Pre-print: Introduction (Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science)

Pre-print: Introductory chapter to Topographies of Whiteness: Mapping Whiteness in Library and Information Science

Cyborgs in the Academic Library: A Cyberfeminist Approach to Information Literacy Instruction

This paper expands on the figure of the cyborg librarian (Yoder 2003), specifically addressing its overtly cyberfeminist intentions. Drawing on critical information literacy and feminist pedagogy, the cyborg is positioned within the discussion of academic library instruction. This paper suggests cyberfeminist techniques for encouraging students to navigate complex and diasporic information resources while thinking critically about issues of diversity and inclusion. Also provided are examples of ways in which the cyborg can guide students to use digital technologies to subvert the narratives that are woven throughout dominant information and knowledge paradigms

Ginal Schlesselman TSSA Spring 2015

Enhances faculty\u27s teaching by attending a conference devoted to university teaching, a high-impact practice, evidence-based practice or a newly developing teaching practice

Exploring Epistemological Lineages: Using the Gallery Walk with Students and Instructors of a First-Year Seminar Course

This chapter explores how the gallery walk, an activity that mimics the experience of exploring work on display in a museum or art gallery, can be used in credit-bearing courses with a focus on information literacy and in accompanying instructor professional development

Searchable Signatures: Context and the Struggle for Recognition

Social networking sites made possible through Web 2.0 allow for unique user-generated tags called “searchable signatures.” These tags move beyond the descriptive and act as means for users to assert online individual and group identities. This paper presents a study of searchable signatures on the Instagram application, demonstrating that these types of tags are valuable not only because they allow for both individuals and groups to engage in what social theorist Axel Honneth calls the “struggle for recognition,” but also because they provide contextual use data and sociohistorical information so important to the understanding of digital objects. Methods for the gathering and display of searchable signatures in digital library environments are also explored

Influence of Peer Mentors on the College Transition Experience through Program Partnerships

The purpose of this paper is to describe how the student mentoring program at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) increased peer-to-peer services by collaborating with campus constituents to develop first-year experience program partnerships. This paper showcases CSUSB’s student mentoring program partnerships with Coyote First STEP, a summer transition program, and the Library Ambassador program initiative, and how these partnerships have evolved to engage virtually with students during the COVID-19 pandemic. During a pilot year, student participants completed survey data showing that program partnerships for student leaders enhances the professional and leadership identity development of the mentors. By partnering with programs, student participants interact with peer mentors and benefit, academically, by engaging with students who have successfully transitioned to college. Research on higher education consistently divulges the benefits of mentorship, including enhanced psycho-social, cognitive, and career development. Embedding peer mentors into first-year experience programming produces platforms for students to gain a sense of belonging, connect with peers who are transitioning to college, gain access to and an understanding of campus resources, and receive affirmation of past educational experiences

Showcasing the Authentic Student Experience: The Library and Student Mentoring Partner to Create a First-Year Library Ambassador Program

This poster outlines CSU, San Bernardino’s (CSUSB) Library Ambassador initiative, a partnership between the Pfau Library and the Office of Undergraduate Studies’ Student Mentoring Program that aims to connect students in first-year courses with peers knowledgeable about library resources and services. The poster includes the history of the program, which was piloted in 2016, and addresses some of the challenges and successes encountered along the way. It details the program’s student-focused philosophy, which strives to combat library anxiety by ensuring that early exposure to the library centers authentic student research experiences, concerns, and needs. The Library Ambassador program also allows students, in select courses, to identify the Student Mentoring Program as a safe place and valuable resource to receive assistance and support as they learn how to navigate the university. Anticipating questions from attendees, the poster briefly addresses the logistics of the program, including: how ambassadors reach students (via classroom visits in targeted courses that have a research learning outcome); how ambassadors are prepared to successfully engage with students (training and a “buddy system” in which experienced students take the lead); how the value of the program is communicated to targeted faculty; how scheduling works, and more. Finally, the poster highlights findings from assessment of the program, and we hope to solicit additional ideas for avenues for assessment and evaluation from attendees

The legacy of Lady Bountiful: White women in the library

White supremacy and patriarchy have acted upon and through the white female body, which has implications for library and information science (LIS), a white- and female-dominated field. Insisting that we investigate librarianship through a lens that does not consider gender alone, this paper draws on whiteness, critical race, and feminist theories to explore the formation and persistence of a particular mode of whiteness in LIS. Calling on the “Lady Bountiful” archetype, the paper interrogates the ways in which patriarchy, white supremacy, and notions of ideal femininity have worked together to craft a subject fit to perform the work of colonialism in its variegated and feminized forms. By exploring how the white woman was deemed an appropriate agent for the racial, missionary, and “civilizing” projects of early libraries, one can better locate her legacy in contemporary pedagogies, practices, and representations. The paper concludes with suggestions for addressing this undertheorized yet prevalent archetype in both LIS scholarship and teaching

Trends in outcomes from endovascular aortic repair over two decades

Endovascular therapy for aortic pathology has changed over the past two decades with the newer stent technologies. We examine the outcomes of endovascular aortic repair in a small subset of patients