Information Tools

Chris Jowaisas

CV Senior Research Scientist
Allen Library 1st Floor

Specializations

  • Public Libraries
  • Open Data

Research Areas

Biography

Chris is a senior research scientist at the University of Washington’s Information School’s Technology & Social Change Group. Previously, Chris was a Senior Program Officer for the Global Libraries program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Prior roles include grants management at the Texas State Library & Archives Commission and technology management at the Texas Library Association. Chris also served in multiple roles from 1997 – 2006 in the US Library Program at the Gates Foundation. His research interests include how public libraries support cultivating, producing, and sustaining local knowledge; how public libraries participate in and leverage open data ecosystems for the benefit of their communities; and how serendipity happens in the intersections of physical and digital spaces in which public libraries operate. He also still regales his 3 children with dreams of packing up the library gig and taking over the hot corner for the Cincinnati Reds. Chris holds an MLIS from University of Michigan and BA from University of Oklahoma.

Education

  • MLIS, University of Michigan, 1995

Memberships

  • Public Library Association

Publications and Contributions

Presentations

  • Collecting Stories from Underrepresented Communities: How to Co-Create a Community Archive at Your Public Library (2023)
    BiblioCommons - Online
  • Collecting Stories from Underrepresented Communities: How to Co-Design a Community Archive at Your Public Library (2023)
    American Library Association - Chicago, Illinois
  • Collecting Stories from Underrepresented Communities: How to Co-Design a Community Archive at Your Public Library (2023)
    Washington Library Association Annual Conference - Wenatchee, WA, USA
  • Collecting Stories from Underrepresented Communities: How to Co-Design a Community Archive at Your Public Library (2023)
    BiblioCommons Webinar - Virtual
  • Collecting Stories from Underrepresented Communities: How to Co-Design a Community Archive at Your Public Library (2023)
    American Library Association Annual Conference - Wenatchee, WA, USA
  • Countering Misinformation, Strengthening Democracy (2023)
    NEXT Library Festival - Aarhus, DK
  • Making Ends Meet in a Pandemic: African Library Initiatives During COVID-19 (2023)
    86th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science & Technology - London, United Kingdom
  • Creating a Digital Bridge: Lessons and Policy Implications from a Technology Access and Distribution Program for Low-income Job Seekers (2021)
    TPRC2021: The Research Conference on Communications, Information, and Internet Policy. - Virtual
  • E-rate Funding and Libraries: Preliminary Analysis of Trends Post-Modernization (2021)
    iConference 2021 - Beijing, China
  • Advancing Library Visibility in Africa (2019)
    3rd African Library & Information Associations & Institutions (AfLIA) Conference & 5th African Library Summit - Nairobi
  • Ensuring the Future of Libraries: Connecting the Academy and the Profession (2018)
    Public Library Association Conference - Philadelphia, PA