Language Arts & Disciplines books

Antiracist Library and Information Science: Racial Justice and Community presents the scholarship and insights of seasoned academic researchers and experienced practitioners as well as emerging scholars, graduate students, new professionals and activists in the field of LIS on the topic of antiracism. The chapters represent a combination of critical, scholarly and reflective perspectives on the theory, practice and progress made towards the actualization of antiracism in LIS and the creation of racially just communities. This volume has been divided into three main sections. The first section, ‘Theoretical Groundings,’ addresses the philosophical, ontological, axiological, theoretical and epistemological perspectives on race-based oppression, racial justice and anti-racist values and ethics. The second section, ‘Dimensions of the Problem of Race in LIS and Community,’ presents explorations of the specific problems of racism in LIS practice – racism embedded in the tools and technologies of the profession and its services, in social relations and in the practices of LIS workplaces. The final section, ‘Developing Antiracist LIS and Creating the Beloved Community’ presents practical solutions for realizing the vision of an antiracist LIS and the creation of racially justice communities. The contributors have provided a response and initial solutions for how the LIS professions can meet their espoused ideals for providing the best services for their communities. This work provides scholarship, food for thought, frameworks, and proposals for discussions for achieving the end of racism in LIS and the creation of just world.

The investment in global collaboration technology now exceeds US$45 billion. Professionals who work across cultures face some of the most cognitively, psychologically and emotionally difficult challenges, regardless of whether they work virtually or in person. And they often face these challenges without the help of a corporate guide. Build Your Cultural Agility is that guide. This book offers strategies to help you develop into a successful global professional, one who can comfortably and effectively work in and with people from different cultures. This book helps you leverage your natural strengths while providing suggestions for developing cultural agility competencies. Build Your Cultural Agility focuses on nine specific competencies that comprise cultural agility: three self-management competencies (tolerance of ambiguity, curiosity and resilience), three relationship-management competencies (humility, relationship-building and perspective-taking) and three task-management competencies (cultural minimization, cultural adaptation and cultural integration). Within each chapter, the author provides a case example of that competency in action, explains why the competency is critical for success, offers a self-awareness exercise to help you determine your level of proficiency and concludes with suggestions for self-development.

Libraries seeking to grow or enhance community outreach will welcome Building Community Engagement and Outreach in Libraries to assist them in planning and executing engagement programs. Eight chapters offer a variety of methods and strategies that library managers can employ to broaden and enhance their libraries’ community engagement activities.The volume includes both theoretical frameworks and strategic case studies.Readers will learn how to plan and execute successful community engagement programs with tips on providing leadership for working with staff, fostering relationships with community partners and using assessment to plan for future programming. Specific applications of community engagement practices include using data to inform stakeholders, providing health literacy workshops, staff training for community programs, outreach to engage the community with archives, working with underserved communities and diversity training. This is an important addition to the literature on how libraries can work with their communities to provide critical services and resources. Providing valuable insights about the diverse ways that outreach can be accomplished within and through our communities, this volume serves as a significant resource for both library managers, their staff and their partners.

Over the past fifty years, only a small body of knowledge has been published regarding libraries in prisons. Exploring the Roles and Practices of Libraries in Prisons: International Perspectives aims to strengthen and expand this body of knowledge, with each chapter addressing different aspects of the roles and practices of library services to prisons and prisoners. Writing from Croatia, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia, Norway, Germany and the United States of America, this edited collection focuses on prison library programming, the role of prison libraries as supporters of prisoner literacy development, censorship, future visions for prison libraries, and descriptions of prison libraries across the world. Libraries in both adult and juvenile prisons are studied, as are prison libraries from diverse carceral contexts such as the rapidly expanding American carceral system, through to the 'normalisation' prisons of Norway. This book will be of interest to prison managers, education and custodial staff, prison librarians, library and information studies academics and students, education researchers and practitioners, readers interested in social justice, education, censorship, prison life, and prison reform.

In a world that often questions the value of libraries and librarianship, this collection of reflective essays and future-focused research emphasizes the ways in which being an information professional continues to be a rewarding and vital profession.  Including sixteen chapters written by library practitioners, researchers, and educators, this book covers topics, among others, such as the impact of K-12 school librarians on media literacy, the community power of public libraries, the transformative power of community-focused library collaborations, and strategies for implementing effective outreach for underserved populations. It is by sharing their thoughtful, vibrant, and at times painfully honest perspectives on the varied and essential roles that librarians and libraries play in our world that the authors display their passion for librarianship and demonstrate why continued support for libraries is essential.

Journalism and Austerity: Digitization and Crisis During the Greek Memoranda presents an overview of press coverage focused on the Greek crisis. The impacts of disaster and digitization in Greek journalism are analyzed with the help of expert testimonies in one of the most significant political cases of the decade. The author examines the increased use of digital technologies during the economic crisis, and the production of democratic debate around the memoranda in Greece, alongside the interplay between framing and political economic theories. The book enhances our understanding of journalistic production around significant political issues, such as the case of the memoranda signed between the Greek government and the European troika. In this case, the debate was presented in the dominant newspapers of the period in a polarized manner, cut off from global debates The author presents a multi-level theoretical model of power influences on the frame building process, along with his findings from a frame analysis of media articles and political announcements. The book also includes interviews with elite Greek journalists.

This latest volume of the Advances in Librarianship series presents original research exploring the modern state of democracies and social institutions, the contributions of libraries to the health and progress of democracies, and the political problems currently facing libraries as institutions. It details the best practices of library programs that provide political literacy education and promote civic engagement within communities. These practices include ways in which libraries can help diffuse political polarization, address significant policy issues of our day, promote political information literacy, support civic engagement, and facilitate participation in democratic processes. Libraries and the Global Retreat of Democracy: Confronting Polarization, Misinformation, and Suppression is structured in three sections - questions of personal and state democracy, investigations of how the information infrastructure shapes these democracies, and explorations of the ways that libraries can and do contribute to democracy. Situating libraries within political conversations, highlighting their centrality to these discussions, Libraries and the Global Retreat of Democracy focuses on how libraries coordinate their work in political and information literacy and how these efforts can be improved, he recommendations and examples within which will serve as inspiration and motivation to its readers.

There are 50 million people globally living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and tens of millions further who are their caregivers. As a public service, it is important that library and information professionals learn to serve and assist those with dementia.   Designed for seasoned professionals and library science students alike, this book first presents a complete overview of the spectrum disease known as Alzheimer’s dementia, as well as a basic understanding of the information needs of dementia caregivers. It then explores best practices, guidelines, and concrete ideas for serving those with dementia and their caregivers, including:   Customer service and communication, with evidence-based suggestions for working with this population; Information resources to best meet the reference needs of the community, as grounded in LIS user studies and health informatics;  Collection development for ongoing and appropriate mental and social stimulation of those experiencing cognitive decline; and  Programming ideas for both communities, with a wide variety of focus and content.  Lifelong learning, mental stimulation, and social connections are central to libraries’ core mission. Readers, both from library and information science and in related social services and social sciences disciplines, will gain a comprehensive toolkit for service both to those in cognitive decline and their caregivers, meeting the needs of both communities with thoughtful and innovative practices.

Mobile technologies can facilitate different kinds of learning, in a range of contexts. They can also enable innovative and powerful ways of participating in collaborative learning. This book examines the ways in which mobile technologies may contribute to, change, or disrupt literacy learning in children up to the age of twelve. Also explored is the impact mobile technologies may have on literacy definitions and practices; learning environments; student, parent and teacher roles and interactions; power relations in education; and social and material interactions. Contributing authors include eminent researchers and innovative practitioners from around the world, who share their insights on the possible roles of mobile technologies in literacy practices and education. This book explores how educators might harness mobile technologies to equip literacy learners for the 21st century, as well as considering how mobile technologies may help to enhance access to quality literacy education for children in developing countries.

In More Tales for Trainers, Margaret Parkin presents a further 50 stories, anecdotes, metaphors and poetry, which any trainer or manager can readily use to encourage and engage learners. Beginning by setting the use of stories in learning on a sound theoretical footing, the book goes on to include sample stories that trainers can use to address a number of learning and development needs. The stories cover all the key areas in organizational training, including: leadership, communication and change.