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

Mehra, Bharat; Srinivasan, Ramesh

doi:10.1515/libr.2007.123

Cited by 29 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Communities, it seems, need to be given autonomy to make decisions on the kind of library services they need. Mehra and Srinivasan (2007) present a framework for library and community convergence, which their research shows enables a library to participate more fully in culturally diverse communities  Respect for the communities targeted for outreach. One outreach librarian is reported to have insisted on architects changing the design of a new library in a low-income immigrant community in Denver, USA, from a building that looked like a prison to one that says "we care" (Fearless capacity 2011)  Recognition that just transferring traditional public library services will not work.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving Beyond “Outreach”: Reflections on Two Case Studies of Community Library Services in South Africa

Hart

2012

South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Moving Beyond “Outreach”: Reflections on Two Case Studies of Community Library Services in South Africa

Hart

2012

South African Journal of Libraries and Information Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…This study emphasized how a more equitable use of Internet resources could help to empower marginalized communities. Mehra & Srinivasan (2007) discuss extending the role of the library into communities via a library/community convergence framework in order to spur social change for disenfranchised groups (in this case, local immigrants and sexual minorities). The research in this case was geared toward creating social equity for marginalized communities by using libraries as the instruments of such change.…”

Section: Lis Literature On Social Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, the majority of the research in LIS on social justice centers on less-formally organized groups of people rather than on specific, formalized organizations. The particular scope of the populations thus far discussed has been, with a few exceptions (e.g., Mehra et al, 2004;Mehra & Srinivasan, 2007), more broadly focused on societies at large. Third, all of the work in LIS on social justice fruitfully tends to look at disenfranchised groups, such as people having lower socioeconomic status, racial/ethnic or sexual minorities, or individuals with physical or mental disabilities, but does not focus on social injustice in other more general groups.…”

Section: Lis Literature On Social Justicementioning

confidence: 99%

Information Technology and School Libraries: A Social Justice Perspective

Dadlani¹,

Todd²

2015

lib

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This research takes an emergent approach to data analysis (Charmaz, 2008) through the use of an emic/etic data coding process, and proposes a typology for understanding the connection between social justice principles and the provision of information technology services in school libraries. The study used data from seven school libraries in the state of New Jersey, obtained from focus groups consisting of forty-eight teachers, eighteen librarians, ten department supervisors, eleven principals/assistant principals, four district directors, and three librarian-teachers. The emergent process and typology employed in this research can aid school libraries in assessing how particular factors of the school/school library environment influence the provision of IT services to school library users. This study confirmed that school librarians and teachers rely on several social justice principles, such as distributive justice, utilitarianism, and egalitarianism, in making decisions regarding how to provide information technology services within the school environment. In particular, it was found that the type of social justice principle used in the school environment depended on the school librarians' and teachers' perceptions of the information competencies of their constituents and the availability of resources within the school environment. This research contributes to the study of social justice in the library and information science (LIS) professions in the following ways: first, by expanding ideas of "social justice" in LIS beyond traditional notions of "disenfranchised groups"-such as people having lower socioeconomic status, racial/ethnic or sexual minorities, and 330 library trends/fall 2015 individuals with physical or mental disabilities-to include any group that may experience injustice in the context of information, such as school teachers, librarians and students; second, by portraying how social justice principles are enacted as strategies in school librarianship and pedagogy that advance student information-seeking and learning objectives; third, by highlighting the value of social justice to both practice and scholarly research in school and school library environments; and fourth, by proposing a methodology for studying social justice in a library environment.

show abstract

“…Another related effort is the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Guide (URL: http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/glbt.html#local) that provides online access to local LGBTQ resources and services via the UTK library's Web site. Like many of the actions and services described above, the bibliography grew out of the research analysis of the information needs of the local LGBTQ populace (Mehra & Srinivasan, 2007).…”

Section: Research Findings: Top Ten Directions For Institutional Chanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, historically binding expectations dictated by public perception and internalized by LIS professionals, as mere storehouses of world knowledge and information providers (McCook and Jones, 2002) have limited the discipline from playing a more proactive role in shaping progressive social changes at the local, regional, and national levels (Harris, 1973;Muddiman, 1999). This paper identifies ten directions that LIS professionals need to pursue in academic settings, via social action and community mobilization (Mehra & Srinivasan, 2007;Venturella, 1993), in support of people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities. Pursuing action-oriented outcomes will insure that LIS professionals act to acknowledge, address, and eventually eliminate social and cultural prejudices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Mehra¹,

Braquet²

2007

lib

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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.

show abstract

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

Cited by 29 publications

References 37 publications

Moving Beyond “Outreach”: Reflections on Two Case Studies of Community Library Services in South Africa

Moving Beyond “Outreach”: Reflections on Two Case Studies of Community Library Services in South Africa

Information Technology and School Libraries: A Social Justice Perspective

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

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About