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This article describes a faculty response to two challenges of online education: diversity engagement and professional socialization. Reviewing the literature, we develop a rubric to help assess the potential of new assignments for meeting these challenges. Using that rubric, we assess several assignments and projects that students evaluated positively, to better articulate the efficacy of the assignment in meeting our diversity education goals and future barriers to access. We conclude by discussing the strengths and weaknesses of our model for assessing diversity awareness and professional socialization in the LIS curriculum.

This chapter presents the final results of a three-phase research project conducted between January and November 2022, consisting of a survey, interviews, and an environmental scan. During Phase 1, a survey was distributed to library managers and directors representing a variety of socioeconomic settings across the United States. It focused on population density and the urban/rural divide. Results from that survey revealed public librarians' concerns about their local government's response, patrons' refusal to receive accurate information, and the propagation of misinformation on social media. Phase 2 involved interviewing 29 library managers and directors, focusing on their pandemic response stories. The interviews found that library leaders were frustrated by uncertainty, a lack of authoritative, trusted local information to guide their decision-making, which they could provide to the public, and the politicization of data and information. Phase 3 consisted of an environmental scan of 13 communities, from small towns to urban hubs, examining how external community factors influenced libraries' community engagement and staff support. Across each phase of the study, the authors found examples of libraries and management committed to their communities despite uncertainties and political differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looks at results from the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment to examine the effects of school libraries on students' test performance, with specific focus on the average of students' family wealth in a school. The paper documents students' school library use and students' home possessions to indicate how school libraries support students and which students need that support the most. ANOVA results indicate that poor students (those whose family wealth was in the lowest third) make more use of the school library than their wealthier peers and that poor students' families are less likely to have information and cultural resources than wealthier students' families. Hierarchical regression indicates that school libraries and, more specifically, school library adequacy, as defined by the principal's perception of adequate staffing and materials, account for a small but significant portion of students' test performance variance. Finally, quantile regression indicates that the benefit of school libraries is not spread evenly, and some students gain more benefit than others. A direct implication of this research is that school libraries have the capacity to better serve poor students but will need the support of policy- and decision-makers before such a change happens.

Public librarians across the United States found themselves in different political environments that challenged their ability to serve their communities, to provide the information that was needed, and to fight disinformation regarding the pandemic. Researchers at the University of Missouri examined how and what librarians communicated to the public about COVID-19. A survey was sent to a systematic sample of libraries from all states and service-area sizes, carried out from January 24 to February 7, 2022. A total of 106 responses were received, with 66 respondents having answered every question. Analysis of closed- and open-ended survey responses points to public librarians' concerns about (a) local government officials and their decisions, (b) resistance on the part of patrons to accurate information, and (c) problems disentangling the local conversation from national media (and social media) perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Service coordinators (SCs) play a vital role in assisting families in accessing and navigating the system of Early Intervention services that provide vital support to young children with disabilities and/or developmental delays (YCwD/DD). The study reports findings of focus group interviews with 14 SCs in three states in the United States that were subsequently coded and analyzed using a thematic analysis framework. SCs identified many ways that libraries support YCwD/DD through provisions of materials, services, spaces, and collaborative partnerships with community agencies. However, they pointed to additional measures libraries could take to better serve YCwD/DD and their families. Libraries might consider implementing changes to aspects of their policies and collaborative relationships in order to improve their responsiveness to the needs of YCwD/DD and their families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on enhancing library support for young children with disabilities (YCwD/DD) and their families, drawing insights from focus group interviews with early intervention service coordinators. Topics discussed include the need for more visible inclusive programming, training for librarians to work with YCwD/DD and their caregivers, and intentional collaboration between children's librarians and community members to better meet the needs of this population.

The virtuous circle model of library and information science (LIS) education, in which increased elements of diversity and inclusion in LIS education would lead to increased elements of diversity and inclusion in the LIS profession, provides a useful foundation for ongoing actions. This article builds on that model to show examples of inclusion fostered by LIS professionals themselves. By revisiting the history of the American Library Association (ALA), the five ethnic caucuses of ALA, and the Society of American Archivists, we describe the roles that these associations play in fostering professional inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Libraries share a perception of embracing and providing for all users. However, they also share a common philosophical stance shaped by librarians' individual discursive formations and the dominant cultural hegemony that values some users over others. Latinos constitute one of the fastest-growing, nondominant populations in the United States, and the literature suggests that libraries do not always serve them adequately. This was reinforced by interviews with seven Latino undergraduate students that suggest ambiguous feelings toward libraries and a strong need for some sort of cultural reinforcement. This study of users' perceptions of libraries may help librarians and policy makers consider more pluralistic approaches to library services.

This article looks at learning styles of library and information science (LIS) students. Felder and Solomon's "Index of Learning Styles" was administered to 108 LIS students between 2001 and 2002. These results were analyzed with respect to results from learning style assessments administered in the 1980s. Learning style preferences were compared between students in traditional and distance education courses. Teaching suggestions are offered for maximizing LIS student learning in Web-based instruction. (Contains 61 notes.)