SCHOOL OF INFORMATION AND LIBRARY SCIENCE @Carolina FALL 2020 NUMBER 87

LOSS & DISRUPTION RESILIENCE & HOPE

The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 1 MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN As I write this annual column, I am struck by how much life has changed in less than sessions where they shared career advice and answered questions. Career Services Coor- one year’s time. I miss handshakes and hugs, smiling with my whole face rather than just dinator Lori Haight did a great job organizing and facilitating these Zoom meet-ups, my eyes, and walking across campus with my mind on the upcoming meeting or event which were recorded and shared on our YouTube channel. The SILS Alumni Association rather than whether the people walking toward me are masked and how to cross paths took a similar approach by turning their annual speed-networking event into a virtual with safety and congeniality. panel discussion focused on getting a job during the pandemic. Information theory tells us that impact is signaled in the changes in data streams – SILS students and faculty adapted to remote instruction in the spring and continue that novelty and uncertainty can map to significance – the intellectual energy we call to find new ways to learn, teach, and interact with virtual tools and carefully limited information. As we navigate the challenges and uncertainty of a global pandemic, social face-to-face meetings. Since hallway conversations and casual office drop-ins were and economic strife, and environmental calamities, we must remember that we are in this not possible most of this year, our faculty delivered a series of online lightning talks to together and need to help each other meet the challenges – as well as the opportunities – introduce themselves and their research to students. All of these talks were recorded and we encounter. posted to the SILS YouTube channel and I encourage you to watch them if you have some I am inspired by how our students, faculty, staff, and alumni have adapted and time. At about 10 minutes each, they are a fast, engaging way to learn about our faculty achieved, and know we are resolute in our collective strength as we reflect on what we and how they are making an impact in North Carolina and beyond. Find the playlist at have lost, what we have accomplished, and what lies ahead. https://go.unc.edu/sils-lightning. In 2019 and 2020, we lost two giants of SILS and the information professions – Our online professional science master’s degree in digital curation and management Evelyn Daniel last fall, and Barbara Moran in the spring. Evelyn was a transformational continues to attract new students and our proposal to deliver an online certificate in dean of SILS, inspiring teacher, champion of online education, and smiling friend to applied data science has been approved. SILS continues to work with the University all. Barbara served as dean twice, seeing SILS through significant transitions, achieved administration and other departments at Carolina to define a new campus-wide initiative world-renown for her work in library management, remembered the names of thousands in data science. of students she taught, and championed international programs for SILS. With our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion further galvanized by the Other transitions include the retirements of Claudia Gollop and Paul Jones who both tragedies and protests of the summer, we have introduced new racial equity training brought joy and creativity to SILS. We wish them long and happy next chapters. opportunities for faculty and staff. We are reexamining our curriculum with equity in We welcomed three new SILS faculty members: Associate Professor Tressie McMillan mind, and I have charged the Diversity Committee with finding new ways to gauge and Cottom, Assistant Professor Francesca Tripodi, and Assistant Professor Anita Crescenzi improve the climate at SILS to ensure that all members of our community feel welcome (PhD ’19), whose primary appointment is in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy. and supported. We also welcomed new staff members: Kathryn Peters, Executive Director of the In the fall of 2020, we hosted a distinguished panel of evaluators as part of our UNC Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP); Joanna Burke, CITAP Graduate School Review, and we look forward to reviewing their report and responding Project Coordinator; Nicole Boryczka, Contracts and Grants Specialist; and Shayna Flint, to suggestions for advancing our graduate programs. Undergraduate Student Services Coordinator. We know that many challenges await in 2021 and beyond. We will move forward with This year brought new achievements and honors across the SILS community. The cautious optimism and adapt prudently to leverage the novelty and uncertainty ahead. Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) celebrated its 10th anniversary and its first Virtual handshakes and hugs are not as satisfying as face-to-face encounters, but PhD graduates. CITAP completed its first year of operation and is already coalescing into they are far superior to isolation. Be sure to offer your good words and positive deeds to a research powerhouse, offering important insights and analysis during the COVID crisis others in any way you can. Stay safe, stay productive, stay compassionate, and be resilient. and in the run-up to the election. Tressie McMillan Cottom won the MacArthur “Genius Grant”, Helen Tibbo received the SAA Council Exemplary Service Award, and Zeynep Tufekci was commended by The New York Times for “getting the big things right.” In addition to the many multi-year research awards already in place at SILS, new research grants were awarded to Mohammad Jarrahi (NC Policy Collaboratory funding for research on COVID-19’s impact on gig workers); Maggie Melo (NSF CAREER grant Gary Marchionini for creating more equitable makerspaces); Sayamindu Dasgupta (NSF grant to foster Dean and Cary C. Boshamer Distinguished Professor data literacies among young people); Javed Mostafa (NSF funding to study the impact of undergraduate research experiences); Brian Sturm, Casey Rawson, Sandra Hughes- Hassell, and Sayamindu Dasgupta (IMLS grant to help transform LIS youth services education); Arcot Rajasekar and Ray Wang (multi-university NIDA-funded project to improve neuroscience data sharing); and David Gotz and Ray Wang (DOD funding to create a new data visualization system to synthesize structured and unstructured data). Our alumni continue to impress and support us in numerous ways. Though we didn’t get to celebrate them in person at Spring Commencement, we are enormously proud of our 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients Meredith Evans (PhD ’06) and Kathryn Cole (MSLS ’07). We had also looked forward to hearing the commencement address from Jason Griffey (MSLS ’04), who was kind enough to share his inspiring remarks in both written and audio format. Knowing that recent grads were facing limited opportunities for networking and a tough job market, several alumni took part in SILS Connections, virtual information

Texturized photo of spring 2020 at Carolina by Johnny Andrews, UNC-Chapel Hill IN THIS ISSUE Letter from the SILSAA President COVID-19 changes and challenges...... 6-7 Dear SILS Alumni, This year paints a different picture of Carolina than most of us remember. 2020 is Claudia Gollop and Paul Jones retire...... 8-9 certainly not what we expected, but as Tar Heels and SILS alumni, I admire the ways CITAP navigates its first year...... 10-11 that we have been able to adapt and carry on. Although challenging at times, there is still much to be celebrated! Zeynep Tufekci gets the big things right...... 12 Summer marked the beginning of a new SILS Alumni Board. I am excited to be serving as this year’s President and look forward to collaborating with the rest of the Tressie McMillan Cottom wins McArthur ‘Genius Grant’ ...... 13 Board to better connect the alumni of the SILS community. CB #3360, 100 Manning Hall Francesca Tripodi joins SILS & CITAP...... 14 The Board is also comprised of Sarah Carrier (Past President), Erin Carter (Vice Pres- ident), Meggie Lasher (Secretary), Jennie Goforth (Communications Director), Meghan Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360 Lightning talks offer quick intros to faculty research...... 15 O’Riordan (Treasurer), Anita Jotwani (SAID Representative), Advaith Deo (ILSSA Celebrating SILS graduates ...... 16-21 Representative), and of course, Dean Gary Marchionini. GARY MARCHIONINI In light of the current social climate and the pandemic, the Alumni Board has been Dean & Cary C. Boshamer Faculty and doctoral student research and recognition ...... 22-31 and will continue to work hard to support efforts that will serve the best interests of Distinguished Professor students and graduates. The Board is dedicated to improving equity, diversity, inclu- Remembering Evelyn Daniel and Barbara Moran ...... 32-33 Hillary Fox 919.962.8363 sion, and anti-racism practices by working alongside different committees on the UNC [email protected] Alumni and friends’ obituaries...... 34 campus, such as the SILS Alumni Inclusion and Diversity Committee (SAID), and imple- menting and advocating for change. The University of North Carolina at Alumni perspectives on COVID-19...... 35-36 Chapel Hill School of Information We are especially proud that we have developed a new member role that liaises and Library Science (SILS) publishes Alumni updates ...... 37 between the Alumni Board, the SILS Diversity Committee, and SAID. More events that this news magazine annually for the celebrate diversity will be planned, including a poetry reading by the SILS alumni writers School’s alumni and friends. Irene Owens (PhD ‘95) establishes fund for diversity and global programs .....38 featured in All the Songs We Sing. 2020 SILS Distinguished Alumni Award winners...... 39 The Board is also working to support students during this uncertain time. October featured a live Q&A panel of information industry and library professionals discussing KATHERINE PERALES “How to Get a Job During COVID-19.” Additionally, we will provide five professional Communications Coordinator development awards for SILS students to use for conferences or other professional 919.843.8337 endeavors. [email protected] For alumni, we are planning virtual happy hours and navigating what networking events might look like as spring approaches. The best way to stay up to date and get Learn more about opportunities for SILS Commitment to Diversity involved is to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and through the SILS giving to SILS by contacting: alumni email listserv. If you have a suggestion for an activity that will make the social and The UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) physical distancing seem not so far, please reach out to us. We want to hear from you! ANNE WEBB embraces and promotes diversity and inclusion in all their I’d like to leave you with a favorite quote that I hope will inspire you during this time: Associate Dean for Development forms. 919.962.3499 “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that We broadly define diversity to include ability, age, ethnicity, [email protected] overwhelm the world.”- Desmond Tutu. gender, gender identity, gender expression, immigration To the SILS Alumni, we want to remind you that you always have a community in Online Gifts status, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, and your fellow graduates. It’s good to be a Tar Heel. socioeconomic status. SILS is committed to preparing our Visit giving.unc.edu/gift/sils Warm Regards, graduates to be leaders in an increasingly multicultural and Checks global society. Hillary Fox (MSLS ’14) Make checks payable to To this end, we strive to: SILSAA President UNC-Chapel Hill and notate • Ensure that our leadership, policies, and practices are “SILS” or a specific SILS fund name or inclusive. number in the memo line. • Integrate diversity into our curriculum and research. Mail your check to: Keep in Touch UNC School of Information • Promote and nurture an environment in which diverse Sign-up for the SILS alumni listserv by sending a message with the subject and Library Science perspectives and experiences are respected and valued. SUBSCRIBE to [email protected]. Once you have subscribed, you can PO Box 309 • Recruit and retain students, faculty, and staff from tradi- send/receive using [email protected]. Find links to update your Chapel Hill, NC 27514-0309 tionally underrepresented groups. contact information at sils.unc.edu/alumni/stay-connected. • Participate in outreach to underserved communicates ON THE COVER in North Carolina and beyond. In the garden adjacent to Manning Hall, a statue wears one of the We are committed to cultivating an academic environment @uncsils Carolina masks that faculty and that is open, representative, and equitable to all. staff received this fall. Photo by Katherine Perales ~UNC School of Information and Library Science Faculty & Staff sils.unc.edu Meeting the Moment Spring Bre-ak Fall Back SILS faculty confront the challenges of 2020 with research and advocacy On March 11, the University of North the World” from author and Throughout the summer, Carolina Carolina at Chapel Hill announced plans librarian Megan K. England made extensive preparations to welcome to extend spring break by a week, giving (MSLS ’13), who was set to deliver the students back to campus in the fall. Creating a data-viz dashboard Measuring COVID-19’s Asking libraries to take a stand faculty a brief window to convert their 2020 Steinfirst Lecture. Classrooms, libraries, dorms, and dining to track COVID-19 deaths impact on gig workers SILS Assistant Professor Amelia Gibson classes to online instruction and students SILS didn’t get to make its debut at the areas were modified to encourage social was first author on “Struggling to Breathe: some additional time to decide where they Dean E. Smith Center, where the School distancing. Students had to commit to a SILS Associate Professor David Gotz SILS Associate Professor COVID-19, Protest and the LIS Response,” would be living and learning for the rest had chosen to move its commencement set of community standards, including teamed with two other UNC-Chapel Hill Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi has been published ahead-of-print in August by of the semester. The abrupt changes were ceremony to accommodate its annually wearing masks during any public interac- researchers this spring to create an inter- awarded funding from the NC Policy Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An Inter- among many occurring across the nation growing number of graduates and guests. tions, in order to stay enrolled. active, online visualization system to help Collaboratory to document the impact national Journal. and world in an effort to slow the spread of And we didn’t get to hear Meredith Evans All of the planning did little to slow the public health officials track and respond to of COVID-19 on gig workers and their A follow-up to “Libraries on the COVID-19. (PhD ’06) deliver the keynote address at virus’ spread, and on August 17, less than COVID-19 deaths. ability to work independently. Frontlines: Neutrality and Social Justice,” In addition to moving classes online, the University’s 2020 Doctoral Hooding a week after classes began, the University Project leaders included Smiti Kaul, The project will examine how the which was published by the journal in the University placed limitations on Ceremony. announced it would shift back to remote a computer science master’s student at skills used for location-based gig work 2017, the article addresses institutional gatherings, effectively cancelling all spring SILS saluted its 2020 graduates online. instruction and decrease the number of Carolina, and Cameron Coleman, MD, a can translate into the skills needed for responses to protests and uprising in events. For the UNC School of Infor- During an April 29 All-School Meeting on-campus residents. SILS had already preventive medicine resident at the UNC online digital work and develop educa- the spring and summer of 2020 after the mation and Library Science (SILS), this on Zoom, Carolina Chancellor Kevin planned for most of its fall courses to be School of Medicine. Kaul is also a research tional materials that can help with the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor meant losing a day of discussion about the Guskiewicz presented several of the awards taught online or in a low-contact hybrid assistant with the Visual Analysis and transition. and George Floyd, all of which occurred in power and problems of digital technology that are usually conferred at commence- modality, so the transition required much Communication Laboratory (VACLab), The social and professional the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. with the 2020 Kilgour Lecture by Arvind ment. SILS Alumni Association represen- less scrambling than the spring switch. which Gotz directs. upheavals caused by COVID-19 The article expands the previous call for Narayanan, leader of the Princeton Web tative Sarah Carrier announced that MSLS Working with the NC Department of have reduced or eliminated many libraries to take a stand for Black lives Transparency and Accountability Project, grad Katie Kehoe had been selected for the Health and Human Services, the team location-based gig work options. (doi.org/10.1108/EDI-07-2020-0178). and a panel featuring lead researchers with Outstanding Service to the School Award developed a system that aggregates online For instance, clients of dog walking Carolina’s Center for Information, Tech- in recognition of her contributions to the datasets for COVID-19 infection rates companies are now staying home and nology, and Public Life (CITAP). Community Workshop Series. and morgue utilization. Data is then no longer need the service. Offering an online We didn’t get to see posters and presen- At the time these virtual alternatives tabulated at the county and region levels As a result, some gig workers are anti-racist resource tations of student research at the annual seemed like temporary measures that and presented through an interactive, switching to location-independent The 2020 Black Lives Matter protests Symposium on Information for Social could help sustain us until we could gather web-based application. work, such as online freelancing and and the injustices they helped publicize Good or the SILS Project Fair. together later in the year. As we’d soon Users can adjust interactive maps and paid crowdsourcing. prompted many people to search for guid- We also missed the chance to hear learn, Zoom meetings, online office hours, other statistical charts to view live reports “While these workers might already ance on how to actively combat racism, about “Magic, Spaceships, and Explosions: and cyber celebrations would become the of metrics at multiple aggregation levels. be familiar with gig work and digital and some found the necessary resources Pushing Through Fear and Anxiety to Save norm for 2020. This enables health agencies, hospitals, and labor platforms, the dynamics of through Project READY (Reimagining other key stakeholders to visualize fatality location-independent digital labor can Equity and Access for Diverse Youth). data in real-time and identify areas where still be different and overwhelming,” The free online curriculum was extra support might soon be needed. Jarrahi said. “Instead of meeting local For the Good of the Order designed to help youth services library staff Kaul, Coleman, and Gotz describe their clients in person, workers must learn In recognition of the countless hours learn to create more inclusive and equitable work in an article published by the Journal to distinguish themselves in a global they spent and innovative solutions they programming, but many of the modules of the American Medical Informatics Asso- market through remote communica- devised to help faculty, staff, and students cover foundational issues related to race, ciation (doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocaa146). tion, using online tools.” make the transition to remote learning racism, and racial equity work, making and working this spring, SILS IT Director them useful for a broader audience. Aaron Brubaker and Help Desk Manager Starting in June, the Project READY Brian Nussbaum received the Edward G. website, ready.web.unc.edu, saw a surge Holley for the Good of the Order Award in visitors. Over a period of 90 days from in May. August through October, the site logged This marked Brubaker’s second time Aaron Brubaker Brian Nussbaum more than 27,000 unique visitors. receiving the award, and unprecedented SILS Professor Sandra Hughes-Hassell achievement. Both Brubaker and Nuss- and Teaching Assistant Professor Casey baum are past recipients of the SILS Staff Rawson led Project READY as Principal Excellence Award and the UNC Informa- Investigator and Co-PI and developed tion Technology Award. the online curriculum with SILS doctoral student Kimberly Hirsh. Made possible In case of (more) emergencies by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the project Recognizing the variety of financial hardships caused by the pandemic, SILS represents the work of more than 40 has established a new emergency fund to help students with challenges related scholars, library and school practitioners, to COVID-19, as well as expenses due to other short-term emergencies. Learn and youth from a wide variety of racial and more about supporting the fund at sils.unc.edu/giving/make-your-gift. Above and far right, scenes from Carolina’s fall semester. Photos by John Gardiner, UNC-Chapel Hill. cultural backgrounds.

6 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 7 Claudia Gollop and Paul Jones embark on retirement Paul Jones spent 42 years at the University of North SILS removes GRE Carolina at Chapel Hill, holding various roles in information technology services and then academic appointments in the requirement for UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the UNC School of Information and Library Science. graduate programs He retired this summer as a Clinical Professor at SILS, Coordinator of the Master of Science in Information Science The UNC School of Information and Library (MSIS) degree program, and Director of ibiblio.org. Science (SILS) has stopped requiring graduate One of the largest “collections of collections” on the internet, program applicants to submit Graduate Record Exam ibiblio.org was formed as a collaboration between UNC–Chapel (GRE) scores. SILS implemented the change over the Hill’s MetaLab, formerly known as SunSITE, and the Center summer, so students matriculating in January will be for the Public Domain in September of 2000. The online public the first cohort admitted under the revised standards. library now offers freely available software and information on “We were very pleased when the UNC Graduate topics such as music, literature, art, history, science, politics, School gave us the option to remove this requirement,” and cultural studies, and regularly registers between 12 million said Brian Sturm, Professor and Associate Dean for to 16 million worldwide transactions per day. Academic Affairs at SILS. “The majority of SILS faculty Jones was involved with many firsts during his time at Caro- did not believe the test scores were a good predictor of Claudia Gollop in the SILS Library in 2017. Photo by Katherine Perales, UNC SILS. lina, including UNC’s first website, email service, and internet student success, and we were concerned that the test radio at station WXYC-FM. Though he’d been one of its was an unnecessary barrier, especially for applicants , PhD, joined the UNC School of Informa- Claudia Gollop earliest adopters, Jones quit using email in 2011 and shifted his from underrepresented backgrounds, first-generation tion and Library Science (SILS) in 1994 as an assistant professor. electronic communications almost exclusively to social media. college students, and people returning to school after a She became an associate professor with tenure in 2000 and served Jones had grown tired of the tedious and time-consuming work long break.” as associate dean from 2004-2007. of managing his email inbox, and decided to try a more interac- The UNC Graduate School is allowing profes- In addition to teaching courses in reference services, health tive approach with other platforms. sional schools and academic departments at Carolina information resources and services, and information issues In 2013, he made headlines by “rediscovering” the first to suspend the GRE requirement through at least related to diverse user groups, she served as advisor for numerous web page ever created, Tim Berners-Lee’s Demonstration Page 2024, during which time they will collect data on the master’s papers and dissertations. for Hypertext 91. Berners-Lee had copied the page to Jones’ change’s impact. Her research centered on issues of consumer health infor- NeXT cube during a visit to Carolina in 1991, and the page still mation acquisition and dissemination, particularly among older remains accessible through ibiblio.org. adults. Her groundbreaking article “Health Information-Seeking Most recently, Jones was an advisor on the Arch Mission Behavior and Older African American Women,” published by the Foundation Lunar Library project. The spacecraft carrying the Faculty accept new Medical Library Association in 1997, has been cited more than 100 30-million page library crash-landed on the moon in 2019, but times. the Foundation believes the 25-layer nickel disc containing leadership roles at SILS After undergoing angioplasty and cardiac rehabilitation in Wikipedia, the Guttenberg Project, and more remains intact. 2007, Gollop launched a new line of inquiry into cardiac rehabil- Over the summer, three SILS faculty members In addition to a bachelor’s degree in computer science from itation information referrals practices with the goal of improving transitioned to new academic leadership roles within North Carolina State University, Jones holds an MFA in poetry the heart health of women and minorities. the school. from Warren Wilson College. His first chapbook, “What the Gollop received the Edward G. Holley for the Good of the Professor Brian Sturm became Associate Dean Welsh and Chinese Have in Common,” was a North Carolina Order Award from SILS in 2012, held the Frances Carroll McColl for Academic Affairs, taking over for Clinical Asso- Writers’ Network publication winner. His reviews have been Term Professorship at SILS, and received the Round Table for ciate Professor Ron Bergquist, who had held the collected in Contemporary Literary Criticism (Gale) and some Ethnic and Minority Concerns (REMCo) Roadbuilders’ Award in position since 2016. Among other duties, Sturm is of his poems are collected in Best American Erotic Poetry: Library Education from the North Carolina Library Association. responsible for developing the course schedule each 1800 – Present (Scribner’s), and in 27 Views of Chapel Hill Most recently, she was named the 2018 winner of the Asso- semester, working with faculty to review and revise (Eno Publishers). He is also a contributing editor to the Heath ciation for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) the curricula, and administering financial aid. Anthology of American Literature. Sturm had previously served as coordinator of Award for Professional Contribution. The award is presented to the Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS) ALISE members for regular and sustained service that promotes program. Teaching Assistant Professor Casey and strengthens the broad areas of library and information Rawson, who earned both her MSLS and PhD from science education through the holding of appropriate offices and SILS, assumed that role. positions within the profession. Associate Professor Brad Hemminger became A native of New York City, Gollop received her BA from City coordinator for the Master of Science in Information College-City University of New York (CUNY) and MLS degree Science (MSIS) program, which had previously been from Columbia University. She worked as a library/information led by Clinical Professor Paul Jones, who retired this professional in public, special, and academic libraries for nearly summer. 15 years prior to returning to school to earn her doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh. Paul Jones in his Manning Hall office in 2017. Photo by Johnny Andrews, UNC-Chapel Hill.

8 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 9 Democracy Works co-founder Kathryn Peters When Digital Gets Political named executive director of CITAP CITAP researchers offer important insights to the media The Center for Information, Tech- and public as the Center navigates its first year of growth nology, and Public Life (CITAP) welcomed Kathryn Peters as its first Just over a year after its launch, the Drawing on her research into the executive director in July. Center for Information, Technology, and far-right’s use of social media to spread Peters is a civic technologist and Public Life (CITAP) has made significant disinformation, Alice Marwick spoke with nonprofit entrepreneur, who co-founded progress on multiple fronts. several news outlets, including the Today Democracy Works, a nonpartisan, Organizational growth Show, about conspiracy theory QAnon. In nonprofit that works to make voting a Over the summer, CITAP welcomed May, Marwick was awarded a prestigious simple, seamless experience for all Amer- Senior Faculty Researchers Tressie Andrew Carnegie Fellowship to further icans. She has been recognized as one of McMillan Cottom, Shannon McGregor, her research into online radicalization. Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30” in the “Her experience . . . gives her and Francesca Tripodi, as well as the Deen Freelon continued his pioneering field of law and policy and as a Champion Center’s first executive director, program work on race and identity’s roles in social of Democracy by the National Priorities the perfect skillset to help coordinator, and post-doctoral fellow. media behavior, publishing “Black Trolls Project. (Read more about these additions on the Matter: Racial and Ideological Asymme- “Katy stood out in a pool of develop CITAP into a leading next four pages.) tries in Social Media Disinformation,” in outstanding candidates,” said Alice This fall, 25 new research affiliates April’s Social Science Computer Review Marwick, Principal Researcher at CITAP. research institute. She fully CITAP Executive Director Kathryn “Katy” Peters representing seven institutions and several (doi: 10.1177/0894439320914853). “Her experience founding Democracy This fall, Freelon had back-to-back Works gives her the perfect skillset to help understands the interplay graduate research assistants joined the She also led Democracy Works’ acqui- publications in Science magazine, the first develop CITAP into a leading research organization. Additional post-docs and sition of the Voting Information Project, focusing on computational social science institute. She fully understands the inter- between democracy and staff hires are anticipated as various a national open data collaboration that obstacles and opportunities (doi: 10.1126/ play between democracy and technology projects mature, and the Center plans to publishes official state polling locations technology and the challenges science.aaz8170). The second, co-authored and the challenges of growing a team into recruit new affiliates and fellows annually. and ballot data. with Marwick and Daniel Kreiss, appears a mature organization.” Months of renovations transformed Peters said the 2016 election changed of growing a team into a in Science’s “Democracy in the Balance” Peters’ belief in better democracy has a computer lab in Manning Hall into how she and many other democracy issue and explores how left- and right- taken her from campaign organizing mature organization.” a multi-functional space for CITAP, advocates view technology’s relationship wing activists use digital and legacy media in Southeast Missouri to a master’s in including offices, partitioned desks, and to voting. While technology can be a -Alice Marwick, CITAP Principal Researcher differently to achieve political goals public policy at the Kennedy School of meeting areas. valuable tool in streamlining the voting (doi: 10.1126/science.abb2428). Government to political rights moni- Publications and perspectives process and improving access to infor- In their report “Enforcers of Truth: toring in Afghanistan. Her previous During the tumultuous events of mation, it can also be an instrument for Social Media Platforms and Misinforma- experiences include positions with the 2019-2020, CITAP Principal Researchers spreading disinformation and eroding tion,” Kreiss and CITAP graduate research National Democratic Institute and the helped clarify the ways digital media both public trust in the democratic process. affiliates Bridget Barrett and Madhavi United Nations Department of Safety and amplify and reflect our beliefs, affiliations, “The research that CITAP faculty are Reddi present a comparison of misinfor- Security. and behavior. They shared their findings doing to understand how digital plat- mation policies across six popular social During her tenure at Democracy through more than 50 publications and forms shape our civic conversation gives media platforms. This examination of Works, she led the development and dozens of interviews and analyses for me hope for being able to address these selective fact-checking has tremendous launch of TurboVote, an election reminder national news outlets. challenges,” she said. “The Center brings value for practitioners wishing to establish and voter registration tool that now serves Zeynep Tufekci tackled a variety of together an excellent community of a system of digital political ethics, as well more than 7 million voters in partner- topics related to COVID-19 in columns for scholars spanning the many fields contrib- as for social media users in general. See ship with 175 colleges, several national The Atlantic, New York Times, and other uting to this understanding. I’m eager to citapdigitalpolitics.com for the report. nonprofits, and corporations that include popular venues (See more on page 12.) Carolina established CITAP in 2019 Snap and Google. support this community and their work.” with a $5 million gift from the John S. CITAP welcomes Rachel Kuo as first postdoc and James L. Knight Foundation, and Joanna Burke joins CITAP as Project Coordinator Rachel Kuo writes, teaches, and researches about race, social Joanna Burke is a program administrator with a background movements, and digital technology. She holds a PhD and MA in support from Luminate and the in the cultural sector. A classical vocalist by training, she holds Media, Culture, and Communication from New York University. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. master’s degrees from the Jacobs School of Music and the Her current manuscript, Movement Media: Racial Solidarities O’Neill School of Public Affairs at Indiana University. Across Platforms, demonstrates how technologies enhance and Learn more at citap.unc.edu, follow Her top areas of professional interest are public arts, human- foreclose possibilities for political organization across uneven CITAP on social media, or subscribe to ities, and interdisciplinary learning, and she has held positions racial and class differences. across a variety of organizations and functional areas, including She is a founding member and current affiliate of the Center its newsletter at citap.substack.com. museum education, festival management, and fundraising. Most for Critical Race and Digital Studies and a co-founder of the recently she worked at Carolina’s University Development Office Asian American Feminist Collective. Learn more about her as an analyst specializing in relationship management. research and writing at www.rachelkuo.com. Rachel Kuo, PhD @unc_citap Joanna Burke

10 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 11 VOICE OF REASON GENIUS MOVE 2020 brought plenty of fuel for Zeynep Tufekci’s writing, as Tressie McMillan Cottom wins McArthur Foundation well as national recognition for ‘Getting the Big Things Right’ ‘Genius Grant’ shortly after joining SILS and CITAP

It wasn’t hard to predict that 2020 was going to be a busy Author, professor, sociologist, and National Book year for anyone who studies and writes about technology, Award finalist Tressie McMillan Cottom joined the society, and politics like Zeynep Tufekci, Associate Professor faculty of the UNC School of Information and Library at the UNC School of Information and Library Science Science (SILS) as an associate professor, effective July 1, (SILS). Then came a global pandemic and massive protests 2020. sparked by the murder of George Floyd. McMillan Cottom’s move to Carolina also included As soon as a topic came to the national forefront, Tufekci an affiliation with the Center for Information, Tech- seemed ready and waiting with a new column that decon- nology, and Public Life (CITAP) as a senior faculty structed the issues, provided global perspectives and expert researcher. insights, and offered advice for moving forward. “We are thrilled to welcome Dr. McMillan Cottom,” Tufekci’s talent for analyzing complex social and tech- said SILS Dean Gary Marchionini in the announcement nological issues was lauded in an Aug. 23 New York Times of her appointment. “Her insightful research into the feature, titled, “How Zeynep Tufekci Keeps Getting the Big ways technology, race, class, and gender intersect in the Things Right.” realms of higher education and public life perfectly align Times media columnist Ben Smith wrote a glowing profile with SILS’ and CITAP’s missions to quantify the impact of Tufekci for the Sunday edition, recounting how her early of our new digital landscape and shape its evolution for life and career as a computer programmer in Turkey shaped the benefit of humanity.” her worldview and highlighting the many accurate predic- In October, McMillan Cottom was named a fellow in tions she has made in recent years. the MacArthur Foundation’s Class of 2020. MacArthur “In 2011, she went against the current to say the case for Fellows are selected for their “extraordinary originality Twitter as a driver of broad social movements had been over- and dedication in their creative pursuits,” and receive a simplified,” Smith writes. “In 2012, she warned news media $625,000 award, often referred to as the “Genius Grant,” outlets that their coverage of school shootings could inspire distributed over five years. more. In 2013, she argued that Facebook could fuel ethnic The foundation’s announcement described McMillan cleansing. In 2017, she warned that YouTube’s recommenda- Zeynep Tufekci delivers a talk on truth in the digital world at the 2019 Cottom’s work as “shaping discourse on pressing issues Tressie McMillan Cottom at a computer station in Manning Hall. tion algorithm could be used as a tool of radicalization.” Big Challenge Science Festival, hosted by the Norwegian University of at the confluence of race, gender, education, and digital In early 2020, Tufekci condemned the CDC’s recommen- Science and Technology. Photo by Kai T. Dragland, NTNU technology. In work across multiple platforms, ranging “Right now, I’m studying how African American dations against mask use on Twitter and in an op-ed for the from academic scholarship to essays and social media women piece together economic security through their Times, titled “Why Telling People They Didn’t Need Masks Zeynep Tufekci is a contributing writer for The Atlantic. engagement, McMillan Cottom combines analytical activity on social media platforms like Instagram,” she Backfired.” Her public criticism was reportedly the tipping Below are titles of some of the columns she published insights and personal experiences in a frank, accessible told Carolina’s The Well in August. “Part of my work is to point that convinced the agency to change its stance in April. this year, demonstrating the breadth of issues she style of communication that resonates with broad audi- connect the dots between things people might consider Tufekci also joined over 100 experts – including two addressed. These and others can be found at ences within and outside of academia.” disparate or not relevant to their daily lives. Connecting Nobel laureates and the editors of Nature and The Lancet – www.theatlantic.com/author/zeynep-tufekci. A faculty affiliate at Harvard University’s Berkman those dots in academic discourse and public life brings to sign an open letter to all U.S. governors, asking them to • “The Pandemic is No Excuse to Surveil Students” Klein Center for Internet and Society, McMillan Cottom me a great deal of personal and professional satisfaction.” “require cloth masks to be worn in all public places, such as (Sept. 30) holds a BA from North Carolina Central University and As a researcher and public intellectual, McMillan stores, transportation systems, and public buildings.” a PhD from Emory University. Her dissertation research Cottom has appeared on Amanpour & Co., MSNBC, The On top of all of the columns she wrote throughout the • “The Tragic Loss of Coronavirus Patients’ Final formed the foundation for her first book Lower Ed: The Daily Show, and National Public Radio, and she testified year, Tufekci gave interviews and delivered talks, including a Words” (July 9) Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy before U.S. Senate subcommittees on student loan debt. Tar Heel Talks live on Sept. 30, titled “Whose Facts? Misin- • “Scolding Beachgoers Isn’t Helping” (July 4) (The New Press 2016). She is also an influential voice on Twitter and co-host of formation and Disinformation in 2020.” Her most recent book, THICK: and Other Essays (The Hear to Slay, a Black feminist podcast with writer Roxane • “I Can’t Breathe: Braving Tear Gas in a Pandemic” Tufekci and UNC Hussman School of Journalism and New Press 2019), is a critically acclaimed Amazon best- Gay. Prior to joining SILS, she was an associate professor (June 4) Media Associate Professor Deen Freelon, both principal seller that situates Black women’s intellectual tradition at Virginia Commonwealth University. researchers at the Center for Information, Technology, and • “Trump is Doing All of This for Zuckerberg” (May 29) at its center. THICK won the Brooklyn Public Library’s For more about McMillan Cottom’s writing, research, Public Life (CITAP), were the evening’s featured speakers. • “The Real Reason to Wear a Mask” (April 22) 2019 Literary Prize and was shortlisted for the 2019 and appearances, visit her faculty page at sils.unc.edu/ Though she often discusses the failures and dangers of National Book Award in nonfiction. directory/faculty or her homepage tressiemc.com. new technologies, Tufekci remains hopeful that the internet • “The WHO Shouldn’t Be a Plaything for Great and social media can achieve some of their initial promise. Powers” (April 16) “I have this saying, Is the internet good or bad? Yes,” she Tufekci is also the author of Twitter and Teargas: The “McMillan Cottom combines analytical insights and personal experiences in a frank, accessible said during the Tar Heel Talks live discussion. “I still have Ecstatic, Fragile Politics of Networked Protest in the 21st not lost the early optimism, because everyday I see amazing Century, published by Yale University Press. This fall she style of communication that resonates with broad audiences within and outside of academia.” things that digital technology allows.” launched a newsletter at zeynep.substack.com. -MacArthur Foundation 2020 Fellows Announcement

12 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 13 Sociologist and media scholar Francesca Tripodi joins SILS & CITAP Quick Introductions For several Fridays in August and September, SILS faculty members gave online lightning talks, The UNC School of Information and introducing themselves and their research interests to students and anyone else who wanted to tune in. Library Science (SILS) welcomed sociolo- The talks were recorded and posted on the SILS YouTube channel. gist and media scholar Francesca Tripodi The following questions contain details faculty mention during their talks. See if you know who as an assistant professor this summer. “It is exciting to be part of said what, or use the answer guide to decide which talk to watch first. Tripodi’s research examines the rela- tionship between social media, political such a vibrant academic 1. Which faculty member moved to Prague in the early 1990s and developed historical walking tours partisanship, and democratic participation, using “state-of-the art Walkman technology?” revealing how Google and Wikipedia are community. I feel like I 2. Which two faculty members are a deep sea divers? manipulated for political gains. am part of a dream-team In addition to her appointment with 3. Who studied biology as an undergraduate with the intention of becoming a geneticist, but instead SILS, she is a senior faculty researcher with when it comes to studying caught a glimpse of her future through a work-study job in the bio-sci library? the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life (CITAP). sociotechnical systems and 4. Which faculty member used ethnographic methods to study how alligator hunters in Louisiana “Dr. Tripodi brings expertise that bayous think about their representation on the television series Swamp People? fits well with SILS’ focus on the human its impact on the democratic side of human-technology interaction,” 5. Which faculty member became a champion of open-access after learning it would cost the Univer- said SILS Dean Gary Marchionini. “Her process.” sity more than a thousand dollars to make a paper he wrote available to his students electronically? previous and ongoing research is sure to -Francesca Tripodi, SILS Assistant Professor 6. Whose interest in electronic health records grew from her experience obtaining medical records help advance CITAP’s mission to deter- and CITAP Senior Faculty Researcher related to her son’s broken arm in preparation for a cross-country move? mine the full impact of social media and other forms digital information sharing on 7. Whose challenging experience as an electronic engineering major inspires him to advise his own democracy.” students, “Try to be okay with not understanding things at first. If you don’t feel unease and confu- An affiliate at the Data & Society sion, then I haven’t taught you anything that you didn’t already know.” Research Institute, Tripodi comes to Caro- Francesca Tripodi lina from James Madison University, where Q8. Who was delighted and intrigued by the acronym FOOSH early in her research on natural language she was an assistant professor of sociology. research, explaining how search processes processing and electronic health records? She holds a PhD and MA in sociology are gamed to maximize exposure and drive from the University of Virginia, as well as ideologically based queries. This research 9. To help explain her book on everyday data stories, who relates an anecdote about a MasterCard data an MA in communication, culture, and is the basis of her book, which is under entry error that resulted in an alternate version of her name that better reflected her “crotchety and technology from Georgetown University. contract with Yale University Press. She cussing” inner self? “It is exciting to be part of such a also studies patterns of gender inequality 10. Who advises students, “When you take a course with me or we work together on a project, I’m vibrant academic community,” Tripodi on Wikipedia, shedding light on how st going to be all about the context.”? said. “I feel like I am part of a dream-team knowledge is contested in the 21 century. Her research has been covered by The when it comes to studying sociotechnical 11. Who did his dissertation research on applying Toyota production systems, also known as lean Washington Post, The New York Times, systems and its impact on the democratic concepts, to health care? process.” The New Yorker, The Columbia Journalism In 2019, Tripodi testified before the Review, Wired, The Guardian, and The 1) In addition to developing her historical walking tour business, Megan Winget worked with the Czech U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on her Neiman Journalism Lab. National galleries to develop an education program for their collection, sold real estate, and worked briefly for Radio Free Europe during her time living in Prague. 2) Brian Sturm and Ray Wang. 3) After New CITAP researcher Shannon McGregor some frustrating years as a middle school teacher, Casey Rawson eventually saw library science as a way to combine what she liked about teaching with what she liked about her job at the bio-sci library. We wins research grant from Facebook won’t mention at which university she earned that undergraduate degree, but she now holds an MSLS and PhD from SILS. 4) Francesca Tripodi found that while the show portrayed alligator hunting as a Shannon McGregor, who joined the McGregor’s research addresses the role male-only space, women were an integral part of the industry and it’s very often a familial enterprise. UNC Hussman School of Journalism and of social media and their data in polit- 5) Brad Hemminger. 6) Fei Yu. 7) Jaime Arguello. 8) Stephanie Haas eventually learned that FOOSH Media and the Center for Information, ical processes, with a focus on political stood for “Fell on Outstretched Hand” a term that helped convey both the urgency and type of injuries Technology, and Public Life this summer, communication, journalism, public involved. 9) Melanie Feinberg greatly appreciates the mistake that resulted in her “Meanie Feinberg” has received a Facebook Foundational opinion, and gender. Her work examines MasterCard. 10) Tressie McMillan Cottom says she is always pushing students and collaborators to Integrity Research: Misinformation and how three groups – political actors, the think about “Who’s here and who’s missing? How can we better understand this if we change the context Polarization Award. She will use the press, and the public – use social media or problematize the context?” 11) Lukaz Mazur. nearly $100,000 in funding to explore how in regards to politics, how that social political advertisers on Facebook define media use impacts their behavior, and voter identity groups, shape expectations how the policies and actions of social Watch all of the SILS Faculty Lightning around those identities, and use identity to media companies in turn impacts political motivate political supporters. communication on their platforms. talks at www.youtube.com/uncsils. Shannon McGregor

14 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) AThe iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 15 Elizabeth Bueche BSIS ’20, Congratulations BA in Economics ’20 “SILS has allowed me to expand my horizons SILS GRADUATES through valuable internships, a semester The next few pages spotlight the UNC School of Information and Library Science abroad, and classes applicable to real life. (SILS) Winter 2019 and Spring 2020 graduates who would have been invited to participate in the 2020 SILS Spring Commencement Ceremony, which was My management class with Dr. Haight, my postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19. For more about these graduates and their systems analysis class with Professor Casden, experiences and achievements, visit sils.unc.edu/people/2020-grads. and my capstone with Dr. Jarrahi are a few of Bachelor of Science in Information Science (BSIS) my favorite classes that had great discussions

Khalaf Nesreen Bassam Abu Janavie Gandhi Isa Shamir Paschall and provided me with the necessary skills to Ehinome Jason Akhimien Kayla Gardner Chase Andrew Pasciuto thrive in the business world. SILS also allowed Matthew Hyatt Allison Alexis Ryan Gaviola Saumil Patel me to experience international perspectives Hasan Asadi Ian Cooper Goodson Alfredo Miguel Quiros Ashley Marie Baich Gauri Nitin Goswamy Mirabel Thea Salmon in information science when I studied at the Jeremy Thomas Beeker Jade Kiana Hampton Esha Shah University of Sheffield.” Elizabeth Anne Bueche William Berkeley Hayes Mahnoor Siddiqui Rishi Nilesh Champaneria Rachael Lauren Head Preston Smith Chia-Ling Chen Riley Thomas Head Elizabeth A. Soucaze Emily Lynn Clinton Lydia Jeanette Heater Melissa Williams Stewart Rosiyah Cordaro Shane Prashad Heeralall Sarah Jane Stonehouse Carson Cy Cutright Marwa Jaafar Zoe Sandra Strafford-Price Phillip Thomas Stephen Lawrence Deluca Michael Jabar Bryant Alexander Thai Haley Anna Dezwaan Radhika Kamleshkumar Jagani Bryan Edward Truong MacDonald Justin Lee Do Rahul Jain Azeem Ahmad Uraizee MSLS ‘20 Alexander R. Donovan Suvrat Jhamb Adrianna Vu Michael Joseph Doucette Jr. Joshua Eric Krause Aylish Wastchak “I value my experience in INLS 501 Information Kayla Rose Dowdy SunJin Lee Karley Wheeler Resources and Services with Professor (Maggie) Solomon Edward Duncan Gregory Majeski Hugh White Torin Edwards Lucas Maynard Christopher Graves Williams Melo. My professional focus was very specific Allegra Ramazani Fiets Andrew O’Neil McClenney Mackenzie Locklear Williams when I came into the program. I thought I Carter Holden Frye Michael McGinniss Jingyuan Zhou only wanted to work in archives and special Kyle Nathaniel Gabbard Neil Nainesh Mehta Jeet Galani David Nguyen collections. But this class exposed me to many other fascinating aspects of academic SILS Undergraduate Honors Thesis - Highest Honors Preston Smith - “Human AI Partnership In Underwriting: A Task-Centered librarianship - reference, data visualization, Analysis of the Division of Work.” Advised by Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi makerspaces, etc. This experience opened my SILS Undergraduate Scholarship Phi Beta Kappa mind to other aspects of librarianship that I Elizabeth Anne Bueche Chase Andrew Pasciuto Solomon Duncan • Hayden B. Renwick Academic Achievement Award now can see as various careers.” Rachael Head • J. Stanley Tucker London Honors Scholarship Read more about these and other 2020 SILS graduates Lydia Heater • Shuford Study Abroad Scholarship + more Karley Amanda Wheeler Kayla Dowdy at sils.unc.edu/people/2020-grads-qa Photo by John Gardiner, UNC-Chapel Hill John Gardiner, by Photo 16 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 17 Doctor of Philosophy (Phd) Heather Lynn Barnes Emily Elizabeth Roscoe Dean’s Achievement Award “Conceptualizing and Curating Digital Documentaries.” “Potential Risks of Legal Liability for Collecting Institutions: Meg McMahon Advisor: Helen Tibbo An Empirical Study of Legal Claims and a Comparison with “A Makerspace of One’s Own? An Exploratory Study of Women and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals’ Experiences of an Academic Anita Marie Caywood Crescenzi Legal Issues Included in LIS Graduate Curricula.” Anusha Suresh Makerspace.” Advisor: Maggie Melo “Adaptation in Information Search and Decision-Making Advisor: Cal Lee Under Time Pressure.” Megan Vaness Threats Jon Clancy BSIS ’18, MSIS ’20 Advisor: Rob Capra “Information Behaviors and Engagement Along the HIV “Breakdowns in Human-AI Partnership: Revelatory Cases of Automation Bias in Autonomous Vehicle Accidents.” “SILS gave me a community, people to speak to Elliott Ayers Hauser Prevention and Care Continua.” Advisor: Mohammad Hossein Jarrahi “Making Certain: Information and Social Reality.” Advisor: Amelia Gibson in hallways, faculty and staff to connect with Advisor: Ryan Shaw Yinglong Zhang Elfreda Chatman Student Research Award on both personal and professional levels. It Colin Christopher Post “Beyond Searching: Understanding How People Use Search Lynnee Argabright “Networked Alternatives: Digital Curation and Artistic To Support Their Creative Endeavors.” Lauren Wise really was like a home for me. Professionally, Advisor: Rob Capra Production on Artist-Run Platforms.” Jordan Wrigley Advisor: Cal Lee I got to work as Project Manager for RATOM Outstanding Service to the School Award (Review, Appraisal, and Triage of Mail project) Katie Kehoe, Community Workshop Series Coordinator Master of Science in Information Science (MSIS) last year and I got to teach 60 students in 161 SILS Diversity Advocate Certificate Environmental Protection Agency Eden Joelle Andes Caroline Goray Zhaohui Man Anusha Suresh Stephanie Crowell Library Internship this year. Every opportunity or experience Lynnee Argabright Anna Catherine Groves Samantha Rae Gaufo Mandani Marler Slate Tuttle III Catherine Gallagher Brooke Csuka Erin Allison Black Samantha Helen Haughton Mariesha Rosalita McAdoo Manhua Wang I’ve had at SILS has been an unexpected, but Meg McMahon Macy Ferguson Dorothy Lee Blyth Jiesong He Megan McMahon Peilin Wang Archives and Records Management Sarah Guy welcome challenge. Because of that, I’ve been Claire Eleanor Cahoon Charles Michael Higgins Hely Rajendra Mehta Qishun Wang (ARM) Concentration Margaret McGuire able to make connections I know are going to Yuru Cao Rui Hou Chenlu Meng Yuan Wen Yuquiao Cao Michael Hooker Fellowship Julia Elizabeth Cavalier Andrew Daniel Jacober Lingqi Meng Venkatapraveen Wunnava last a lifetime.” Clare Carlson Anusha Suresh Bennett E. Chapman Hyun Seo Albert Kang Nkechinyere Nwoko Lu Xu Stephanie Crowell • Humanities Professional Cai Chen Paul Michael Khawaja Suchi Kamal Parekh Yuxuan Xu Leon Dure Jonathan Clancy Whitney-Jocelyn Badou James Wyatt Patterson Ruiting Yang Pathway Award Gabrielle Hale • Lurraine Tansey Travel Award Emily Claire Crockett Aude Ursule Kouaho Carson Nicole Pence Yukun Yang Meredith Kite • Garneta Taormina Memorial Rucha Hareshkumar Dalwadi Meng Li Guanru Peng Yuxiao Yao Tierra Thomas Student Travel Award Leah Epting Yanan Li Teresa T. Phan Wei Zhang Katherine Trathen Colin Post Emily Claire Crockett Julie Elizabeth Fieldsteel Zihao Li Nicole Robertson Bo Zhou Caroline Waller PhD ’20, Elizabeth McWhorter Ford Ziyue Liang Diane Judith Rodden Jingyi Zhou Margaret Ellen Kalp Fellowship • Adams Apprenticeship Program MA Art History ’20 Luzita Francis Songzi Liu Todd Smith Jr. • LEND/UCEDD Trainee/Fellowship Evan Jared Miles Zhangsinong Liu Michelle Suzanne Runyon Kayla Nikkole Angelique Karina L. Soni Nkechinyere Nwoko Michelle Gibson Kathleen Diane Lowry Jordan Wrigley “Before coming to SILS, I was living in American Library Association Spectrum Scholar Lisa Burmeister Computer & Missoula, Mont., where I completed my Master of Science in Library Science (MSLS) Information Science Fellowship Karina Soni Master of Fine Arts in poetry. I saw the need Anicka Austin Melissa Ashley Ferens Kathryn Julia Kehoe Katherine Orth Lynnee Argabright ACRL Kaleidoscope Program Mariesha McAdoo for information professionals to work with Taylor Barrett Deane Antonio Rynerson Jennifer Lorraine Kirby Holly Nicole Roper Diversity Scholar Christopher S. Bishop Macy S. Ferguson Meredith Lindsey Kite Erin Melissa Rutherford • Medical Library Association Phillip Thomas MacDonald creative communities to archive and document Yuqiao Cao Catherine Gallagher Hannah Sophia Link Michelle Suzanne Runyon Scholarship Clare Therese Carlson Courtney George McKenzie Louise Long Sabine Hua-Wei Schmalbeck Beta Phi Mu Epsilon Chapter • Student Vision Scholar, their works and activities, and so I decided Scholarship Alexander J. Chisum Cary Gentry Phillip Thomas MacDonald Marissa Rachel Straw Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the to pursue research in this area at SILS. As a Alexander Chisum Peter Owen Conlon Christina Elizabeth Getaz Mariel Ann MacGowan Tierra Marie Thomas Medical Library Association Paul Khawaja doctoral student, I’ve greatly appreciated my Isabel Erin Crevasse Emily Elizabeth Gering Gillian Mary Mahoney Allison Thompson Jordan Wrigley Nkechinyere Nwoko Stephanie L. Crowell Graceon Brooke Gordon Abigail Mann Katherine Elizabeth Trathen Kathleen Moore Fellowship experiences teaching classes and working Brooke Csuka Gerald Henry Groon III Brittany N. McCarver Caroline Lynn Waller Carolina Academic Library Associate Katie Kehoe on exciting research projects with faculty Nicole Cvjetnicanin Sarah Catherine Guy Joseph Allen McGraw Julia Marie Wiker Anicka Austin Amy Elizabeth Morgan Assistantship Claire Cahoon members. This mix of experiences has prepared Shannon Marie Delaney Gabrielle Elyse Hale Margaret Christine McGuire Jordan Wrigley Isabel Crevasse Alexandra Deyneka Alexandra G. Helms Veronica Dolan McGurrin Wuyan Yao Alex Chisum me as I begin my career as a tenure-track Samantha Rae Gaufo Mandani Society for Scholarly Publishing Rachel Elizabeth Duffus Christopher Edward Hill Evan Jared Miles Caitlin Marie Zimmerman Lydia Jean Neuroth Student Fellow professor (at UNC-Greensboro).” Leon Sebring Dure V Olin Johnson Lydia Jean Neuroth Todd Smith Lynnee Argabright 18 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 19 The WorldAnd We the Dream One WeAbout Live in Now On February 12, 2020, I received an email talk both about the World We Dream About, as well as done by graduates of this program is wide-ranging and Finally, here are a few last pieces of advice, the ones from Gary Marchionini, the Dean of UNC School the challenges of the One We Live in Now. important. that I wish I had learned a bit earlier in my life. of Information and Library Science (SILS), asking I graduated from SILS in 2004, and my fellow grad- The One We Live in Now Learn from history. if I would be the commencement speaker for grad- uates went on to far-flung corners of the world, working uation this year. As Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not The world that you are moving into, the one we in start-ups, libraries, government, and corporations. I have rarely been so emotional about a live in now, is unlike that of any generation before. The even past.” Learn from the history of place, the history speaking engagement, and about the honor of In the time since then, they have moved across the U.S. of people, the history of struggle and the history of pain promise of worldwide instantaneous communication and around the world and have accepted increasingly being asked. SILS changed the course of my life and publication that was nascent during my time here in and sadness that make up the world. I never thought that and career, and the idea of being in a place that more responsible positions. You, too, will go out into the 2004 has been transformed into a panopticon for selling I would live in a time when I had to explain to adults was sufficient for them to ask me to speak is one world, find your communities, and work to make them why Nazis were bad, and yet here we are. of the most humbling and wonderful outcomes of people better versions of themselves. better than they were when you arrived. Build your community through radical inclusion. my work. The revolution of a supercomputer in every pocket My first piece of advice to you is: look around your- Then March happened. Things begin falling enables social movements like the Arab Spring, but also Treat others as agents and actors in the world, and self right now, at your fellow graduates. As big as the believe them when they show you who they are, both apart at a pace, and among the myriad of swirling allows for the data necessary to hypertarget political world of libraries and information is, you will see and chaos (quarantine, canceled vacations, emergency good and bad. opinions and manipulate the population and elections. probably work with some of these people again. Libraries preparation) one of the things that stopped was The removal of gatekeepers for publication didn’t result Make good choices. commencement at UNC SILS. And so this, too, and information are everywhere, but librarians and the in a thousand flowers blooming, but instead an adver- information professions are a small and tightly knit Not necessarily the best choices, just make good ones, went away. tising-clickbait economic model that centralizes and Here’s some of what I would have said, in another time- bunch. The people you see around you now will be the in the moral sense. When you have an important choice Jason Griffey destroys agreement about what is true in the world. to make, ask yourself: Will this make me better, and will (MSLS ’04) line, standing in the Dean Dome on the stage in front of a few people you hear about in the next decade making their hundred students and family members. I hope that all of you who The pressure of gathering eyeballs has pushed parti- names and changing the world. Don’t lose them. this make my community better? It’s okay if the answer would have been there are safe, and that the uncertainty of the sanship to a never-before-seen level, where the argu- Keep your community with you, and grow it as you is Yes to only one of the two sometimes…but if you find future is kind to you and yours. (Excerpt from May 13, 2020 post ments aren’t about policy or perspective, but about the move along, because absolutely no one succeeds without yourself in a situation where it’s always the same one, you on jasongriffey.net) nature of facts and recorded history. Blatant and direct the support of others. There really is no such thing as should rethink your moral position. lies are being told, repeated, reinforced, and supported hat a wonderful spring day here in Chapel Hill! succeeding by yourself. Everything is contingent on the Do not condone or allow evil in your community. by powerful platforms that are unwilling to take respon- Thank you to Dean Marchionini and everyone community you are in, the people you surround yourself This is more challenging than it should be, but it is W sibility for the slow-motion destruction they are causing. involved in making me a part of your day. I’m honored to with, and the world that you help to build for others. easier if we all do it together. You are all now informa- Foreign powers are manipulating information to their be here, as I have been where you are, wearing my UNC As you gather your communities around you, be tion professionals. Information is the gift we give to the own ends, and our own country has neither response nor gown and hood and accepting my MSLS (although in my aware of the connections between you and them, of the future, so choose carefully the gifts you leave behind for reply. Epistemology is at war with ideology. day we didn’t need the Dean Dome as a venue). support necessary for society to thrive. The myth of the the generations that follow you. And so, I ask you: What can we do, in the face of this? When I was asked to give this talk, I thought a lot “self-made” person is just that…a myth. Don’t fall prey And with that, to you all I raise a glass: To the World about what a commencement speech should be. Dean The World We Dream About to it, and find the people, places, and connections that We Dream About, and the One We Live in Now. Marchionini gave me the advice to “inform and inspire I hope that we build the World We Dream About, make you the best you can be. Thank you. our current graduates,” and while I took that to heart, I of course. A world of equity and inclusion, of facts and Jason Griffey (MSLS’04) is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). decided that ultimately what I wanted to do was give you truth. Bringing this world into being will be neither easy You can listen to a recording of this address at jasongriffey.net/2020/05/25/audio-of-my-2020-unc-sils-commencement-speech. the advice that I wish I had heard earlier in my career. I nor free, and it isn’t fair that this burden falls partially gave this talk a title, since I needed something to ground to you. Building this world is a fight against willful it as I was writing, and as a result I give you “The World ignorance, a fight against anti-intellectualism and the Photos of 2020 Carolina graduates, including Libby Soucaze We Dream About, and the One We Live in Now.” denigration of expertise that is rampant today. (BSIS ’20) who appears in the picture leaning against the The title is fromHadestown , the Broadway musical This is not a fight that can be won by the Campbellian camera, sit on the bleachers at Kenan Stadium in May. by Anais Mitchell, directed by Rachel Chavkin, about the Hero, riding forth upon a white horse to vanquish foes. University Photographer Johnny Andrews captured the initial story of Orpheus, Eurydice, Persephone, and Hades. In This work, this necessary effort, is a different kind of images via Zoom and then used a vintage Polaroid 195 the play, the line in question is found in a toast given by thing than that. It takes the type of work that maintains, camera to create a unique photo essay that was published Orpheus on a day much like today, in honor of Perse- that builds, that gathers people together towards a vision. online at www.unc.edu/discover/capturing-the-celebration. phone’s return to Earth and the subsequent growth and It takes the work of different people, all wanting to make plenty that comes with her. The line is delivered with the world fair and equitable for all people. It is often the recognition that the world of momentary plenty is quiet work that goes unrecognized. It takes people who transient, that we know there are hard times ahead in the are willing to stand up for the truth of reality, that insist world, even if right now is comfortable. Winter, as they on rationally understanding the world through expertise say, is coming. and evidence. The play itself is a meditation on telling stories, about You all leave here today as proud graduates of UNC, love, and most of all it is a song about hope. I saw it last members of a tradition and curriculum dedicated to the year and have rarely stopped thinking about it since. I equity of access to both information and knowledge. The wanted to take just a few minutes with you here today to former is a pathway to the latter, and the work that is

20 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) 21 Terika McCall earns first PhD in health CHIP PhD candidates investigate a informatics from Carolina wide range of health-related topics Several PhD students in the Carolina from working as a paramedic and won The Carolina Health Informatics health services, and the feasibility of using Health Informatics Program (CHIP) Best Plenary Presentation. Program (CHIP) celebrated a significant mobile technology to deliver those services have entered the research phase of their Emily Pfaff, Administrative Director milestone this summer when Terika and other resources to help manage dissertations, and two more successfully of Informatics & Data Management at McCall became the first student to grad- anxiety and depression. She also worked defended this fall. Current research topics NC TraCS, also completed her PhD in uate with her Doctor of Philosophy in to develop and conduct usability testing include computational drug repurposing, September. Health Informatics. of a prototype mental health mobile app self-medication management through Her dissertation examined the prac- CHIP launched its PhD program in tailored to help African American women chatbots, and developing a biomedical ticality and effectiveness of using clinical the fall of 2016. Just one year later, the manage anxiety and depression. use-case library. ontologies and graph database technolo- National Institutes of Health–National Saif Khairat, McCall’s dissertation Rachel Stemerman, who successfully gies to identify patient cohorts in elec- Library of Medicine awarded a T15 Rachel Stemerman Emily Pfaff advisor and an assistant professor with defended her dissertation on Sept. 8, tronic health records. Biomedical Informatics and Data Science CHIP and the UNC School of Nursing, applied machine learning to clinical notes Pfaff, who earned her MSIS at Carolina Training Grant to CHIP Director and said McCall’s research focus was especially in the electronic records of mental health in 2011, said she was inspired to study Professor Javed Mostafa. The highly critical from a health equity perspective. and substance use disorder patients who health informatics because health and “Health care data is just about competitive award provides financial “African American women have yet to frequented emergency rooms to identify health care affect everyone. support and training opportunities for receive adequate digital mental health care, social determinants of health. “Though actual patient care is far the most interesting data you CHIP’s PhD students, as well as funding and this is what she has been working for,” A CHIP National Library of Medicine outside my expertise, applying my tech- for post-doctoral researchers. Terika McCall, PhD, MBA, MPH can work with. It’s not just Khairat said. “Her work will help bring (NLM) T-15 fellow, Stemerman presented nical skills to health informatics is my McCall, a member of the initial T15 attention to an area of research in clinical her research as a plenary speaker at the small way to contribute to high impact, cohort, said she chose the CHIP program McCall said she appreciated the guid- numbers. It represents people, medicine that is yet to be fully explored.” 2019 NLM trainee conference in India- high priority research,” she said. “Plus, because its interdisciplinary nature offered ance she received from Khairat and her McCall started a postdoctoral research napolis. Her talk, “Using Interactive Data health care data is just about the most her the chance to combine her interests in dissertation committee members, Javed in all their complexity.” fellowship in biomedical informatics Visualization to Drive Quality Improve- interesting data you can work with. It’s not public health, technology, and business. Mostafa, Todd Schwartz, and Fei Yu from and data science at Yale University this ment in Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical just numbers. It represents people, in all -Emily Pfaff, MSIS ‘11, PhD ‘20 She had previously earned a Master of UNC and Paul Fontelo from the NLM, as fall. Going forward, she said she plans Services,” reflected on her experiences their complexity.” Business Administration from Wake Forest well as the support of the CHIP admin- to continue working to find ways to use University and a Master of Public Health istrative staff, particularly CHIP PhD technology to reduce health disparities in from the University of Michigan. Program Coordinator Lindsey Womack. underserved communities. “I felt that it would be a great place for Womack said McCall’s passion, drive, CEDI Lab at SILS joins campus partners for “I would like to launch a health tech me to grow as a researcher,” she said. “I and positive attitude made working with startup that is focused on making health remember sharing my research interests her a joy. NC Pregnancy & Birth Journeys Project care more accessible and affordable,” she “The pace she set in her research with Dr. Mostafa and he was completely The Community Equity, Data & Infor- popular option for providing safer care, said. “I am a big advocate for [mobile inspired the program to grow and stretch supportive. That made me feel comfortable mation Lab (CEDI), led by SILS Assistant but not everyone has internet access, and health] interventions because I believe to meet her needs as a student,” Womack with my decision.” Professor Amelia Gibson, has teamed with little is known about how these changes the best solutions incorporate technology said. “As our first graduating doctoral McCall’s dissertation examines the the UNC Center for Maternal and Infant are working from the patient perspective, that patients can already access and need student, she helped shaped the PhD attitudes and perceptions of African Health (CMIH) for the Pregnancy and Gibson said. minimal education on how to use.” program at CHIP and we are better for it!” American women towards using mental Birth Journeys project, an interdisciplinary The U.S. is ranked #56 in the World study of maternal health care experiences Bank’s maternal mortality ratio. In the Javed Mostafa finishing term asJASIST editor in North Carolina. state of North Carolina, the maternal This fall, the project collected stories mortality rate of non-Hispanic Black Javed Mostafa, Professor and Director technology. Responding to the complex from North Carolina adults who had women is more than double the rate of of the Carolina Health Informatics nature of the field, Mostafa restructured been pregnant or given birth in the last white women, according to the United Program (CHIP), will complete his five- and expanded the editorial board to ensure 12 months. Using this information, the Health Foundation and CDC data. year term as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal coverage of expertise. His editorial team research team will disseminate accounts of “There are interpersonal and systemic of the Association for Information Science was complemented by Managing Editor what has been working well and reexamine clinical factors preventing birthing parents and Technology (JASIST) in January 2021. Julia Khanova (PhD ’13). priorities for improving health care for from achieving their health goals,” said Mostafa brought extensive editorial and In the announcement of his departure CEDI Lab Director Amelia Gibson pregnant and birthing parents across the Dr. Kristin Tully of the CMIH. “We are publishing experience when he accepted as editor, the ASIS&T Board recognized state. seeking firsthand accounts of pregnancy the role as editor in 2015. He had served Mostafa for his outreach efforts to develop “The U.S. has been in a maternal health and birth journeys in order to improve as an editorial board member of JASIST junior authors and his coverage of new crisis for a few years now,” Gibson said. care for future families.” from 2012-15 and as an associate editor for intellectual areas through special themes. “Pregnant people of color – particularly The CEDI Lab has an ongoing partner- ACM Transactions on Information Systems In addition to CHIP, Mostafa directs Black and Native women – are at especially ship with the 4th Trimester Project, which (ACM TOIS) and ACM Transactions on the Laboratory of Applied Informatics at high risk. About half of rural counties in aims to improve postpartum wellness and Internet Technology (ACM TOIT). UNC-Chapel Hill. He has a dual appoint- the United States have no obstetric care.” care. For links and more information, visit During Mostafa’s tenure, JASIST ment with SILS and the UNC School of COVID-19 has made access to care cedi.unc.edu/birthstories. maintained its reputation as the premiere Medicine, Biomedical Research Imaging Professor Javed Mostafa even more complicated. Telehealth is a journal in information science and Center.

22 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 23 Helen Tibbo receives SAA Exemplary Service Award Sayamindu Dasgupta awarded NSF grant The Society of American Archivists (SAA) “The user-based evaluation toolkits developed presented the 2020 SAA Council Exemplary by Archival Metrics and the findings generated for project to advance youth data literacy Service Award to Helen Tibbo, Alumni Distin- through the continued use of these toolkits have guished Professor at the UNC School of Infor- helped archivists make evidence-based decisions Sayamindu Dasgupta, Assistant Professor at the UNC mation and Library Science (SILS), at its annual to improve archival programs, services, and School of Information and Library Science (SILS), has meeting in August. The award recognized Tibbo resources for their users,” reads the proclamation. been awarded funding from the National Science Foun- for her work on the Archival Metrics project. Tibbo, Yakel, and Duff were also praised for dation (NSF) for a two-year project aimed at fostering Tibbo shares the honor with two other project their mentorship of junior scholars, which helped data literacies in middle-school and high-school-aged leaders, principal investigator Elizabeth Yakel of to “widen the pool of researchers who continue children. the University of Michigan and co-investigator to engage in the area of user-based evaluation The $175,000 grant is part of the NSF’s Computer and Wendy Duff of the University of Toronto. and assessment in the field.” Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Research According to the SAA award proclamation, A fellow and former president of the SAA, Initiation Initiative (CRII). Archival Metrics “set a model for the archives Tibbo has been principal investigator on several Dasgupta will lead the development of a data-focused profession to evaluate and understand the impact Institute for Museum and Library Services visual, block-based programming environment, which Professor Helen Tibbo of archives in society.” (IMLS)-funded projects that have helped define will be adjusted and improved iteratively through forma- The idea for the project emerged from the digital curation best practices, particularly for tive research studies with children. “Users, Metrics, Archives” meeting SILS hosted government and scientific research data. Most “The broad goal of this project is to discover ways in in 2004. Funded by the National Historical Publi- recently, she received IMLS funding for “Curating which we can support children in inventing and devel- Sayamindu Dasgupta cations and Records Commission (NHPRC), the Research Assets and Data using Lifecycle oping their own data tools, rather than just using them,” project resulted in several notable publications, Education: Data Management Education Tools Dasgupta said. “This process offers children opportuni- including “The Development, Testing, and Evalu- for Librarians, Archivists, & Content Creators” ties to not only develop their understanding of important ation of the Archival Metrics Toolkits” in 2010. or CRADLE, a project that funded the creation data concepts and practices, but also to recognize the “The broad goal of this project is to The award proclamation cites the project’s of the Research Data Management and Sharing ethical risks and pitfalls of data collection, access, and development of seven easy-to-use, publicly MOOC. analysis.” discover ways in which we can support available, user-based evaluation toolkits, which At Carolina, Tibbo developed the Archives The findings from the research will help the scientific children in inventing and developing help archive professionals assess online finding and Records Management (ARM) concentration community better understand what it takes to meaning- aids, repository websites, student orientations, for SILS master’s students and the Professional fully engage children in a broad spectrum of data-related their own data tools, rather than just teaching and instruction, the economic impact Science Master’s Degree in Digital Curation–the activities. Additionally, the software product and educa- of government archives, and the use of the focus first master’s degree focused on digital curation in tional materials from this project will be made publicly using them.” group method in data collection. the U.S.–which she now directs. available for learners and educators to use. The NSF funding will also support a graduate research assistant, -SILS Assistant Professor Sayamindu Dasgupta who will help develop the system. Megan Threats (PhD ’20) spotlighted by Forbes “As society and everyday lives become more data- driven and data-mediated, everyone—not just STEM In April, Forbes magazine profiled UNC During her time at SILS, Threats earned workers—needs to have some degree of fluency with School of Information and Library Science (SILS) multiple awards and honors, including the data concepts and practices,” Dasgupta said. “This student Megan Threats in an article about soon- Horizon Award from the UNC Graduate School, project seeks to find ways in which children can become to-be doctoral graduates. The story focused on Clarivate Analytical/MLA Doctoral Fellowship, prepared early on for a STEM competency that is doctoral women of color who are thriving despite Chancellor’s Doctoral Candidacy Award, Interna- becoming increasingly important.” the interruptions and disappointments caused by tional P.E.O. Scholar Award, Beta Phi Mu Eugene COVID-19. Garfield Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, and Threats’ dissertation, “Information Behaviors UNC Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Wikipedia edit-a-thon facilitators aim and Engagement Along the HIV Prevention In the fall, she joined the faculty at the School to grow more than just content and Care Continua,” examines how Black gay of Communication & Information at Rutgers and bisexual men acquire and use HIV/AIDS University-New Brunswick. She was also selected SILS Doctoral Student Laura March and Assistant information and how that motivates or deters as a REIDS Fellow in the Center for Interdis- Professor Sayamindu Dasgupta authored a paper, titled their adoption of protective and risk reduction ciplinary AIDS Research at the Yale School of “Wikipedia Edit-a-thons as Sites of Public Pedagogy,” behaviors. Public Health. Megan Threats (doi.org/10.1145/3415171) that was published in the October 2020 Proceedings of the ACM on Human- Computer Interaction. UPDATES ON SOME OTHER RECENT SILS PHD GRADS Through the analysis of interviews with 13 edit- Heejun Kim (PhD ’19) completed a post-doctoral research appointment at Drexel University before joining the a-thon facilitators, March and Dasgupta found that University of North Texas Information Science Department as an Assistant Professor. motivations for running edit-a-thons extend far beyond Anita Marie Caywood Crescenzi (PhD ’20) is an Assistant Professor in the Practice Advancement and Clinical adding content to the site or encouraging new editor Education Division of the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, with a joint appointment at SILS. participation. Personal values inspire facilitators towards broader goals, including fostering information literacy Elliott Ayers Hauser (PhD ’20) is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Information. and establishing community relationships outside Yinglong Zhang (PhD ’20) is a Quantitative User Experience Researcher at Google in San Francisco. Wikipedia. The paper also explores strategies used by organizers and challenges they face. 24 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 25 Maggie Melo awarded $715K NSF grant for Maggie Melo and Emily Roscoe research on creating more equitable makerspaces honored for teaching excellence This spring, the UNC School of Information and Library Maggie Melo, Assistant Professor at the UNC School of The research will evaluate both macro features, such as the Science (SILS) presented the 2020 Deborah Barreau Awards for Information and Library Science (SILS), has been awarded paint color of the walls, the arrangement of furniture, and the Teaching Excellence to Assistant Professor Maggie Melo and funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study organization of various tools and technologies, as well as micro Emily Roscoe (PhD ’20). Normally, the awards are conferred at how the physical and affective characteristics of makerspaces details, such as the background music, lighting, projects on commencement, but since the ceremony was postponed, Carolina encourage or inhibit participation by students from marginal- display, signage, and decorations (e.g. laser-cut Star Wars fighter Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz announced the winners via Zoom ized communities. jets hanging from the ceiling). during a special appearance at a SILS All-School meeting in April. The NSF CAREER award will provide more than $715,000 in Melo will be working closely with Carolina’s BeAM, a Melo, who was honored as a full-time faculty member, was funding over five years to support the project, titled “Equity in network of makerspaces that serves approximately 4,000 described by students as “incredibly understanding, dynamic, and the Making: Investigating Spatial Arrangements of Makerspaces students during the academic year. Through this partnership, kind” and “an excellent teacher by almost any metric.” and Their Impact on Diverse User Populations.” Melo will re-design the training curricula for staff members with One of the students who nominated her for the award praised According to Melo’s grant proposal, as makerspaces have attention to equity and inclusion. She and the BeAM team will Melo for her “passion for teaching, the subject matter, and her grown in popularity and importance at universities across the also pilot a re-designed makerspace that embodies key findings students’ learning,” as well as for her innovative approach to the U.S., educators have struggled to attract users from marginalized from the research program. classroom experience and responsiveness to students’ needs. undergraduate communities, particularly Black, Indigenous and In edition to publishing through open access venues, Melo “She works hard to decenter her own power within the class- People of Color (BIPOC). plans to circulate an open-source VR makerspace simulator for room by creating teaching exercises that value and center the Melo believes a student’s first impressions of a makerspace communities, STEM educators, and administrators to leverage learner where they are in relation to the subject being taught,” the can significantly affect their attitude and future behavior. for their own design and re-design efforts. She also intends to Maggie Melo student wrote. “She continually allows for student input in her “When you’re visiting a university makerspace, it isn’t work with BIPOC and women-owned businesses to develop the class and tailors her own lessons – sometimes in the moment – to uncommon to see students stop at the door, peer inside the necessary tools for the project. fit students’ expectations of what they will learn.” room, and within a matter of moments, walk away,” Melo said. With the NSF funding, Melo recruited SILS doctoral Another nomination commended Melo for her preparedness “This interaction may seem banal, but it has profound impli- students Kimberly Hirsh and Laura March as research assistants “When you’re visiting a university makerspace, and openness to feedback, and for her ability to create a space cations for makerspace educators as they strive to engage with for the project at the start of the fall term. where students could express themselves. All these qualities students from diverse backgrounds.” Melo joined the SILS faculty in 2018 after completing her it isn’t uncommon to see students stop at the combined make Melo a role-model for many. Through interviews, surveys, and naturalistic experiments PhD at the University of Arizona, where she co-founded and “She is a great and inspiring representation to every student, conducted in both physical and virtual reality (VR) envi- operated an R1 makerspace for over four years. door, peer inside the room, and within a matter but especially to students of color in the program,” one student ronments, Melo and her team will seek to develop a better of moments, walk away. This interaction may wrote. “She is the kind of teacher that creates those footprints understanding of the everyday life information seeking (ELIS) Learn more about the Equity in the onto the path that I want to follow because of how well she does practices that students perform when deciding whether to use a Making Project at eitm.unc.edu seem banal, but it has profound implications for her job.” STEM-rich learning environment like a makerspace. Roscoe, who received the makerspace educators as they strive to engage adjunct instructor teaching award, Pictured below, high school students who visited campus in 2018 with students from diverse backgrounds.” was lauded as “very knowledgeable through a partnership between SILS and 100 Black Men of Charlotte of information science and the law, listen to a presentation inside the BeAM (Be A Maker) Space in Murray and always extremely prepared to Hall. Throughout the tour, students glanced at decorations hanging -SILS Assistant Professor Maggie Melo answer questions about these topics from the ceiling, which included plastic tubing and laser-cut Star Wars fighters. The Equity in the Making Project led by Maggie Melo will study with poise and objectivity.” how physical characteristics, like decorations, can influence a student’s The nomination goes on to decision to engage with a makerspace. praise Roscoe’s approachable personality and positive attitude, and her efforts to make lectures engaging by relating topics to both current and historical events. That same student thanked Roscoe for Emily Roscoe, PhD ’20 helping them explore and apply to JD ’15, MPA ’12, MSLS ’12 graduate school. “She has been my north star through the application process, and for that, I’ll be eternally grateful.” In another nomination, a student applauded Roscoe’s dedica- tion to her students. “She shows her students that she genuinely cares about their professional development and overall well-being, in and outside of class,” the student wrote. “She does not give up on students. If a student is not participating in class, she finds a way to encourage them. If a student is struggling, she dedicates additional time out of her schedule to help them succeed.”

26 The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 27 Book by Sandra Hughes-Hassell offers guidance on Brian Sturm leading IMLS-funded project fostering equity through collection management to transform LIS youth services education This summer, ALA Editions published an updated and revised second edition of Collection Management for Youth by UNC Brian Sturm, Professor and Associate Services Association (YALSA) have revised School of Information and Library Science (SILS) Professor Dean for Academic Affairs at the UNC their professional competencies to include Sandra Hughes-Hassell. School of Information and Library Science youth and family engagement, cultural The book offers models and tools that will help library staff (SILS), has been awarded nearly $150,000 competency, and equity of access. They develop and maintain collections that provide equitable access to from the Institute of Museum and Library have also developed continuing educa- “Our goal is to create a all youth. To accomplish this goal, Hughes-Hassell demonstrates Services (IMLS) to help facilitate a national tion programs that focus on topics such deeper understanding of the that collection managers must be confident information guides, conversation about enhancing education as career and college readiness, media change agents, and leaders. for library professionals who intend to literacy, connected learning, and coding. youth of today, their lived Based on the latest educational theory and research, the book: serve young people. In 2019, Hughes-Hassell, Rawson, and • Presents the argument for why collection management The project will culminate in a two-day their team completed work on the IMLS- experiences, their challenges decisions and practices should focus on equity, exploring symposium where innovators, scholars, funded Project READY, an online profes- systemic inequities, educational paradigm shifts, develop- and practitioners will explore developing sional development curriculum to address and aspirations, and what that ments in the information environment, and other factors. trends in youth services in public libraries gaps in cultural competency and equity of and identify needed changes in library access among youth services librarians. means for the education of • Lays out the theoretical foundation for developing and and information science (LIS) program “These programs are incredibly valu- managing a library collection that facilitates learning, curricula. able, but they are almost always ‘opt-in’ public librarians serving youth.” supports the development of multiple literacies, and Graphic and cover image from ALA Editions. For more information and to SILS Professor Sandra Hughes-Hassell, offerings,” Sturm said. “We hope that provides equitable access to an increasingly diverse group purchase the book, visit www.alastore.ala.org. Assistant Professor Sayamindu Dasgupta, this project will spark a reevaluation and -SILS Professor Brian Sturm of young learners. and Teaching Assistant Professor Casey H. reimagination of the LIS curricula on a • Uses a learner-centered and equity perspective to cover Rawson are co-investigators for the “The national scale, so that all youth librarians core issues and criteria such as selection and removal of Future of Youth Public Librarian Educa- can begin their careers with the knowledge materials, budgeting, and cooperation among libraries. tion” project. and awareness needed to best serve their With input from a nine-member advi- communities.” • Discusses how library staff can work collaboratively to sory board, the project team will gather create policy and negotiate budgets. data on young people, analyze research and • Includes customizable tools and templates, including a recommendations from professional orga- stakeholder contact/SWOT analysis, decision-making nizations, host social media discussions, model for selecting resources, and collection development and conduct surveys of librarians and analysis worksheet. library administrators. This first phase of the project will begin the national conver- Maggie Melo co-authors book on cultivating sation about youth and youth librarians’ needs and will help shape the symposium’s inclusive, equitable makerspaces focus and discussions. “Our goal is to create a deeper under- Maggie Melo, Assistant Professor at the According to the publisher’s descrip- standing of the youth of today, their UNC School of Information and Library tion, “Makerspaces, like libraries, are lived experiences, their challenges and Science (SILS), and Jennifer Nichols, not neutral, but rather are imbued with aspirations, and what that means for the Digital Scholarship Librarian at the ideologies stemming from Silicon Valley education of public librarians serving University of Arizona, have co-authored a that consequently dictate who makes, why youth,” Sturm said. “We intend to provide new collection that captures how librar- making occurs, and what is considered a platform for youth experts and advocates ians and educators have transformed their making.” to engage in zero-based thinking, so that makerspaces in response to the constraints In their book, Melo and Nichols future curricular decisions are guided by, of the predominant “maker culture.” examine the limitations and challenges but not limited by, past directions. We wish Re-making the Library Makerspace, emerging from this brand of maker to be future-oriented and innovative in published by Litwin Books and Library culture, and highlight the critical work that our approach to education while still being Juice Press in November, offers a critical is being done to cultivate anti-oppressive, guided by the profession’s core values.” examination of library makerspaces at the inclusive and equitable making environ- Public libraries are evolving “from site of praxis: theory, reflection, and action. ments. information centers to community engage- The book is comprised of four sections: Topics explored in the book include ment centers of experiential, connected, (1) Who belongs in the makerspace? STEM-rich maker activities in public rural and informal learning,” and serving an (2) Power and Critical Theories; (3) libraries that do not rely on the costly, Cover image from Litwin Books increasingly diverse population, according Movement, Empathy, and Inclusion in high-threshold technologies often asso- and Library Juice Press. For the project’s preliminary proposal. Makerspaces; and (4) Counternarratives ciated to makerspaces and the problems additional information and to In response to these changes, the and Re-imagined Makerspaces: Policies, with representation as the sole indicator purchase the book, visit Association for Library Service to Chil- Top photo: SILS Professor Brian Sturm. Lower photos, from left: SILS faculty members litwinbooks.com/publisher/ljp. Procedures, and Culture. of success of diversity and inclusion efforts. dren (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Sandra Hughes-Hassell, Casey Rawson, and Sayamindu Dasgupta.

28 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 29 David Gotz and Ray Wang awarded grant to SILS researchers collaborate on project create integrated data visualization prototype to improve neuroscience data sharing UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) Given the significant time and resources “Not only do neuroscientists need a resource faculty members David Gotz and Yue (Ray) Wang received needed for most neuroimaging research, that is more comprehensive, but they also need over $200,000 in grant funding to develop a system that will scientists in the field could greatly benefit one that will efficiently allow them to identify allow users to bring unstructured contextual information into from reusing data collected by other scientists. the most useful datasets available, ones that structured data visualizations. Unfortunately, current databases are discon- align with their own experimental methods, The year-long project, which commenced in spring 2020, nected, incomplete, and often difficult to search. subjects, and other criteria,” said Ray Wang. is part of a collaboration between Carolina and the Laboratory Professor Arcot Rajasekar and Assistant The NeuroBridge project will develop a for Analytic Sciences at NC State University. The research is Professor Yue (Ray) Wang from the UNC user-friendly web portal, a mediator and text supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. School of Information and Library Science miner for generating metadata from databases Analysts often need to synthesize information found in (SILS) are working with researchers from across and journals, and a data bridge for processing both structured and unstructured data sources. For instance, the country to solve this problem by creating a metadata to help assign rank and relevance for social scientists may study both government data and social new data sharing infrastructure called Neuro- searches. To test the new system, the team will media posts; cyber intelligence analysts review event logs and Bridge. extend an existing collaboration with the XNAT textual reports; physicians and medical researchers examine In August, the National Institute on Drug platform on a use case of schizophrenia and health records and medical literature. David Gotz Ray Wang Arcot Rajasekar Abuse (NIDA) awarded over $432,000 in related disorders. Discoveries and insights identified through one resource funding for the project. Lei Wang of North- NeuroBridge builds on the success of two usually serve as the context for subsequent analysis within western University’s Feinberg School of previous projects, DataBridge for Neuroscience the other, but because current systems use separate tools to Medicine, Jessica Turner from Georgia State and SchizConnect. manage structured and unstructured data, analysts must University, José Luis Ambite from the Univer- transfer these contexts mentally. sity of Southern California, and Rajasekar will Gotz and Wang believe that an ideal system should offer lead the multi-site collaboration as principal a unified interface for examining and analyzing data in both investigators. “Not only do neuroscientists forms, and that a consistent analysis context should be shared The research team will include Ray Wang across resources to facilitate a fully-integrated visual data from SILS, Howard Lander and Hao Xu from need a resource that is more exploration. the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI), comprehensive, but they also They aim to make progress toward this goal with their and Daniel Marcus from Washington Univer- current project. While their work will be applicable across sity. need one that will efficiently domains, they are developing their initial prototypes and While large amounts of data are available algorithms using medical data, specifically electronic data for through different neuroimaging databases, allow them to identify the roughly 30,000 patients from the UNC Clinical Data Ware- these systems generally do not communicate house, 29 million scientific abstracts from PubMed, and over with each other. Moreover, vast amounts of most useful datasets available, 300,000 clinical trial descriptions from ClinicalTrials.gov. neuroimaging data are collected in hundreds of “We already have access to these datasets and have success- laboratories each year but not archived, though ones that align with their own fully utilized this data in prior work,” Wang said. “We hope many of these datasets are described in journal experimental methods, subjects, to demonstrate how a health analyst who has identified poor publications. These underutilized data are part outcomes in a patient population that has undergone specific of the “long tail of science.” and other criteria.” treatments can interactively merge patient data with related documents from medical literature that can either provide -SILS Assistant Professor Ray Wang support for the discovery or suggest alternative explanations.” An associate professor at SILS, Gotz also serves as Assistant Director of the Carolina Health Informatics Program (CHIP) and Director of the Visual Analysis and Communication Labo- ratory (VACLab). Wang is an assistant professor at SILS whose research focuses on developing principled interactive machine learning algorithms to minimize data scientists’ efforts in producing high-quality results.

30 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 31 Remembering Evelyn H. Daniel Evelyn H. Daniel, PhD, two Dean and Professor Emerita of the UNC School of Infor- mation and Library Science (SILS), passed away on November 24, 2019. Great Dr. Daniel was a significant leader in the field of infor- Colleagues mation and library science, rising through the ranks at Syracuse University from 1976 Visionaries to 1985 and serving as Dean from 1982-85. She arrived at UNC-Chapel Hill in 1985 Educators and served as dean until 1990, transforming SILS into the precursor to an iSchool. th Under her leadership Evelyn Daniel at the SILS 75 Friends the School’s curriculum and anniversary celebration in 2007. research broadened significantly, symbolized by a change in name from the School of Library Science to the School of Information Barbara Moran in her Manning Hall office. Teachers and Library Science and by the addition of two new degrees. Since 1998 she also was an online instructor at the University of Illinois and was the catalyst for online courses at UNC-Chapel Hill. She continued teaching and inspiring students and her Barbara Burns Moran Mentors colleagues until her passing. Dr. Barbara Burns Moran, PhD, long- After her deanship concluded, She was a remarkable scholar, adding significant models time faculty member and former dean Dr. Moran again became an active member for faculty governance and information leadership. She was of the UNC School of Information and of the SILS faculty and was named the passionate about educating students, always engaging with faculty Library Science (SILS), passed away on inaugural Louis Round Wilson Distin- Leaders on numerous scholarly topics and devoting many hours to School May 2, 2020. guished Professor. governance issues. Dr. Moran graduated from Mount Her research focused on various For her exceptional ability as an educator, she received the Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass., aspects of management including leader- Scholars SILS Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999 and again in 2009. earned an MLS from Emory University, ship, organizational structures, and career She was the recipient of the ALISE Service Award in 2000 and and a PhD from the State University of progression patterns. She authored more was given the Edward G. Holley for the Good of the Order Award New York at Buffalo. than 85 journal articles and book chapters during the 2010 Spring Commencement Ceremony. She joined the SILS faculty in 1981 and and co-authored Library and Information taught primarily in the areas of manage- Center Management, a textbook used by ment and academic librarianship. She library science programs worldwide. received the SILS Award for Teaching She retired in 2017, but stayed in close Excellence in 2003. contact with the School. Dr. Moran served as dean of the School “She truly cared about every single from 1990 to 1998, and again as interim student and colleague. I never ceased to be dean in 2009. During her tenure as dean, awed by her memory of alumni names and she enhanced technical resources, added accomplishments,” said SILS Dean Gary an undergraduate minor program, and Marchionini, who was hired by Dr. Moran. increased graduate enrollment by 32 “Barbara’s kindness and remarkable smile percent. warmed every meeting and uplifted us She expanded the international involve- even in difficult and contentious decisions. ment of SILS and began the very successful SILS is great because Barbara was at the London and Prague summer seminars, helm, whether dean or senior professor – a legacy that SILS is working to continue leading, inspiring, and nurturing each of Evelyn Daniel accepts the For the Good of the Order Award from Barbara Moran at the 2010 and expand through the Barbara B. Moran us as individuals and as a collective greater SILS Spring Commencement Ceremony. Fund for Global Programs. than the sum of its parts.”

32 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 33 In Deepest Sympathy ALUMNI PERSPECTIVES ON Helen N. Diggs of Arden, N.C. and formerly of Salt- Hill Weekly from 1923-1928, which was published by the ville, Va., died Oct. 20, 2020, at the age of 93. Chapel Hill Historical Society in 1992. Born in Saltville, she was the wife of the late Henry Among Mrs. Gambee’s interests were short story Edwin Diggs, and the daughter of the late Chester Irving writing and playing the recorder. Three of her stories and Helen Gould (Nye) Neighbours. She was preceded in were published in college magazines and she also won death by a sister, Lucille Reynolds. several awards. She belonged to the Triangle Recorder WORK Mrs. Diggs received her bachelor’s and master’s Society and the Triad Early Music Society. She was a degrees at the University of North Carolina at Chapel member of Macedonia Lutheran Church in Burlington. Hill. For several years, she was a teacher and librarian at Saltville Elementary School. She also served as librarian W. Gene Story died July 24 in Kansas City. He was LIFE & at schools in Buncombe County, N.C., Johnston County, born Aug. 1, 1931, in Wayne, Mich., and attended the N.C., Portsmouth, Va., and Chattanooga, Tenn. She was Michigan State Normal College (now EMU) and Indiana an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church while University, majoring in business and accounting. He living in Saltville, and was instrumental in the formation served in the U.S. Army in Japan during the Korean COVID of the Saltville Community Library, which later became conflict. part of the Smyth-Bland library system. He settled in Cincinnati after grad school and worked Earlier this fall, SILS Alumni Association Communications Director Jennie Goforth (MSLS ’10) asked other SILS Survivors include her sons Hank and wife Chrissie for Proctor & Gamble for 35 years, mostly as a budget graduates to share how COVID-19 had affected their professional lives. As the following edited responses of Connecticut, Whit and wife Sue of Toccoa, Ga., analyst for the packaged soap and detergent department. demonstrate, some transitions went smoother than others and much uncertainty remains. Tim and wife Julia of Houston, sister Jane Holmes of He married Joanne Geist Story in 1961. They traveled Sewanee, Tenn., five grandchildren and several nieces extensively during their marriage, beginning with a Remembering we’re only clemency” has strengthened my compas- Let the sunshine in and nephews. honeymoon in Greece, and welcomed daughter Alison in sion for our students, who are in a learning Heidi Butler (MSLS ’00), Local History More than a decade ago, Tim and wife Julia estab- 1964. They filled their lives with art, theater, symphony, human, even with all this tech curve of their own. lished the Helen Neighbours Diggs Endowment for travel, books, and lots of cooking and baking until Elisabeth Schwalbe Ball (MSLS ’91), Specialist, Capital Area District Libraries Collections Support at SILS. The SILS Library uses the Joanne’s death in 1985. Librarian, Florida State College at Sustaining students in an For the first time in literal decades, I’m not fund to acquire and preserve materials and for other Gene became a frequent guest at dinner parties hosted Jacksonville unsustainable situation working in a dusty basement or annex, areas of greatest need. by Jane Steinfirst, and at one of these gatherings he met but instead on the all-season porch of my When COVID moved us to 100% remote Kathleen Byrne Heidecker (MSLS ’96), Susan Steinfirst, a professor of children’s and young adult home where I have windows and daylight work in March, the Florida State College Assistant Professor, Library Information Ruth R. Gambee died April 24, 2020, in Burlington, literature at the UNC School of Information and Library and nature all around me. Although it at Jacksonville (FSCJ) librarians’ learning Resources HACC, Central Pennsylvania’s N.C., at the age of 102. She was the widow of Budd Leslie Science (SILS). Gene and Susan married in 1987. After is not always easy to work with archival curve in virtual steepened. LibChat screen Community College Gambee, a long-time professor at SILS and namesake of retiring from P&G, he helped Susan run her children’s sharing, Big Blue Button conferencing, materials from home (so many spread- Our department was able to pivot to the Gambee Memorial Library Fund, which supports the bookshop, and the two enjoyed a life filled with travel, WebEx integration, Canvas course embed- sheets and database cleanups) looking out remote quickly and adapt to using online SILS Library. books, art, and good food. ding were all new technologies to tackle, a window has been so helpful for keeping tools and systems because we already had Mrs. Gambee was born in Detroit, Mich., on Feb. 9, After Susan’s death in 1997, Gene established the but there was (and still is) a wonderful positive during this challenging time. been working toward efficient blended 1918, the daughter of Rev. Emil G. Richter and Martha Susan Steinfirst Memorial Lecture in Children’s Litera- “culture of clemency” when using these service. But with our college leadership Lembke Richter. She was a graduate of Wayne State ture fund at SILS to bring renowned authors, illustrators, tools. Dropped conferences, unforeseen Detouring with Dad committing to a remote work environ- University, Detroit, and received her Bachelor of Arts in and other children’s literature experts to speak in Chapel microphone and camera issues, breakout Justin Watt (MSIS ’04), Fresno, Calif. ment until mid-May 2021, the dread and Library Science from the University of Michigan, Ann Hill. He enjoyed being part of these events and especially room failures – we accept all with a sense disconnect have resurfaced. After spending the whole of 2019 on a self- Arbor. She held public library and university library posi- hosting dinner parties for the speakers and special guests. of humor and a “carry on” attitude that Students are struggling for all of funded sabbatical, I begin poking around tions in Michigan and Indiana. She was also a librarian at He remained in Carrboro, N.C., until 2015 when he liberates us from any idea of perfection. the reasons discussed in higher educa- for jobs at the end of January of this year. New York State Library, Albany, and at the West Virginia moved to Kansas City to be closer to family. In lieu of a When I hear “we’re all in this together,” tion media. Yes, we were able to send a I had a good interview in early February, Library Commission. memorial gathering, which did not seem practical even I specifically picture the FSCJ library staff student a hotspot, and another when the and then, radio silence. By the end of that During her residency in Chapel Hill from 1963 to before the pandemic because he had friends and family succeeding remotely, with some bumbles first didn’t work. The second didn’t work month it had become clear why. Four 1994, she spent 11 years as book reviewer for Library all over the world, Gene’s daughter Alison asks that and laughter along the way. This “culture of either, so now they just do all of their months later, I’d put almost 60 different Journal and did indexing of several academic publica- everyone who knew him think of Aug. 1 as “Remember plants and trees in the ground, built a tions. She also served as editor of the Index of the Chapel Gene Day.” work at someone else’s house. IT is now recalling all equipment from our adjuncts. fence, and completely overhauled our Like most community colleges, we rely on irrigation system. Thinking it was about SILS extends condolences to the family and friends of the alumni who passed away during the previous year. The adjuncts to teach, and taking back laptops, time to start looking for jobs again, I asked following were drawn from obituaries published from Nov. 1, 2019, to Nov. 1, 2020. hotspots, webcams, headsets, etc. deprives an innocent question of my 71-year-old John M. Johnson (MSLS ’67) – November 9, 2019 Margaret M. Knoerr (MSLS ’70) – February 10, 2020 them of adequate teaching tools. father in June, “Would you have hiked the Andrea L. Rohrbacher (MSLS ’90) – November 11, 2019 Alice S. Richmond (MSLS ’71) – March 16, 2020 We are working extraordinary hours Continental Divide Trail this year if not Phyllis C. Otto (MSLS ’76) – December 13, 2019 William R. Pollard (MSLS ’65) – April 1, 2020 to support students and saying yes to for the pandemic?” His answer sent me in another direction. Over the months of July, Robert D. Davis (MSLS ’71) – December 24, 2019 Jean Rhyne (MSLS ’61) – April 12, 2020 almost every request, but after two years August, and September, I supported him as Ben R. Tucker (MSLS ’59) – December 26, 2019 Naomi D. Butler (MSLS ’66) – April 18, 2020 without a COLA and a vote of no-confi- he hiked over a thousand miles from South Frances H. Hall (MSLS ’57) – January 18, 2020 Juanita D. Wilks (MSLS ’86) – May 8, 2020 dence, this is not sustainable. I work with tremendous people and we will continue Pass, Wyoming to Cuba, New Mexico Judith A. Music (MSLS ’71) – February 1, 2020 Jacksie M. Cumby (BSLS ’54) – August 6, 2020 (read more on my blog, justinsomnia.org). Connie E. Bolden (MSLS ’67) – February 6, 2020 Lucy T. Vecera (BSLS ’56) – September 25, 2020 to serve our students with joy and profes- sionalism, while encouraging each other Now I’m home again, and I’m not sure Alita R. Cooper (MSLS ’74) – February 7, 2020 what’s next. in spite of everything. Continued on page 36

34 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 35 Finding ways to train advertising plummeted early during the focus on natural and physical sciences, and ALUMNI NEWS COVID-19 lockdown. As a result, all medical professionals and epidemiologists without travel writers and editors took a temporary 30% headed our reopening task force. John E. Ulmschneider (MSLS ’81) was named the 2020 ACRL Tyler Dzuba (MSLS ’11), Manager, pay cut. This was just as I jumped from Thankfully, we’re one of the few Academic/Research Librarian of the Year. The award recognizes Learning and Organizational the editorial team to the training team, universities that have resumed in-person an outstanding member of the library profession who has made Development, DeEtta Jones & Associates resulting in some real financial chaos. It’s classes with very few cases of COVID- a significant national or international contribution to academic/ Before, 40% of my work was on the road. no fun to sign a contract for one amount 19. Students are allowed to attend research librarianship and library development. In its announce- I delivered workshops and training for of pay, and to be asked to take a large in-person or virtually for almost all ment of the award in January, the ACRL cited Ulmschneider’s many libraries (among other industries) across pay reduction about three days later. classes, which are taught Blend- achievements as Dean of Libraries and University Librarian at the continent. This lifestyle was a change And payroll got confused as well, leading Flex (in-person and remote); Virginia Commonwealth University. from my comfortable and very-much-in- to some chaos that’s only now getting most students currently attend “Ulmschneider successfully advocated for increased financial one-place librarian job, but it excited me straightened out. virtually. support, doubled professional staffing, championed diversity, John Ulmschneider and kept me connected to new skills and My point – whether you were already Classrooms have been retro- equity, and inclusion, strengthened state and regional partnerships, people every day. working from home or not, there’s no way fitted with cameras, microphones, and and created a culture of innovation at the VCU Libraries,” said Jeannette E. Pierce, Chair In March, everyone canceled or this chaos isn’t effecting you. better sound systems. Masks are required of the Academic/Research Librarian of the Year Award Committee. postponed their workshops. I didn’t really on campus, folks are mostly compliant, Whenever I end up in a tense situation Ulmschneider, a past recipient of the SILS Distinguished Alumni Award, retired from care to travel either—or spend three Home, but not alone and Public Safety enforces it well. A lot during a conference call or upon seeing a his position at VCU in June. days in a cramped conference room with Corey J. Webster (BSIS ’13), of our cool new collaboration-friendly heated email reply chain, I remind myself Julie White Walker (MSLS ’82), SILS Board of Visitors member 40 people—but with most of my small Web Developer, furniture has had to be stored for phys- that (A) I should approach the conversa- and Georgia’s State Librarian, has been elected as Vice President/ employer’s revenue coming from this Financial Independence Group ical distancing, but it’s otherwise going tion with the attitude of a mediator, and President Elect of the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies work, we needed to figure out a different As a Web Developer, I have long had the surprisingly well. (B) I should trust that things will improve (COSLA). Walker will serve as Vice President in 2020-2022 and path fast. opportunity to work from home a few days in time for everyone. It’s not easy and I President in 2022-2024. She currently serves on the board of After a brief period of flailing, we here and there. But as soon as COVID-19 Online just in time don’t always succeed in maintaining a directors and as chair of the public policy committee. COSLA is an noticed that our clients were going all in revealed itself as a worldwide pandemic, Brad San Martin (MSLS ’17), cool-head, but I do my best. Because, independent organization of the chief officers of state and territorial on online training. We had set up a few going into the office was no longer an Digital Archivist Apollo Theater what’s worse than missed deadlines or agencies responsible for statewide library development. Its purpose online programs in the past year and a budget cuts? Teammates that miscom- option. I built a workstation in my kitchen, I have been working for the past two years is to provide leadership on issues of common concern and national half: what’s a few more? By the end of municate and harbor resentment while interest, further state library agency relationships with the federal ran an ethernet cable across the room, on getting our collections digitized and Julie Walker April, I had developed six new courses, talking about missed deadlines or budget and bought monitors and accessories to searchable via a secure private web-based government and national organizations, and initiate cooperative with a few more in the hopper. Over the cuts. I also try to reach out people in my resemble my in-office setup. The biggest database platform. While I still have a lot action for the improvement of library services across the U.S. summer, I designed a flexible structure network to check in on them, whether it adjustment was not having immediate of materials to digitize, we were able to get The Georgia Public Library Service (GPLS), which Walker leads as State Librarian, for large online conversations. Now, we’re be former colleagues or classmates, to see access to a babysitter. My wife, brother, the platform online in early 2020, which won Library Journal’s 2020 Marketer of the Year honor for its work to not only promote redeveloping our most enduring in-person if they need any help with job search or life and I would have to divide our time to turned out to be incredibly fortuitous. the many services libraries offer beyond books, but also to empower individual libraries workshops as remote trainings. It’s hard in general. In times like these, a helping make sure our toddler was occupied and While most of our artifacts are in our to market their services more effectively to their own communities. work, but we’re moving forward. hand is more valuable than ever. looked after. She’s been delighted to have offices, which are currently closed, I can The Alexandria Library in Virginia, led by SILS Distinguished Remote is now the whole gig. And I so much more facetime, and luckily at her search them and review (and share) digital Alumna Rose Timmons Dawson (MSLS ’86), won the 2020 ALA still get to deliver workshops and trainings In related alumni news . . . age, she hasn’t known a world without surrogates from home, allowing me to Excellence in Library Programming Award for “We Are the to support managers and leaders, just with Leah Wright Stephenson (MSLS ’97) was masks. continue to be productive and helpful to Alexandria Library Sit-In.” The yearlong program commemorated fewer planes in between. named Educator of the Month for April the organization. Now that our program- a 1939 protest of the city’s whites-only public library. The library From virtual to flexible by Botetourt County Schools in Virginia. ming is entirely online, having access to involved family members of the protesters in planning for the Coping with cuts and chaos Sara (Thomas) Cooper (MSLS ’16), Stephenson, who also holds a degree in our library of digital videos and photos events and engaged the community through a variety of programs, Matthew Wood (MSLS ’12), Reference & Instruction Librarian, educational leadership from Virginia Tech, from anywhere has been an incredible including school visits, a yearlong film festival, anniversary week Editor and Writing Trainer, Valnet, Inc. Nova Southeastern University has been with the school system for 18 asset, and we’ve been using the materials events, posters, commemorative library cards, pins and postcards. years, first as a librarian and then in her Already working as a remote editor, not Starting in March, the entire University for education, fund-raising, and marketing The events, which also involved Alexandria city leadership, drew current role as an Instructional Tech- Rose Dawson much changed for my work, except our went virtual. Some departments had – in addition to assisting researchers, standing-room-only crowds and served as a model for program- nology Resource Teacher. In an article compensation. Valnet is a web content more difficulty with this than others, but journalists, and fans. So while my ming for other libraries across the nation, according to ALA’s award announcement. company, and the price of internet our library and specifically the reference in the Fincastle Herald, Stephenson location has changed, a lot of my job Nathaniel King (MSLS ’09), Director of Library Services at Nevada State College, department transitioned pretty seamlessly talked about the challenges that has remained the same. and his team at the college’s Marydean Martin Library, including SILS alumna Alena since we already offered a range of modal- came with the COVID-19 tran- Principato (MSLS ’17), won the 2020 ACRL Excellence in Academic Libraries Award ities for our services and use distance sition to remote schooling. “The Staying cool and for their “digital transformation and dedication to textbook affordability.” As part of the education technology regularly. technology team has been very program, librarians lead a six-week institute to support instructors as they convert their Returning to campus [this connected busy during this time, helping courses from using paid textbooks to open educational resources (OER) or library-pro- fall] was incredibly stressful Hongyi Dong (MSIS ’19), teachers, and troubleshooting vided e-books. Over two years, more than 15% of full-time instructors participated and at first, especially since UX Engineer, Evalueserve problems with hardware and software,” she said. “However, students saved nearly $600,000 on textbook costs. Florida’s state government This isn’t my first remote job, but there is nothing better than is notoriously bad at this is a first for many of my U.S. Martha Waters (MSLS ’14) had her debut novel, To Have and to Hoax, published being able to help someone anything requiring plan- and international coworkers. by Atria, a Simon & Schuster imprint, in April. The book was named a Best Romance of find a solution to their ning, funding, or limiting Both my biggest goal and chal- April by Goodreads, Popsugar, Bustle, and more. The publisher’s website calls the novel problem. That is one of the people from harming lenge have been my ability to a “fresh and hilarious historical rom-com” in which “an estranged husband and wife in reasons why I love my job.” themselves and others. But empathize with others’ difficulties Regency England feign accidents and illness in an attempt to gain attention—and maybe the University has a heavy in the midst of this pandemic. just win each other back in the process.” 36 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 37 SILS Distinguished Alumna Irene Owens (PhD ‘95) 2020 SILS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS establishes fund for diversity and global programs Established in 1981, the Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) SILS Distinguished Alumna Irene tain to climb.” At the time, she had no idea alumni who have demonstrated outstanding professional library or information science achievements at national, Owens (PhD ’95) has created a fund to where that mountain was or how best to state, or local levels, or who have provided exceptional service to SILS or its Alumni Association. Recipients are support new students of color and those climb it, but she did realize was that SILS selected by the SILS Alumni Association Board each year. interested in issues of diversity, equity, and was a great place to prepare her. Dr. Owens inclusion at the UNC School of Informa- said her doctoral studies were challenging tion and Library Science (SILS). and equally rewarding, supported by The fund will make it easier for such effective mentoring, especially that of Ed students to matriculate to SILS and enable Holley and Barbara Moran. them to engage in local, national, and Dr. Owens spent 10 years at the international programs related to their University of Texas at Austin, Graduate interests. It will also further enhance local School of Information, and was the first and global opportunities already offered African-American to receive tenure there. by SILS. She returned to North Carolina in 2005 Dr. Irene Owens Dr. Owens’ own experience with study to become Dean of the School of Library abroad at SILS inspired her gift. While and Information Science at NC Central completing her doctorate, she studied at University, a position she held until her Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. retirement in 2016. She credits her time there with helping her Her numerous accolades include the more fully understand that “information Howard University Outstanding Service and library science – at its very core and Award, the University of Texas Excellence essence – is local, national, and interna- in Teaching Award, the UNC Distin- Meredith Evans (PhD ’06) Kathryn Cole (MSLS ’07) tional, as well as interdisciplinary.” guished Alumni Award, the NCLA Library In addition to her PhD from SILS, Education Award, the Demco/BCALA Meredith Evans is Director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Kathryn Cole is the School Librarian and Media Specialist at Owens holds a BS from Barber-Scotia Award for Excellence in Librarianship, and Library and Museum in Atlanta and served as President of the Northside Elementary School in Chapel Hill, N.C. Her efforts College, an MA in Religious Studies from the National Council of Negro Women Society of American Archivists (SAA) from 2018-2020. to make the library a more inclusive space and reach students Howard University, and an MS in Library Award for Distinguished Professional Throughout her career, Evans has worked to preserve and during the summer months earned her an “I Love My Librarian Science from the University of Maryland. Achievements. expand access to collections of national importance. In her first Award” from the American Library Association in 2016. While working at Howard University, She is currently a member of the SILS professional position as an archivist, Curator of Printed Materials Cole helped establish Northside’s library when the school Dr. Owens accomplished several of her Alumni Inclusion and Diversity (SAID) for the Atlanta University Center, she collaborated on a grant to opened in 2013. When she learned that most of the underserved goals as an LIS professional, and then Committee and the SILS Campaign for digitize materials in the Morehouse College Martin Luther King students enrolled in the school were not participating in the decided that she “needed another moun- Carolina Committee. Jr. Collection. public library’s summer reading program, she won grant funding As Director of the Special Collections Research Center at to create a new joint program. George Washington University, she led the acquisition of more She opened the school library over the summer break to help than 80 years of National Education Association records and serve families that lived within walking distance of the school. more than a century of records for the International Brotherhood She made the reading program more attractive by featuring local CONNECTIONS of Teamsters. performers, including storytellers and hip-hop dancers, hosting Starting this spring, SILS Career (MSIS ’19) – who discussed their roles At UNC-Charlotte’s J. Murrey Atkins Library, she helped movie days with popcorn, and making the MakerSpace and Wii Services Coordinator Lori Haight organized with the Library of Congress’ Congres- launch an LGBTQ collection with ties to the local community and gaming systems available. and hosted a series of virtual networking sional Research Service. Marchsteiner also was instrumental in acquiring the Congressional papers of Sue Throughout the year, Cole strives to make the library a events called SILS Connections. SILS took part in the “Day in DC” event in late Myrick, who served as a U.S. Representative from 1995 to 2013. welcoming space for all students through programming and students and recent graduates had the October, which introduced students to Sofía During her time as Associate University Librarian at Wash- materials that reflect and represent a wide range of cultures and opportunity to learn from and chat with Becerra-Licha (MSLS ’12) from the Kennedy ington University in St. Louis, she helped expand the universi- experiences. “She explicitly works to be anti-racist, anti-queer- SILS alumni representing a variety of Center and Teri DeVoe (MSLS ’07) from the ty’s Documenting Ferguson digital repository, which includes phobic, anti-ableist and to provide ‘windows and mirrors’ for different backgrounds and career paths. Institute of Museum and Library Services. community members’ submissions of video and audio files from all of her students but especially for her non-white, non-male, The sessions were recorded and posted Other alumni presenters included Susan the aftermath of the death of Michael Brown in August 2014. non-cisgendered, non-abled, non-heterosexual students,” wrote to the SILS YouTube channel for anyone Perry (MSLS ’66), Lois Ireland (MSLS ’86), Evans joined the Carter Presidential Library and Museum one of the recent SILS graduates who nominated Cole for the

SILS who could not attend in person. Topics Leo Yakutis (MSIS ’91), Jason Griffey in 2015. Administered by the National Archives and Records distinguished alumni award. included preparing for career fairs, special (MSLS ’04), Samira Creel (MSIS ’04), Administration, the library maintains the records and artifacts of Cole has also been active in local, state, and national school library administration, the future of infor- Anita Jotwani (BSIS ’05), Stephen Sherman former President Jimmy Carter and his White House adminis- library conversations, presenting her work at conferences mation professions, navigating uncertainty (MSLS ’08), Alani Perry (BSIS ’11), Kate tration (1977-1981) along with materials related to his post-pres- including the North Carolina School Library Media Association and change, UX careers, and leveraging Moran (BSIS ’13, MSIS ’15), Sara Trettin idency and family. Evans and her staff coordinate exhibits and Annual Conference and the National Council of Teachers of your unique talents and connections. (MSLS ’13), Hillary Fox (MSLS ’14), programming for visitors, as well as access for researchers from English Annual Conference. One event featured four SILS alumni Brittney King (BSIS ’15), and Connor Paul around the world. She has stayed closely connected to the school librarian- – Jennifer Manning (MSLS ’91), Sundeep (BSIS ’18). Thanks to these and other SILS In 2017, Evans worked with SILS to host a special alumni ship program at SILS, collaborating with Professor Sandra Mahendra (MSLS ’10), Kathleen March- alumni who took time to help recent gradu- event at the library. She has been a member of the SILS Board of Hughes-Hassell for project-based learning opportunities, as well steiner (MSLS ’14), and Anna Groves ates contend with the challenges of 2020. Visitors since 2017 and became Chair of the board in 2020. as mentoring SILS students during field experiences.

38 UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS) The iSchool @Carolina Fall 2020 39 Nonprofit Organization US Postage PAID Chapel Hill, NC Permit 177 The School of Information and Library Science The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill CB# 3360, 100 Manning Hall Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3360

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