Search results

1 – 3 of 3
Per page
102050
Citations:
Loading...
Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 5 October 2023

Melanie Maksin and Debra J. Bucher

In describing these projects, the authors hope to encourage academic librarians and archivists to participate in, and even facilitate, similar work at their own institutions…

323

Abstract

Purpose

In describing these projects, the authors hope to encourage academic librarians and archivists to participate in, and even facilitate, similar work at their own institutions. Although both of these projects began in the library and included readings and discussions related to library and archival practices, the most generative conversations rapidly shifted from “how should the library handle these materials?” to “what might this institution do to reckon with its history?” When traditional library practices were de-centered and community perspectives were sought on the college archive, the authors were able to have more inclusive, authentic conversations about the college's history and future.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study explores two projects undertaken at a liberal arts college: a working group and a credit-bearing course intended to reckon with racist, xenophobic or otherwise harmful materials in the college archive. Both projects were informed by the authors' engagement with Tema Okun's White Supremacy Culture and guided by inclusive pedagogies and practices that participants had explored in workshops and within the context of the college's Engaged Pluralism Initiative.

Findings

The working group and the course underscore the centrality of relationships, trust-building and time to the work of addressing difficult histories. The “campus-wide conversations” the authors had hoped to have about the college archive evolved into smaller spaces developed with intention and care. The diverse perspectives of working group members and students in the course demonstrate the value of bringing together viewpoints from outside the library and beyond institutional or disciplinary silos, to consider far-reaching systemic issues.

Practical implications

Many US colleges and universities have begun, or will begin, to investigate the myriad ways in which racism, racial exclusion, or racial violence have marked their institutions and how these troubled legacies persist in the present day. This case study proposes possible approaches that academic libraries and librarians may take to contribute to this essential work.

Originality/value

These two projects propose that work that typically happens solely within libraries and archives (cataloging and description of potentially harmful materials) or within institutional or disciplinary silos (reckoning with legacies of racism and bias) can be discussed, debated, and shared among the campus community. All of the participants in the working group and the course, regardless of their title, role, or academic credentials, bring necessary expertise and experience to these projects. Inclusive practices, when paired with grassroots energy, suggest ways in which a college archive can be used as a site of evidence, reflection, interrogation, and repair.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 52 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Access Restricted. View access options
Book part
Publication date: 30 November 2006

Daphnée Rentfrow

Writing in 1995, what seems from our vantage point an almost primitive moment in technological evolution, hypertext theorist, and fiction writer Catherine Marshall, with her…

Abstract

Writing in 1995, what seems from our vantage point an almost primitive moment in technological evolution, hypertext theorist, and fiction writer Catherine Marshall, with her colleague David Levy, presciently described modern libraries;The academic and public libraries most of us have grown up with are the products of innovation begun approximately 150 years ago. We would find libraries that existed prior to that time largely unrecognizable. It is certain that the introduction of digital technologies will again transform libraries, possibly beyond recognition by transforming the mix of materials in their collections and the methods by which these materials are maintained and used. But the better word for these evolving institutions is “libraries,” not digital libraries, for ultimately what must be preserved is the heterogeneity of materials and practices. As library materials and practices of the past have been diverse—more diverse than idealized accounts allow—so they no doubt will remain in the future (Levy and Marshall, 1995, p. 77).By reminding us that libraries were always much more than repositories of collated pages of print, Levy and Marshall highlight the characteristics of modern libraries that mark them not as something new and different, but as something wholly in keeping with the diversity of “traditional” library holdings. “Our idealized image of a library imbues it with qualities of fixity and permanence. This is hardly surprising, since the library is considered to be the Home of the Book, and books are by and large one of the more fixed, more permanent types of documents,” the authors write, but “libraries have always contained materials other than books. Special collections and archives are filled with unbound and handwritten ephemera—correspondence, photographs, and so on … [And] traditional libraries have long contained a diversity of technologies and media; today these include film and video, microfilm and microfiche, vellum and papyrus” (p.77). Now that libraries contain various forms of digital media as standard parts of their collections (electronic journals, electronic catalogs, digital images, digitized sound files), the distinction between “traditional” and “digital” libraries has lost much of its original use, and so has the distinction between traditional and new types of librarians, the stewards of the libraries in any and all forms.

Details

Advances in Librarianship
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-007-4

Access Restricted. View access options
Article
Publication date: 26 November 2024

Asif Muhammad and Samia Ayyub

There is a growing demand for healthy food across multicultural societies, and there are few exploratory studies that examined the motivations behind healthy eating. The purpose…

41

Abstract

Purpose

There is a growing demand for healthy food across multicultural societies, and there are few exploratory studies that examined the motivations behind healthy eating. The purpose of this study is to explore the motives and understand the perceptions of healthy eating and how the online community conceptualizes their healthy eating.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were collected from the online community, such as posts and comments on YouTube channels, Facebook, Twitter and blogs using the hashtags (#healthyeating, #healthylifestyle, #foodforyourhealth, #culinarymedicine, #functionalfood and #nutrition). Content related to healthy eating was transcribed manually. Consumer motives regarding healthy food choices were explored using qualitative data analysis software using thematic analysis and applying Kozinet’s steps for data analysis. By examining communication on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and blogs, this online study will help us to understand the motives behind healthy food choices.

Findings

Respondents appeared to rate food goods’ healthiness on a spectrum. Healthy eating can be conceptualized at both the concrete and abstract representation levels. The themes that emerged through thematic analysis were healthy lifestyles, culinary medicine and the perceived benefits of food.

Practical implications

This study will guide policymakers and marketers of food products on how to develop strategies while making food products for multicultural societies. Social networking platforms are used to disseminate information on healthy eating to the online community.

Originality/value

The results that were found express the need for healthy food as well as health-related problems and diseases, and they reflect subjects of interest. Social networking sites give healthcare professionals a forum to interact with and educate the online community about nutrition and health. A health care provider can actively participate in online discussion to establish rapport, respond to questions and serve as a reliable source of factual information.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 127 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

1 – 3 of 3
Per page
102050