Conference Agenda (All times are shown in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) unless otherwise noted)

Today there is increasing emphasis on knowledge exchange (KE), the movement of knowledge and expertise amongst diverse groups to enhance research uptake, use, and impact in healthcare, government, and community settings. Library and information science (LIS) professionals are central actors in KE though community engagement, scholarly communication, literacy, and cultural heritage initiatives, but (how) is this work formally documented and evaluated? Through interviews with 24 information professionals working in varied settings, we considered how KE activities fit into the current library assessment and evaluation landscape. Using thematic analysis, we identified challenges with placing this work within current assessment practices and evaluation frameworks and showing its value, as well as a desire for alternative, more dynamic assessment and evaluation methods. We discuss these findings with respect to previous research in LIS and KE more broadly to consider professional and organizational implications.

Patron-perpetrated sexual harassment (PPSH) is a form of gender-based violence and a pervasive problem in libraries. However, contending with PPSH requires the performance of emotional labour by library workers because of workplace cultures and professional values that prioritize patron and institutional comfort. To better understand library workers’ emotional labour as they respond to PPSH, we analyzed 512 survey responses where participants shared their experiences of, their responses to, and feelings about, PPSH. Three responsive strategies emerged: acceptance, indirect refusal, or direct refusal. Overwhelmingly, library workers reported negative emotions about the incidents. Despite these negative feelings, library workers consistently responded to PPSH by performing emotional labour that upheld “polite and professional” values. Our findings raise concerning questions for the field of library and information studies about the implicit and explicit expectations placed on library workers to perform emotional labour in response to PPSH, particularly within the context of a feminized profession and with the knowledge that PPSH harms library workers. Our goal is to support library workers to “find a way to say ‘no’” to gender-based violence in the workplace.

In modern society, though public libraries must be equal and neutral “places” to address social problems such as the crisis of democracy and social isolation, it is unclear how the roles and functions of “Library as Place” appear in modern library management policies or practices. This study aimed to clarify the characteristics of public library policies in Norway and Oslo and the practices of the Oslo public library from the perspective of the “Library as Place.” Using Kawamoto and Koizumi’s (2023) model, a qualitative content analysis and case analysis were conducted of the roles and functions of “Libraries as Place” in Oslo, Norway, identifying the access to materials and information that libraries have traditionally afforded alongside the implementation of distinctive functions such as Cultural activities, Cutting edge, Improving life skills, and Meeting place as concrete practices. These functions contribute to public libraries becoming places in the heart of the community whose services are accessible to all.

Public library makerspaces are said to facilitate user empowerment, but this empowerment has yet to be fully explored in terms of how or whether it is occurring, or for whom. Libraries need to assess any processes of empowerment to evaluate their support for their users’ needs and to assess the success of their makerspace services. This paper addresses these evaluation needs by describing a checklist developed from ethnographic research in makerspaces based on Ivan Illich’s theory of “convivial tools,” which forward power to their users to decide how, why, and when to use them. This checklist translates research into practice with a tool for practitioners and researchers. It can assist librarians as they explore the impacts of their services on their communities, and can advance research about makerspaces and power for the purposes of social justice. It also offers an example of how to translate research into evaluative practice.