practitioners and a challenge for the reader to do something with them!

Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac
Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac

Author: Information Today Inc

Publisher: Information Today

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 856

ISBN-13: 9781573872508

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As an on-the-job answer book, a statistical information resource, a planning and research guide, and a directory and calendar, The Bowker Annual Library and Book Trade Almanac 2006 delivers the hard-to-find industry news and information you need. This acclaimed must-have resource provides the following: Expert reviews of the key trends, events, and developments that will influence your work in 2006 and the years to come Clear explanations of new legislation and changes in funding programs and how this will affect libraries Definitive statistics on book prices, numbers of books published, library expenditures, average salaries, and other budget-crunching assistance A full calendar of events, key organizations, names and numbers of important individuals (including e-mail addresses and fax numbers), and much more This fully updated reference tool makes it easy to stay on top of the developments that affect libraries, booksellers, and publishers alike and to find fast answers to the countless on-the-job questions you encounter.

Information for a Better World: Normality, Virtuality, Physicality, Inclusivity
Information for a Better World: Normality, Virtuality, Physicality, Inclusivity

Author: Isaac Sserwanga

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2023-03-09

Total Pages: 632

ISBN-13: 3031280326

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This two-volume set LNCS 13971 + 13972 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Information for a Better World: Normality, Virtuality, Physicality, Inclusivity, held in March 2023. The 36 full papers and the 46 short papers presented in these proceedings were carefully reviewed and selected from 197 submissions. They cover topics such as: Archives and Records, Behavioral Research, Information Governance and Ethics, AI and Machine Learning, Data Science, Information and Digital literacy, Cultural Perspectives, Knowledge Management and Intellectual Capital, Social Media and Digital Networks, Libraries, Human-Computer Interaction and Technology, Information Retrieval, Community Informatics, and Digital Information Infrastructure.