Bharat Mehra

The internet for empowerment of minority and marginalized users

The internet has tremendous potential to achieve greater social equity and empowerment and improve everyday life for those on the margins of society. This article presents the findings from three digital divide studies, each of which represents a different group of marginalized society members. Low-income families, sexual minorities and African-American women are represented in the three studies that employ different research approaches towards a common aim of contextualizing internet use in the everyday social practice of society’s ‘have-nots’. The aim is to step outside simple digital divide categories to understand how marginalized members of society incorporate computers and the internet into their daily lives in ways that are meaningful to them. An important goal is also to learn about how internet researchers can contribute to closing the digital divide in ways that converge with the goals, meanings and practices of people living on society’s margins.

The Library-Community Convergence Framework for Community Action: Libraries as Catalysts of Social Change

This paper presents a library-community convergence framework (LCCF) to extend the role of all libraries to participate more fully in community action and enhance their function as proactive catalysts of social change, as compared to a sometimes perceived role of bystanders. Although the paper highlights deliberations about the involvement of public libraries in their local communities, and shares experiences of community interactions between library and information professionals and minority and underserved groups in American academic library settings, yet the proposed framework of convergence between the library-community and the methods/approaches of community action are applicable across a variety of library contexts. The paper discusses select application of the LCCF for community action in two qualitative research studies, with local immigrant communities and sexual minorities, that use methods pioneered in ethnographic outreach and participatory action research (PAR) respectively. The results of these studies show that the LCCF is applicable in the development of various forms of services in different library environments. Ethnographic methods in the first study provide understanding of cross-cultural issues and uncover how local immigrant classifications can be induced from an ethnographic perspective to generate library classifications and information services that are locally relevant and participant-empowering. PAR ideologies in the second study underlie implementation of library and information interventions and community action while partnering with local sexual minorities and their allies, to address specific and contextualized community facets in ways that may promote community-wide social changes. Points of intersection from the two studies help identify key elements in the LCCF framework that can extend the role of all kinds of libraries as leaders and cultural planners of progressive community-based action.

Integrating diversity across the LIS curriculum: An exploratory study of instructors' perceptions and practices online

This paper reports on research into how to introduce diversity across the library and information science (LIS) curriculum and best practices for its implementation online. An anonymous online questionnaire sent to instructors teaching both online and face-to-face courses gathered insights into their attitudes and practices through questions concerning two topics: how they think diversity should be represented and what techniques they believe work. The exploratory analysis of quantitative data (with select qualitative open-ended feedback) serves as the basis for development of a framework for action based on best practices taking into consideration the attitudes and perceptions that inform current practice. Future research will test that framework.

Library and Information Science Professionals as Community Action Researchers in an Academic Setting: Top Ten Directions to Further Institutional Change for People of Diverse Sexual Orientations and Gender Identities

The need for progressive change in people’s attitudes and behaviors is essential for a communitywide acceptance of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals. This article examines our role as library and information science (LIS) professionals working in an academic environment to promote equality of sexual minorities by taking community action and creating social awareness and acceptance on their behalf. Findings based on qualitative studies and action research conducted in the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) help identify typical barriers and challenges faced by local LGBTQ individuals toward self-fulfillment and social and political empowerment. Research participants share their marginalizing experiences that paint a picture of slow acceptance reflected in the lukewarm campus and community climate of support toward LGBTQ individuals. It forms the contextual motivation for the authors as openly gay LIS professionals to promote “top ten” prioritized community actions of “what do we need to do” and “how do we do it” on behalf of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Current directions of progress made in the UTK academic environment over a period of two years are shared in this paper. Future efforts are also identified that require extending traditional library functions of information provision to reflect contemporary nontraditional expectations of relevance that include proactive social justice efforts for libraries and LIS professionals to come out of the closet in support of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities.

Progressive LGBTQ reference: coming out in the 21st century

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present an exploratory practice‐based framework that identifies strategic goals, objectives, and activities for each of the five areas of modern‐day reference, namely – access to electronic resources, user instruction, library commons, outreach liaison, and virtual reference – with a focus on meeting the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals during the coming out process.Design/methodology/approach – The paper highlights findings for progressive reference services in the twenty‐first century based on qualitative studies and action research conducted by two openly gay library and information science professionals in the University of Tennessee‐Knoxville during the period 2005‐2011.Findings – Findings reveal elements of the proposed framework geared towards meeting the needs of LGBTQ patrons during the five phases of coming out – self‐recognition, sharing with other LGBTQ people, telling close friends/family, positive se...

Strengths and weaknesses of the Information Technology curriculum in Library and Information Science graduate programs

This research highlights the status of the information technology (IT) skills and competencies being taught at LIS schools in the United States. Results list specific IT topics that the library schools are teaching and the ones that are missing from the curriculum. Based on a literature review these skills are then juxtaposed with the expectations of the employers as well as the graduates of these programs. This research was conducted in multiple steps, starting from extensive literature review, secondary data collection regarding courses from top LIS schools’ websites, identifying and creating an IT competency list, content analysis on the course names and descriptions in relation to IT competencies and recommendations for further improvement. In conclusion, some potential courses consisting of the lacking IT skills are proposed as a recommendation.

A practical framework for social justice research in the information professions

This paper proposes a practical framework for social justice research in the information professions by sharing examples from three qualitative studies, each of which represents an information service and/or application of social justice ideals for meeting the needs of a particular underserved population. In order to develop the framework and to encourage consideration of the social justice angle within mainstream LIS discourse and practice, the three studies are examined in light of social justice elements and principles. What is common to these studies is an underlying need to bring about a change in existing power dynamics between who we as information professionals consider central and who we consider peripheral in our teaching, research, and service missions.

Complementary user-centered methodologies for information seeking and use: system's design in the biological information browsing environment (BIBE)

Complementary, socially grounded, user-centered methodologies are being used to design new information systems to support biodiversity informatics. Each of the methods--interviews, focus groups, field observations, immersion, and lab testing--has its own strengths and weaknesses. Methods vary in their ability to reveal the automatic processes of experts (that need to be learned by novices), data richness, and their ability to help interpret complex information needs and processes. When applied in concert, the methods provide a much clearer picture of the use of information while performing a real life information-mediated task. This picture will be used to help inform the design of a new information system, Biological Information Browsing Environment (BIBE). The groups being studied are high school students, teachers, and volunteer adult groups performing biodiversity surveys. In this task the people must identify and record information about many species of flora and fauna. Most of the information tools they use for training and during the survey are designed to facilitate the difficult species identification task.

Open source software collaborations in Tennessee's regional library system

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the following questions: How are members of the Tennessees regional library system (TRLS) in the USA using open source software (OSS) applications and collaborating to further their missions and overcome some of their debilitating information‐related circumstances? What kind of partnerships can be explored in order to further use of OSS in the state?Design/methodology/approach – The paper highlights findings from an exploratory website study to identify key trends, practices, and applications of use of OSS in the TRLS.Findings – OSS applications in the TRLS are presented in terms of their current use as well as their future directions of development and opportunities. Study of collaborations in OSS use and website development by public libraries in the TRLS reveals that the OSS infoscape is more complex than previously understood.Originality/value – Minimal research has been done involving the TRLS that has been in existence for over 60 years and comprise...

Health Information Services Available for People Living With HIV/AIDS: Perspectives of Library and Information Professionals

There is an urgent need for availability of life-saving health information services as well as adequate marketing, advertising, and dissemination strategies to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs), and to the broader public at large, especially in the context of a recent UNAIDS estimation that the number of people living with HIV in the United States, at the end of 2003, exceeded one million for the first time. This study explores the HIV/AIDS health information services that are available within the local community of Knoxville, Tennessee, and presents focus group perspectives of nine library and information professionals about awareness and use of these services by PLWHAs. The study forms part of a larger plan to apply a community informatics (CI) approach to examine the provision of health information services for PLWHAs in terms of how PLWHAs and other stakeholders including health care service providers, academic community at the University of Tennessee, community leaders and activists, and faith-based organizations, use and apply information and communication technologies (ICTs) to empower and enable PLWHAs to meet their information needs, goals, and aspirations. Here we report findings from the project’s first phase of documenting perspectives of library and information professionals about existing HIV/AIDS information services, users of these services, barriers and challenges to effective use, and the role of health information professionals in the context of developing ideal information support services for PLWHAs.