Rural Library Professionals' Role in Community Engagement

News

Refined and finalized design of a Community Engagement Framework & Strategic Action Plan based on feedback collected about its operationalization and implementation during the CA2CA@SCA-RL Summit. The Summit took place on April 29, 2019, at the Blount County Public Library, Maryville, TN, with 18 participants and two participants attended an extended virtual Summit on May 29, 2019.

The following are some publications and presentations that have emerged to disseminate the CA2CA@SCA-RL experiences:

  • Mehra, B., Sikes, E. S., and Singh, V. (2019). Scenarios of Health Engagement Experiences and Health Justice in Rural Libraries. International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (Special Issue: Health Justice. Edited by Beth St. Jean, Gagan Jindal, and Yuting Liao).

 

 

  • Mehra, B. (2019). Engaged Scholarship to Further Social Justice and Transform Rural Communities in the Southern and Central Appalachian Region (paper title). Libraries as Community Anchors: Transforming Rural Communities (panel title). Annual Conference of the Texas Library Association, Austin, TX, April 15-18, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B., Sikes, E. S., and Singh, V. (2019). Scenarios of Health Engagement Experiences and Health Justice in Rural Libraries. Medical Library Association Conference: Elevate, Chicago, Illinois, May 3-8, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B. (2019). Diversifying Engaged Scholarship to Further Social Justice in the Rural Southern and Central Appalachian Region, 10th Annual Discerning Diverse Voices Symposium, University of Alabama, February 28 – March 1, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B. (2019). A Model of Engaged Scholarship to Further Diversity, Social Justice, and Community Impact: Building Bridges Across Boundaries. 41th Annual Research Symposium College of Communication and Information University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, February 11, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B. (2019). Diversifying Engaged Partnerships, Social Justice and Economic Growth @ Public Libraries, My Reflections on Strategic Synergies Experiences. Tuscaloosa Public Library, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, July 23, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B. (Workshop Organizer and Moderator). (2019). CA2CA@SCA-RL Summit. Blount County Public Library, Maryville, Tennessee, April 29, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B., Sikes, E. S., and Singh, V. (2018). Information Technology Use Behaviors of Community-Engaged Rural Librarians: A Future beyond the Theory-Practice Discourse to Integrate Impact (short paper). 2018 American Society of Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) SIG-USE Symposium: Moving Toward the Future of Information Behavior Research and Practice. Vancouver, Canada, November 10, 2018.

 

  • Mehra, B., Singh, V., Sikes, E. S. (2018). Assessment of Rural Library Professionals’ Role in Community Engagement in the Southern and Central Appalachian Region: Mobilization from Change Agents to Community Anchors (CA2CA@SCA-RL) (Works-In-Progress Poster). ALISE Annual Conference: The Expanding LIS Education Universe, Denver, Colorado, February 6-9, 2018.

 

  • Mehra, B., Singh, V., Sikes, E. S. (2018). Assessment of Rural Library Professionals’ Role in Community Engagement in the Southern and Central Appalachian Region: Mobilization from Change Agents to Community Anchors (CA2CA@SCA-RL) (Poster). 40th Annual CCI Research Symposium, University of Tennessee, February 14, 2018. [Previously Presented].

 

  • Mehra, B., Sikes, E. S., and Singh, V. (forthcoming). Scenarios of Technology Use to Promote Community Engagement: Overcoming Marginalization and Bridging Digital Divides in the Southern and Central Appalachian Rural Libraries. Information Processing & Management (Special Issue: Marginalized Communities, Emerging Technologies, and Social Innovation in the Digital Age. Edited by Jia Tina Du, Iris Xie, and Jenny Waycott).

 

  • Mehra, B., Sikes, E., S., and Singh, V. (2019/forthcoming). An Exploratory GIS Prototype to Map Community Engagement in the Southern and Central Appalachian Rural Libraries (poster paper). Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology ASIS&T 82nd Annual Meeting, October 19-23, 2019, Melbourne, Australia.

 

  • Mehra, B. (2019/forthcoming). Impact-Driven Shifts in Information Research: Actualities and Potentialities (abstract, panelist). [Panel title: Paradigm Shift in Information Research; R. Tang, B. Mehra, J. T. Du, and Y. Zhao]. Proceedings of the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Melbourne, Australia, October 19-23, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B. (2019/forthcoming). Engaging Master’s Students in Publishing on Diversity, Social Justice ,and Advocacy (forthcoming). (extended abstract). [Panel title: The Agony and the Ecstasy of Publishing with Master’s Students: The Importance of Scholarly Publishing for Global Information Professionals]. Proceedings of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Annual Conference: Exploring Learning in a Global Information Context, Knoxville, Tennessee, September 24-26, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B. (2019/forthcoming). Action Research, Social Justice, and Community Engagement: Information Impacts and Collaborations with Underserved Populations. University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia, October 25, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B., Albright, K., and Du, J. T. (2019/forthcoming). President-Elect’s International Incubator: Transformational Actions Using Information to Advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Proceedings of the 82nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Melbourne, Australia, October 19-23, 2019.

 

  • Mehra, B. (2019/forthcoming). Social Justice and Community Engagement (panelist). Special Interest Group Information Seeking and Use (SIG USE), Association for Information Science and Technology ASIS&T 82nd Annual Meeting, October 19-23, 2019, Melbourne, Australia.

 

  • Mehra, B., Singh, V., and Sikes, E. S. (under preparation). A Domain-Based Framework of Community Engagement in Rural Libraries. The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy.

 

  • Mehra, B., Sikes, E. S., and Singh, V. (under preparation). Strategic Actions and a Roadmap to Further Engagement in Rural Libraries. Libri International Journal of Libraries and Information Studies.