Research in practice: Libraries in Community Systems — building locally led national research
Join the Libraries in Community Systems national research team and their public library partners for a discussion of the library's role in interconnected networks of well-being. Libraries in Community Systems is a three-year study of public library value (individual, social, monetary) within the context of community conditions. The core research team will provide a project overview and general preliminary findings into our questions of value. Then, library directors and managers from Alaska, Georgia, Kansas, New York, and Texas will share their research motivations, experiences, and insights as a panel discussion. Participants will then have the option of joining one of three breakout rooms for detailed discussion of specific considerations wrestled within this study: (1) quantitatively measuring “library performance” with Margo Gustina; (2) Radical Imagination Game to elicit novel discussion with Ozy Aloziem; and (3) shared research questions in distributed sites with Blake Andrew.
This virtual program on March 6 at 11:30 a.m. PT is hosted by the Center for Advances in Libraries, Museums, and Archives (CALMA), a new initiative of the Information School that will launch formally in the fall. The Research in Practice series offers a deeper look into projects that bridge research, learning, and practice.
Please RSVP to let us know you plan to attend. The Zoom meeting link will be emailed to respondents in advance of the session. If you have any questions, please contact Sharon Streams at sstreams@uw.edu.
Research Panelists
Blake Andrew is a library research associate for the Northern New York Library Network (NNYLN). He holds a PhD in political science from McGill University and is also the current library director at Chazy Public Library in Chazy, NY.
Margo Gustina is an independent library researcher and economics PhD candidate at the University of New Mexico with a focus on institutions that support capability, community, and wellbeing. Specifically, Margo investigates socio-ecological systems for change potential within and between extraction-impacted communities.
Ozy Aloziem, MSW, is a nationally recognized social worker and scholar, blending a decade of cross-cultural research with community-based participatory and community-engaged methodologies to advance social justice and healing. Her work merges social justice, social well-being, and healing, highlighting the essential role public libraries play in nurturing community well-being and acting as catalysts for social change.
Session Moderator
Meg Backus, Executive Director, Northern New York Library Network
Library Panelists will include
- Tara Alcock, Director, Petersburg Public Library, Alaska
- Doris Jean Metzger, Youth Services Manager, Steele Memorial Library, New York
- Kathy Naftaly, Director, Crandall Public Library, New York
- Sarah Potwin, Director, Niagara Falls Public Library, New York
- Maveita Richards, Manager, Wesley Chapel-William C. Brown Library, Georgia
- Chris Saagas, Director, Utica Public Library, New York