A practical framework for social justice research in the information professions

Information Literacy and Social Justice: Radical Professional Praxis

2013

Information Literacy and Social Justice: Radical Professional Praxis, edited by Lua Gregory and Shana Higgins, is a collection of essays that nurtures the incorporation of social justice values and practice in information literacy sessions or courses. In the preface of the book, Samek summarizes concisely the outcome I came away with after reading all of the essays in that the readers “who engage with this text won’t get smarter (most of us don’t). But they just might see information literacy more clearly for what it has been, what it has the potential to be, and how and what they, as people, might be while performing it” [ix]. This compilation not only serves as an exercise in reflecting on critical pedagogical practices, it also highlights the importance of seeing information literacy from a social justice-based perspective. In the Introduction, Gregory and Higgins state that “the work of Berman, Samek, and others before them have led to a generation — not a generation based on ag...

Conceptualizing social justice in the information sciences

Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2007

, seeking, and use continue to contribute a great deal of valuable theoretical and practical knowledge to information science (Fisher et al., 2005; Case, 2007). The principles of fairness, ethics, and equity are often implicit in many of these studies (Hersberger, 2003; Todd & Edwards, 2004; Courtright, 2005). However, the concept of social justice, an overarching concept that includes these principles, is rarely made explicit.

Black communities and information workers in search of social justice

New Library World, 1999

The struggle for Black[1] librarianship A matter of social justice in the LIS sector is crying out for solution: institutional racism in information services. The unstated but implied question which goes to the root of the matter is: does institutionalised racism exist in British society in general and in libraries in particular? Following the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Report, almost every profession has begun to address the question of institutional racism within its ranks. Thus local authorities, lawyers, the police, trade unions, the National Health Service, housing associations, education, broadcasting, the press ± all have begun dialogues to examine their own policies and practices in relation to racism[2]. Among the few professions which has stood in silence is the Library Association ± even the Church has now started debating racism. Dooley (1999), for example, says: The report on the police handling of the murder investigation into the death of Stephen Lawrence has triggered a national debate on racism. While it seems every sector of society has given its views, the churches have kept a deafening silence on the subject.

Understanding Social Justice Through Practitioners’ Language

2021

Information Technology Services and School Libraries: A Continuum of Social Justice

This brief paper first develops a social justice typology that maps out conceptions of social justice and their relationship to library services. Based on this typology, it presents research findings that seek to understand what social justice principles facilitate the provision of information technology service in school libraries. This paper is based on data from focus groups of seven exemplary high school libraries in the state of New Jersey. Using a social justice framework, it was found that no single social justice principle guided specific actions of the school libraries studied; instead a process of moving between different principles of egalitarianism and utilitarianism based on resource availability was used by teachers and school librarians in providing information technology service to their respective schools. This research presents a qualitative methodology for studying social justice principles that addresses the sustainability of school libraries and their ongoing transformation and development as community information technology hubs and learning centers.

Understanding Social Justice Through Practitioners' Language: A Grounded Theory Analysis of Interviews with Practitioners from Libraries and Their Community Partners

The International Journal of Information, Diversity, and Inclusion, 2021

Researchers have recognized that aspects of social justice are present in library efforts by acknowledging the importance of using library programs and services to promote social justice and the significance of social justice for the LIS field. However, while public libraries have indicated a strong interest in reaching underserved communities, they may not yet possess a thorough understanding of various aspects of social justice, especially the concepts of equity, engagement, and empowerment, despite the increasing focus on social justice’s centrality in the library science field. This work-in progress study presents a grounded theory analysis of 20 semistructured interviews that were conducted as part of an existing study with library staff and their community partners (staff who work at organizations with which the libraries partner to offer outreach programs in the community). The analysis explores and unpacks practitioners’ language to demonstrate a complex, multifaceted portrait of how these practitioners describe equity, engagement, and empowerment. These practitioners express both broad and individual approaches to this social justice work in an effort to offer equal treatment to the whole community while also recognizing individual barriers. Moreover, they underscore the importance of a role for the community to play in achieving their own goals and strengthening connections between community members and institutions. This analysis yields a critical semantic foundation of social justice concepts, situated in practitioner understanding and prior research in social justice.

Developing an Undergraduate Information Studies Curriculum in Support of Social Justice

2016

Through a review of the current state of Library and Information Studies (LIS) undergraduate education and the orientation of sample programs at consortium member iSchools, this article proposes an alternative pedagogical model that foregrounds the integration of a critical, social justice framework into undergraduate curricula. Based on an initial study conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) by the authors and other participants of the Winter/Spring 2015 Teacher Training Seminar, this essay, in addition to positing an approach towards the building of critically engaged undergraduate curriculum, moreover highlights the increasing need and support for LIS students and professionals that have a nuanced information praxis. Inspired by UCLA's own commitment to a social justice orientation, the authors also point towards existing advocacy for social justice in LIS undergraduate education in the field and professional literature. In turn, underscoring the broader movement for a critical education and practice within LIS. Introduction Conceived of originally as a proposal for an undergraduate major to the Department of Information Studies (IS) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in collaboration with our colleagues in the Winter/Spring 2015 " Teaching Training Seminar " (led by Dr. Leah Lievrouw), this paper intends to explore further the rich possibilities that exist within the field of Library and Information Studies (LIS) for undergraduate level education. As we maintained earlier in our thinking, undergraduate majors and coursework within LIS that are explicitly aligned with a critical, social justice focus have enormous potential for engendering students and future professionals that are informed, insightful and equally contributive in areas as diverse as technology and systems design, information policy and advocacy, law and government, as well as in more traditional spheres of libraries and archives. In addition, the training of undergraduates in a critical LIS praxis, one that also places an emphasis on the practical applications of theories studied and explored, effectively lays the groundwork for the cultivation of potential candidates for PhD programs throughout the iSchool network; who will be able to skillfully parse with the dynamic and continuously expanding nuances of LIS as a field of inquiry. As articulated in the proposal, we advocate for a pedagogical approach that tackles LIS undergraduate education with an eye towards the broader socio-cultural and political impact of information praxis. Building on the strengths of UCLA's IS program, which focuses on the history, philosophy and practice of information from a decidedly analytical and critical perspective, we urged the rigorous grounding of undergraduate students in both the qualitative and quantitative traditions that undergird the discipline as a means of accessing a wide breadth of historical, theoretical and methodological

Social Justice as Topic and Tool: An Attempt to Transform an LIS Curriculum and Culture

A B S T R A C T Training culturally competent and socially responsible library and information science (LIS) professionals requires a blended approach that extends across curricula, professional practice, and research. Social justice can support these goals by serving as a topic of inquiry in LIS curricula as well as by providing a scholarly framework for understanding how power and privilege shape LIS institutions and professional practice. This article applies social justice as a topic and tool for transforming LIS curricula and culture by exploring the implementation of social justicethemed courses and an extracurricular reading group in one LIS department. Exploring curricular and extracurricular cases in a shared institutional setting contextualizes key challenges and conversations that can inform similar initiatives in other institutions. Transforming LIS culture to prioritize social justice values, epistemologies, and frameworks requires multivalent strategies, community buy-in, and shared responsibility in terms of the labor of leading and sustaining engagement with social justice. W hile students pursue graduate degrees in library and information science (LIS), it is hoped that they will learn the basics necessary for competent, inclusive, and caring professional practice. This is increasingly important as librarians face ever-more-diverse patron demographics and an increasingly complicated society that influences, shapes, and colors their organization's services and resources. In an often eclectic collection of graduate courses, how often do students have the opportunity to learn about the harder, sensitive, or more personal topics that may permeate their professional environments, such as race, class, sexuality, and gender? If it is expected that aspiring information professionals work with diverse populations, they should be equipped to deal with such populations and be able to deal with them in a respectful, compassionate and open-minded manner.

Social Justice as Strategy: Connecting School Libraries, Collaboration, and IT

This article examines perceptions of social justice among a set of students undertaking a group research task in a New Jersey high school library. The purpose was for students to produce a coconstructed product that represented the negotiated understanding of their curriculum topic. The study involved 42 grade nine students in a language arts class focused on independent reading tasks emphasizing critical/reflective thinking, speaking, and independent learning skills as well as the effective use of research/knowledge construction strategies. The study used open- ended reflections and an asynchronous Google Docs–based environment to capture perceptions of the students’ collaborative processes and to examine collaborative knowledge-building dy- namics and outcomes. This article proposes an action-level typology that maps the collective strategies used by students to negotiate socially just conditions during the collaborative process. The study also provides suggestions for and a methodological example of how social justice principles can be examined in information-intensive organizations.

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