University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Library and Information Science Program

Category: Announcements

  • LIS Celebrates our 60th Anniversary!

    LIS Celebrates our 60th Anniversary!

    Aloha kākou! In honor of our program’s 60th anniversary, Governor Josh Green, M.D., proclaimed November 16-22, 2025, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library & Information Science Program Week in Hawaiʻi. To students, alumni, staff, faculty and the Hawaiʻi LIS community past, present and future, this is your celebration too. We have the deepest respect for all the work you do, and we’re honored to have been part of the LIS community for 60 years!

    To start the week, we held an informal gathering in the LIS space in Hamilton Library where current students mingled with alumni from as far back as the 1960s, and enjoyed food, conversation and slideshows of decades of LIS photographs from Dr. Wertheimer’s collection!

    The LIS Program was established in 1965 under the deanship of Dr. Ralph R. Shaw, and has maintained full accreditation status through the American Library Association for 60 years, graduating 1,841 students who now serve in public, school, academic and special libraries, as well as museums and archives in Hawai‘i, the continental United States and around the world. LIS graduates constitute approximately two-thirds of the professional workforce for librarians, archivists and other information professionals in the Hawai‘i, and we continue to evolve our curriculum and student experience to prepare our graduates to become compassionate, effective and reflective information professionals.

    LIS is one of five Programs within the newly formed School of Communication and Information, in the College of Social Sciences. Our mission is to educate leaders in the information professions. Through research, teaching and service, we contribute to knowledge, solve problems and prepare individuals to thrive in diverse information environments, with an emphasis on Hawaiʻi and the Asia-Pacific region. Our values guide our activities, priorities and interactions, and reflect those of the State of Hawaiʻi and University of Hawaiʻi. We honor and strive to continuously deepen our understanding and practice of the Native Hawaiian values embedded in the concepts of aloha, ʻohana and kuleana.

    In Governor Green’s proclamation, he “encourage[s] all residents to join in celebrating the 60th anniversary of the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoaʻs Library and Information Science Program. Mahalo to the faculty, staff, students and graduates for all you have and continue to do to bring the guiding principles of aloha, ʻohana and kuleana to the people of Hawaiʻi.”

  • Announcing the 2024-2025 Blair Award Recipients

    Announcing the 2024-2025 Blair Award Recipients

    LIS students Kerri Glickstein, Serina Kerbaugh, and Keeley Terpstra have been selected as the Fall 2024 recipients of the Robert and Rita Blair Memorial Award, and Rachel Jacobson and Brooke Jones were selected as the Spring 2025 recipients. This award is presented to graduating students who show special promise in providing library services to children and youth. The LIS faculty select awardees based on high academic standing and strong evidence of professional leadership. 

    For a course project, Glickstein and Terpstra collaborated to create maker kits for the Lānaʻi Public & School Library. A resident of Lānaʻi, Glickstein observed the lack of craft stores and places to buy greeting cards. Terpstra researched best practices for maker kits, Glickstein partnered with the Maui Friends of the Library to cover supplies, and together they produced kits for the community to make greeting cards, origami, and crochet projects as well as explore engineering concepts using Snap Circuits. In her ePortfolio Glickstein remarked that the Maker Kits are “still being used regularly, especially by students in the upper elementary and middle school grades.” 

    Kerbaugh completed a school library practicum at Likelike Elementary School and an internship at Waiʻanae Public Library. She also volunteered for several LIS and school library projects, such as serving as a tour guide for library club students from Honouliuli Middle School on their visit to the UH Mānoa Hamilton Library. Kerbaugh reflected, “Receiving this award is a welcome reminder of how much I love helping and working with younger people. I feel inspired to continue this important work and create engaging, accessible, and inclusive library spaces.” 

    In their academic journey, Terpstra developed resources to enrich the reading experiences for children and tweens. They collaborated with Dianne Pang, librarian at Kaimuki Middle School, to expand Pang’s collection of Hawaiian and LGBTQ+ materials for this age group. In another course, they devised a unique pathfinder of recipe books for youngsters that included a section inspired by literature. Their projects reflect both creativity and resourcefulness. As they move forward, Terpstra wants to support the inclusion of indigenous knowledge within library collections. They state: “Being a librarian is not just about managing information; it is about fostering relationships, understanding community needs, and advocating for those who have been, and continue to be, sidelined.”

    As a student, Jones was an active member of the Hawaiʻi Library Association (HLA) Advocacy Committee. Jones was instrumental in spearheading the inaugural Hawaiʻi Love My Library Day in 2023. As the event co-chair, she played a pivotal role in developing this new event, aimed at raising awareness about the importance of libraries across the state of Hawaiʻi, featuring sign-waving, activities for families, and raffle prizes from local companies. Jones also completed an internship at Pearl City Public Library where she focused on children’s services, offering storytime programs and assisting patrons at the children’s reference desk.

    Jacobson was also an active student member of the HLA Advocacy Committee, and organized the second Love My Library Day in 2024. In this role she coordinated volunteers, fundraised, publicized the event, and even emceed it. In reflecting on this experience in her ePortfolio, Jacobson remarks, “This experience not only provided an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with an amazing group of librarians, but also offered firsthand insight into the intricacies of event planning and volunteer management.” Jacobson also gained further practical experience during her practicum at Ahuimanu Elementary School where she designed and delivered information literacy instruction, created book displays to promote a love for reading, and supported collection development. 

  • HTSB Continuing State Approval for Library and Information Science Program

    HTSB Continuing State Approval for Library and Information Science Program

    School Librarian Preparation Program – continued state approval – News release – April 2024

    The Hawaiʻi Teacher Standards Board (HTSB) granted continued state approval to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library and Information Science (LIS) Educator Preparation Program (EPP) for School Librarians from 2024-2031. Representatives of the HTSB participated in the American Library Association (ALA) reaccreditation of the LIS Program, and renewed state approval of the school librarian preparation program in a parallel process.

    HTSB Executive Director Felicia Villalobos remarked, “HTSB was impressed with the rigorous accreditation process with experts from the ALA. During the accreditation process, the LIS faculty and students provided multiple examples illustrating the important role school librarians play within their community. The design of the Library and Information Science Program supports school librarians throughout the State of Hawaiʻi and emphasizes how school librarians play an active role when it comes to community engagement and cultural preservation.”

    LIS graduates who hold a Hawaiʻi teaching license and undertake a specialized program of study earn an additional School Librarian (K-6, K-12, 6-12) license. Meera Garud, instructor and coordinator for the School Librarian EPP, said “Our students join our program eager to spark curiosity and foster a love of reading and learning. By the time they graduate they gain the skills, experience, and confidence needed to build dynamic school library programs. Their joy for learning is contagious.”

    The LIS School Librarian EPP is the only state-approved preparation program for school librarian licensure in Hawaiʻi. LIS alumni make up 95% of the approximately 63 licensed public school librarians in Hawaiʻi and often receive recognition for their significant role in creating high-quality inquiry learning experiences throughout the state. Alumna Laurel Oshiro, librarian at Sacred Hearts Academy Elementary Library, has served as a cooperating librarian for the program and was named “Teacher of the Year” by Hawai‘i Catholic Schools in 2020, a 2019 recipient for the Hawaiʻi Association of School Librarians Golden Key Award, and was a 2017 recipient of the Making IT Happen Award by the Hawaii Society for Technology in Education. Oshiro remarks, “Being a cooperating librarian offers the opportunity to share your experience and knowledge, fostering personal growth and development in others while also gaining fresh perspectives and a sense of fulfillment from seeing those you mentor succeed.”

    Alumni have also been nationally recognized for their work, with sixteen holding current National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) licenses in Library Media. Two of these, Carolyn Kirio and Diane Mokuau, serve as National Board Professional Learning Facilitators who annually train cohorts of teachers on the certification process from all over the state. In 2021, Mokuau was named “School Librarian of the Year” by School Library Journal, and Michelle Carlson, another NBCT and LIS alumna, received this recognition in 2014. In 2016, Kirio was also selected by The White House as a great educator and honored at a Washington DC ceremony. As we celebrate the ongoing approval of the LIS School Librarian EPP, we are reminded of the profound impact our alumni continue to make by enriching the minds of students across Hawaiʻi.

    *************
    The LIS Program is part of the School of Communication and Information within the College of Social Sciences. LIS was established in 1965, and has been continuously accredited by the American Library Association since 1967.

  • So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (by Cheri Ebisu)

    So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (by Cheri Ebisu)

    Numerous faculty asked if I wanted them write a post for my departure as Program Coordinator and I felt bad about asking them to do more work, but what they also didn’t know is that they have already given me too much power and all I sow is chaos carefully crafted as normalcy. I might as well wield this power one last time on our website (newly updated and designed by current LIS student, Michelle Carino!)

    My experience as PC in the last several years? 10/10, would recommend. Thank you for letting me be your cheerleader, chocolate-supplier, unqualified tech support, anxious instructor, and that annoying presence in your inboxes, you know, the one with all the frogs.

    If my only legacy is an actual LIS frog mascot, I would be so honored. Don’t let the dream die in my absence. Do not let the LIS frog go gentle into that good night.

    My Work Dad, Rich Gazan, has always encouraged me to post updates on some cool stuff I’ve been doing outside of LIS, but I screeched like a panicked pterodactyl every time, and though that has not deterred him thus far, he has suggested it one last time. And who am I to deny my overlord, on this, my last day?

    So, anyway, I published a short story with Tor.Com last year, entitled “Blood in the Thread.” That was pretty nuts and lots of nice people read it! It is now in two Best Of 2021 anthologies, one with Tor.Com and another with Neon Hemlock. Radical.

    Another short story, “Monsters Calling Home” found a place in a horror anthology, What One Wouldn’t Do, edited by Scott J. Moses, which became a whole physical book that you can buy. Wild!

    I somehow got a literary agent through all of this, which also seems like a prolonged hallucination and yet it continues to be so in reality. The good news is this has enabled me to work on two short novellas (one a botanical space horror, the other a queer, mecha Urashima Taro retelling), and a whole mess of a novel that will be something, someday, maybe. The bad news is that to do dangerous things like follow my dreams or whatever, I have to give up this crazy rewarding job with LIS.

    Thanks for letting me run around asking questions, sharing questionable YouTube videos, learning a bunch of stuff about the UH System (a never-ending labyrinth), doing a bunch of things as the Kid Behind the Curtain, teaching a class (haha, whose idea was that?), and basically having fun for the past four years. It’s been a really good time.

    Thus, in the immortal words of Douglas Adams: So long, and thanks for all the fish.

     

  • Jason Ford defends thesis “Indigenous Voices Informing Academic Information Literacy: Critical Discourses, Relationality, and Indigeneity for the Good of the Whole”

    The LIS Program is pleased to announce that Jason Ford successfully defended his thesis on how Indigenous research methodologies can better inform information literacy. His abstract follows:
    Instructional librarianship in public post-secondary institutions requires that librarians be responsive to a diversity of paradigms and student needs, including Indigenous contexts. Although constrained by institutional infrastructures, Indigenous research methodologies and epistemologies provide frameworks for Indigenous students and librarians to practice and support inquiry in ways that are responsive to their culturally- specific needs. Currently, research in library and information science about how Indigenous research methodologies and epistemologies can support academic librarianship is limited, especially concerning how Indigenous voices can inform information literacy as a whole. Using semi-structured interviews, 4 Indigenous LIS and academic professionals and an Apache-Comanche elder were interviewed to better understand how Indigenous voices can inform information literacy in the public academy. Responses were coded using thematic analysis, and results demonstrate that Indigenous voices can inform information literacy in consideration of relevancy, value neutrality, positionality, through being critical of hegemonic infrastructures including technology, prioritizing native voices, and centering relationality. This has implications in strategic planning, curriculum development, and informing social paradigms that support Indigenous people in post-secondary education while addressing modern issues for the good of the whole.
    Committee: Tonia Sutherland (Chair), Meera Garud, Keahiahi LongCongratulations, Jason!

  • LIS Invites Applications for Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellowship

    LIS Invites Applications for Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellowship

    The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library & Information Science Program invites applications for one (1) paid fellowship to run from August 2022 through May 2023. This IMLS grant-supported fellowship is for students with a demonstrated interest in audio and visual media archives. The fellow will engage in the digital preservation of public media collections held at ʻUluʻulu: The Henry Ku‘ualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawaiʻi at the University of Hawaiʻi-West Oahu, using equipment that is located in ʻUluʻulu.

    • Each fellow will receive a stipend for their work over the course of the fellowship, at the rate of $23/hour for $5,152 per semester
    • Fellows are expected to work 16 hours/week on the fellowship over fourteen weeks in the Fall and fourteen weeks in the Spring semester, for a total of 224 hours per semester.
    • This an in-person fellowship and includes an archivist mentor and a faculty advisor. The weekly fellowship work site is at ʻUluʻulu.
    • The fellowship will begin with a three-day, in-person Immersion Training, with all travel costs covered and organized by the fellowship. Dates, locations, and schedule for the Immersion Training will be finalized by May 2022.
    • Fellows will receive travel funding to attend the AMIA 2022 Fall Conference.
    • Prior to the start of the fellowship, fellows will be included in a series of free educational webinars over the summer of 2022 to provide basic training in audiovisual preservation concepts.
    • Fellow will inventory, assess, digitize, create metadata records, and submit materials to the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Fellows may also create manuals, blog posts, workshops, and conference presentations.

    Eligibility Requirements:

    • Applicants must be students in the UH Mānoa Master of Library & Information Science Program at the time of appointment and must have a demonstrated interest in archives, preservation, and/or broadcast media
    • Must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher
    • Be able to attend a three-day immersive training out of state (fully funded)
    • Students from historically marginalized communities are especially encouraged to apply

    Submission Requirements:

    • Statement (no more than 2 pages) that addresses the class taken and/or work experience that shows your interest in working with AV materials and digital preservation; and reason for interest in the Fellowship, especially work and/or experience with Hawaiian materials or communities
    • Please submit all application materials to Dr. Rich Gazan (gazan@hawaii.edu) by April 22, 2022.

    This is an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant awarded to WGBH (GBH) Educational Foundation in Boston for the Public Broadcasting Preservation Fellowship. The UH Manoa LIS program is one of several project partner programs around the country.

  • LIS Adjunct Faculty Stasha Gardasevic receives Dan J. Wedemeyer Excellence in Teaching Award

    LIS Adjunct Faculty Stasha Gardasevic receives Dan J. Wedemeyer Excellence in Teaching Award

    Congratulations to CIS Doctoral Candidate & LIS Adjunct Faculty Stanislava (Stasha) Gardasevic, this year’s recipient of the Dan J. Wedemeyer Excellence in Teaching Award administered by Graduate Division!

    This award honors a doctoral student who has demonstrated outstanding teaching skill and concern for student learning. The award is named in honor of the late Emeritus Professor Dan J. Wedemeyer, who served as a mentor and model for excellence in teaching for hundreds of graduate students over the course of his career in the School of Communications and the Interdisciplinary PhD Program in Communication and Information Sciences. [Link]

    Stasha offers LIS 672 Technology for Libraries & Information Centers and 676 Creating Digital Libraries, as well as occasional electives such as LIS 693 International Librarianship, every year. She is a valuable adjunct faculty and a great supporter to the LIS Program. Congratulations again, Stasha!

  • A Note from the LIS Chair Regarding Reorganization Discussions

    A Note from the LIS Chair Regarding Reorganization Discussions

    To our students, alumni, friends and supporters,
    You may have seen Provost Bruno’s message to the campus today about reorganization discussions.  The part of the proposal that involves us is to move LIS from the Information & Computer Sciences Department in the College of Natural Sciences to a new unit, tentatively called the School of Communication & Information Science, in the College of Social Sciences.
    While details and timelines are not yet known, the LIS faculty and staff support this proposal in general terms, and both our current and prospective Deans support it as well.  We’ve advocated for the staffing, support and autonomy necessary for us to maintain our status as an accredited LIS Program regardless of where we are administratively, and our voice has been heard–Dean Konan and President Lassner have each contacted us directly, and they’re specifically interested in the value we can bring to a new School.
    We’re genuinely excited for the opportunities a new School could create for crossover classes in related social science areas, though our excitement is tempered a bit out of sensitivity to the uncertain situations of other folks.  Still, we’re already seeing points of alignment between the College of Social Sciences and the social mission LIS has always had, and the CSS Dean’s experience supporting other accredited programs gives us confidence that we can maintain who we are, and still have room and support to grow.
    We’ll keep you informed as discussions continue.
    Thank you,
    Rich Gazan
    Library & Information Science Program Chair
  • Tenure & Promotion for Dr. Irvin

    Tenure & Promotion for Dr. Irvin

    Congratulations to Dr. Vanessa Irvin for her recent tenure approval and promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor! 

    Dr. Irvin is the lead advisor for our Public Librarianship Pathway and is currently Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Information, Diversity & Inclusion. She is also Principal Investigator for the Hui ‘Ekolu grant project and mentor for the LIS Diversity Club. You can read more about her at her website.

    We’re very proud of all Dr. Irvin has done and continues to do for our Program!

  • UHM LIS Program Statement in Response to Recent Global Protests

    UHM LIS Program Statement in Response to Recent Global Protests

    UHM LIS PROGRAM STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO RECENT GLOBAL PROTESTS
    June 4, 2020

    Aloha UHM LIS ‘Ohana,

    The current events pertaining to the senseless and racist killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery (among others) alongside revelations about the unequal impact of COVID-19 on Black, Indigenous, Asian, and Latinx communities has exposed two pandemics, both undergirded by systematic and structural racism not just within American society, but worldwide. These recent events undoubtedly have us all feeling anxiety, dismay, frustration, and rage. They have also given us countless examples of people coming together to work for needed change.

    We in the UHM LIS Program believe that libraries and archives help create a better and more equitable world. With that in mind, it is critical for us to affirm our similarities and embrace our differences and to continue to support an ethic that centers anti-racism and freedom from oppression within a framework of empathy and care. We, the faculty and staff of the LIS Program, stand by our practice of fostering an inclusive environment that encourages a plurality of perspectives and recognizes a plurality of experiences. That said, we’d like to remind you of the following statement from our Program website:

    • We understand that we all have lives and commitments beyond the LIS Program.  We prioritize mutual flexibility and understanding when situations arise that impact course content, assignments and modes of delivery.  Whatever happens, we communicate, and work together to find a way.
    • We encourage students, staff and faculty to put work on pause when needed to prioritize our families, our communities and ourselves, as long as we communicate those boundaries to other people, so we can all work together effectively.

    As the summer session progresses, we must continue demonstrating our sensitivity, understanding, and compassion towards one another, giving gentle consideration to students and instructors alike who may be deeply impacted in various ways by violence, racism, and COVID-19. Let’s all be mindful to give people the time and space they need; educating yourself about why they need that consideration. This level of patience is a vital part of being a compassionate, reflective professional. Creating and participating in environments built on mutual support and understanding is also something that you will find valuable throughout your career as an informational professional.

    We appreciate your understanding, empathy, and spirit of collaboration as part of the UHM LIS community. Feel free to contact any of us if we can be of help.

    Mahalo,
    UHM LIS Program Faculty and Staff

    Resources for your reference:

  • Introducing the New LIS Logo!

    Introducing the New LIS Logo!

    This semester, the LIS Program teamed up with Graphic Design Professor Chae Lee Ho’s senior seminar class of nine students to redesign the LIS Program’s logo. After much time and effort on the students’ part, we have decided on Jana Sasaki’s design:

    The new logo uses navigation and wayfinding as its main theme, with an abstracted open book as the background. Above all, this design emphasizes unity, teamwork, and forward momentum. We will be rolling out a new website and social media design, as well as LIS swag, using the new logo during Summer 2020.

    To learn more about Jana’s inspiration and alternate designs, please feel free to take a look at her final presentation for our Logo Committee.

    Thank you to Chae and all his senior seminar students. We couldn’t be happier to have this new symbol of our identity.

  • Update: Working Together at a Distance

    Update: Working Together at a Distance

    The LIS Faculty & Staff wish to acknowledge your patience and understanding as we have all dealt with changes taking place to both our Program and University during the COVID-19 crisis. We offer the following statement to you all in hopes that we can continue working together to weather the changes while continuing to provide you the education and support necessary to become library and information science professionals.

    Oʻahu is known as The Gathering Place, and for over 55 years, community and connection have been at the center of the LIS Program.  While our program was not designed to be fully online, when the best thing for everyone is for us to work together at a distance, here’s what you can expect:

    • We will give you the resources and support to develop professional LIS skills and perspectives that can be learned and practiced in both online and in-person information environments.
    • We will create opportunities in coursework for you to use your skills to help people and communities.  Even in an online environment, reference, research, cataloging, digital content management, creating quality informational content and helping people learn to access resources are all very much needed.  We encourage you to actively identify people, organizations and communities you’d like to help, and work with your instructors to find ways to direct your coursework accordingly.
    • We will create opportunities in coursework for you to interact with other students formally and informally, and build relationships that are an important part of the LIS experience.
    • We will ask you to document how you have developed and applied your skills as professionals do: in formal papers, presentations and reports, but also in informal posts, community engagement projects, and other artifacts and reflections.
    • We will communicate regularly and provide individual attention and timely feedback.
    • When we return to a face-to-face or hybrid learning environment, we will reconfigure our classrooms and common areas to maximize personal space, and to maximize engagement with those working at a distance.
    • We understand that we all have lives and commitments beyond the LIS Program.  We prioritize mutual flexibility and understanding when situations arise that impact course content, assignments and modes of delivery.  Whatever happens, we communicate, and work together to find a way.
    • We encourage students, staff and faculty to put work on pause when needed to prioritize our families, our communities and ourselves, as long as we communicate those boundaries to other people, so we can all work together effectively.

    Please contact your faculty advisor or the Program Coordinator (lisstaff@hawaii.edu) for questions, concerns, and/or special requests during this crisis. We will get through this together.

    Update for Fall 2020: If you do not have a laptop or reliable wi-fi at home, please contact Cheri (lisstaff@hawaii.edu) for more information about procuring one or both through ICS funds.

  • Diane Mokuau Receives HSTA Award

    Diane Mokuau Receives HSTA Award

    Diane Mokuau, librarian at Molokai High and Intermediate, received the 2019 S.T.A.C.Y. Award for Teaching Excellence from the Hawaii State Teachers Association (HSTA). She is a 1998 alumna of the LIS program. The S.T.A.C.Y. Award for Teaching Excellence was established to celebrate the outstanding work of the late Stacy Nishina, a public school teacher, longtime HSTA staff member and supporter of all HSTA state candidates for the NEA Foundation Awards for Teaching Excellence. The award was announced on April 13 at the HSTA’s state convention at the Hawai‘i Convention Center. With this award, Diane becomes HSTA’s nominee for the NEA Foundation’s 2020 Horace Mann Award for Teaching Excellence and NEA Member Benefits Award.

    Diane has lived on Molokai for nearly 30 years and, according to HSTA Vice President Osa Tui Jr., she has been instrumental in shaping the island’s learning environment. A national board-certified teacher as well as librarian, Diane has been at Molokai High for 15 years and has earned an impressive reputation as an unwavering advocate for her community and for educators statewide. In introducing Diane, Tui said:

    With her skills honed over the years, Diane has put her organizing into action for her community. She also advocates for non-classroom teachers and rural school faculties and the challenges faced by both of those constituencies. She has worked hard to ensure that her library is well utilized, often operating at maximum capacity. Her acquisitions over the years of various technology and customized resources help to ensure that student literacy is improved and sustained and can target all levels of students throughout her school.

    Among her achievements: Diane jointly wrote a five-year, $1 million grant to develop the Molokai LIVE 21st Century Community Learning Center that provides homework assistance and enrichment activities for middle and high school students. She also serves as secretary of the HSTA’s Molokai chapter. In 2016, the Hawaii Association of School Librarians recognized Diane with the Golden Key Award for her outstanding work in school libraries.

  • Aloha Christian!

    Aloha Christian!

    by Gregory Stock, LIS graduate student

    Four years ago, Christian DeLay began serving as the Program Coordinator of the UH Mānoa Library and Information Science Program, but he recently announced that this coming December he will be resigning and moving back to California. While students and faculty of the LIS Program at UH are grieving over our beloved Christian’s impending departure, we congratulate him on his next steps and we certainly have much to thank him for regarding his positive contributions to our program. Christian’s husband has been offered an excellent professional opportunity in the field of programming in the San Jose area, and they have decided to accept the job. This offers the couple the opportunity to once again live in closer proximity to their respective families, since both men have West Coast roots.

    As a native of California, Christian went to college in the nearby Pacific Northwest at the University of Oregon in Eugene, where he studied Telecommunications & Film. His professional career prior to librarianship was in the dot-com industry, where his main areas of service and expertise were in technical writing and customer service. Not long after the dot-com bubble burst circa 2000, Christian and his husband made their way to Hawai‘i. Christian is himself a graduate of the UH LIS program, and he completed his coursework in 2006. Prior to accepting the position of Program Coordinator with UH LIS in 2014, he worked as a librarian at Kapi‘olani Community College, Golden Gate University in San Francisco, and Chaminade University of Honolulu.

    So why are LIS students and faculty grieving so much over Christian’s departure, and what are the reasons for his legendary status in our program? To answer these questions, I thought that it would be best to interview some faculty and students. Dr. Rich Gazan, the current Program Chair of the LIS program, had the following words to say: “Christian turns chaos into order, panic into calm, questions into answers, and students into professionals. Whether via email, emoji or eye twitch, he communicates and connects people masterfully, with or without chocolate. He has been the heartbeat of the LIS Program, and we love him.”

    Other faculty suggest that he has both streamlined the system and organized the student records during his tenure, and that he is a consistently patient, kind, knowledgeable, professional, humorous, and positive resource for students. It also doesn’t hurt that he keeps a bowl full of chocolates near his desk for all to sample, and there always seems to be a line of people waiting to ask him a question for which no one else seems to know the answer. Dr Andrew Wertheimer, who was also one of Christian’s professors in our program, had the following tribute: “We’ve been so fortunate to have Christian running the show for the past few years. Of course, I’m partial since I remember him as one of my students, but more importantly he really has passion to serve students and try to create an ʻohana atmosphere in the LIS Program. He believes in the possibility of information professionals and always advocates for students to do the best they can do. Obviously we’ll really miss him.”

    Students of the LIS program speak just as glowingly of Christian. Cheri Ebisu, the current President of our LIS student organization Hui Dui, said: “Christian is and has been the backbone of this department. He is the first voice with which new students come in contact with when applying to the LIS program, and he provides a constant touchstone throughout each student’s progression. His frankly terrifying amount of knowledge of UH policies and procedures is tempered by his quick wit and constant search for chocolate.”

    I can vouch for Cheri’s words, since I regularly stop by his office with questions, to share a joke, or just to enjoy some chocolate. Although he is always multitasking and busy, I have never seen Christian tense or short with people. He is consistently warm and friendly, and I have never asked him a question to which he did not know (or find) the answer. Christian says that when he accepted this job at UH, Dr. Gazan instructed him that his first priority should always be the students, and Christian certainly seems to have followed those instructions to a tee.

    When I asked Christian if he had any parting words of wisdom and/or advice for current and future librarians, he did not hesitate with an answer: he encouraged us to always be willing to mentor and teach, particularly for the fresh perspective and the learning opportunities that one derives from both teaching and mentoring. I am sure that I speak for the entire UH LIS ʻohana when I say that we have been honored and blessed to have Christian as a mentor, teacher, and friend, and he has provided us all with a positive example of how to remain a calm and competent professional in the midst of information overload. Mahalo nui, Christian! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts and wish you all the best!

    With fond Aloha,
    The UH LIS ʻohana

  • ALAsc Headed to ALA Midwinter

    ALAsc Headed to ALA Midwinter

    Several members of the UHM LIS ALA student chapter will be attending 2019 ALA Midwinter Conference in Seattle and ALAsc is covering the registration costs of three students: Cheri Ebisu, Sarah Nakashima, and Ellen-Rae Cachola.

    ALAsc has been running fundraisers since this summer to be able to sponsor this and the group is really excited for January!

    In addition to the conference, the students are looking at other activities in Seattle such as a tour of Seattle Public Library and possibly a visit to the University of Washington iSchool.

    Bundle up and stay warm!

  • Tonia Sutherland Appointed as LIS Assistant Professor

    Tonia Sutherland Appointed as LIS Assistant Professor

    The LIS Program is happy to announce the appointment of Dr. Tonia Sutherland as Assistant Professor, starting Fall 2018. Tonia comes to us from the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama, where she is currently an Assistant Professor.

    Tonia’s research and teaching interests include Digital Culture and Communication, Critical Studies of Data, Digital Media, and Information, Community and Cultural Informatics, Archival Theory and Practice, and Technology and the Arts. As Tonia describes it:

    My current research examines the latest developments at the intersections of national infrastructures and community informatics. Most recently I have been investigating island infrastructures, advancing global understandings of island cultures by focusing on those infrastructures that support the availability and use of information and communication technologies. This research also engages cultural heritage preservation and management (intangible, material, and digital) as well as the unique information challenges that face island communities worldwide.

    Tonia is a member of the Center for Race and Digital Studies, the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S), and the Association for Library and Information Science Education, as well as an alumna, longtime member and currently summer institute organizer of the Archival Education & Research Initiative. Her work appears in The Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies; The American Archivist; Preservation, Digital Technology & Culture; The Annual Review of Cultural Heritage Informatics; and Radical History Review.

    Tonia earned her PhD and MLIS from the School of Information Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. Among other professional positions, she has served as Records Management Coordinator at Bucknell University, University Archivist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and Adult Services Librarian at the Margaret R. Grundy Memorial Library in Bristol, PA. More information can be found on her website: http://toniasutherland.com.

    Welcome Tonia!

  • Meera Garud Appointed as LIS Instructor

    Meera Garud Appointed as LIS Instructor

    The LIS Program is happy to announce the appointment of Meera Garud as a full-time Instructor. Meera will be focusing on children and youth services and digital instruction, as well as coordinating activities for the school library media specialization. During the 2018-19 academic year, she will be jointly teaching courses with Dr. Violet Harada, before assuming official duties in Fall 2019.

    A 2015 LIS alumnus, Meera brings a unique set of experiences and skills to the program. She is currently an institutional analyst with Hawai‘i P-20 Partnerships for Education, an organization that works to improve Hawai‘i’s education systems from preschool through college. As part of her work with P-20, Meera has conducted numerous presentations at local and national summits and conferences. She is the newly elected co-president of the Hawai‘i Association of School Librarians along with Imelda Amano.

    Meera received her BA degree in development studies at UC Berkeley where she also served as an academic adviser for college freshmen. On the Berkeley campus, Meera also co-taught in Gender and Women’s Studies. In addition, Meera served as a community corps member for Jumpstart for Young Children in San Francisco.

    In Hawaiʻi, she has had field experiences teaching information literacy at Manoa Elementary and collaborating on public library programs for children and teens at Aina Haina Public Library. Having enjoyed a study abroad experience in Namibia, Meera brings an international perspective to her work. She is eagerly anticipating her new position:

    I am very much looking forward to returning to the LIS program—this time as an instructor. With topics like civic engagement and data literacy popping up in library news, this is an exciting time to work with LIS students and help shape the future of our schools and libraries. I can’t wait to get started!

    Welcome (back) Meera!

  • Dr. Irvin’s IMLS Grant

    Dr. Irvin’s IMLS Grant

    The Library and Information Science Program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has been awarded a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

    The $249,330 grant award will fund a 3-year professional development program involving collaborative projects with LIS (part of the Department of Information and Computer Sciences within the College of Natural Sciences), the Native Hawaiian Library of ALU LIKE, Inc., and professional public librarians of the Hawaiʻi State Public Library System. The project is called Hui ʻEkolu: Bridging Educational, Cultural, and Technical Exchange among Native and Public Libraries in Hawaiʻi.

    Vanessa Irvin, LIS assistant professor, is project director for Hui ʻEkolu. She said the award is a significant accomplishment within the field of library and information science.

    Creating a model to engage local communities with indigenous populations

    The funding will allow the hui ʻekolu (“three groups”) to collaborate to bring together pre-professionals, para-professionals and professionals in the library field. Thirteen teams will be formed (each with one pre-professional, para-professional and professional) to address and complete projects identified at various library sites. The cohorts will create opportunities for cross-learning between the participants while they work as a team to identify opportunities and create projects that benefit the local community at their assigned sites.

    The project will not only benefit its participants and local community, but will create a model for how cross-learning, particularly in areas with large indigenous populations, can be achieved and result in programming that is more responsive and engaged with the local community.

    “Hui ʻEkolu seeks to create a model for public librarian professional practice that positively situates native/indigenous knowledge as a framework for synthesizing LIS technical skills,” explained Irvin. “With this grant, Hui ʻEkolu will be able to create a professional development model for cross-learning, mentoring and professional development toward culturally competent and meaningful public library services in Hawaiʻi that can also be implemented in public library systems everywhere, particularly within native and indigenous communities.”

  • Reaching Those Who Served

    Reaching Those Who Served

    The UH Mānoa LIS Program is one of three Library & Information Science graduate programs participating in the Reaching Those Who Served research project.

    Reaching Those Who Served is a 3-year Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant-funded research project recruitment of military veterans to library and information science graduate programs.

    The grant enables the project to provide scholarships for 12 (total) military veterans to pursue a master’s in library and information science at one of three universities.

    Over the course of this 3-year project, we will:

    1. collect data on strategies to draw military veterans into library and information science (LIS) master’s degree programs
    2. apply and test these strategies through recruiting, admitting, and providing financial and social support for 12 military veterans to make substantial progress toward completing a master’s degree at one of 3 American Library Association (ALA) accredited programs.

    With their strong service orientation, motivation to serve others, interest in change and life-long learning, flexibility, and adaptability, military veterans have the qualities to be excellent prospective students for graduate library and information science (LIS) programs.

    Those veterans interested in learning more about this project at UH Mānoa should contact Dr. Rich Gazan (gazan@hawaii.edu) directly.


    For more info, visit the Reaching Those Who Served website or download the PDF flyer.

  • Preview of new LIS curriculum

    Preview of new LIS curriculum

    Thanks to all the students, alumni and professionals who have participated in our ongoing curriculum review process! In Spring 2017, the LIS faculty approved the following framework for a revised curriculum, which we hope to have officially approved in time for the Fall 2018 semester. Highlights:

    • Instead of a single list of core courses, students will be able to choose from several course options to meet most core requirements.
    • Courses will be grouped into seven professional pathways: suggested groups of related core and elective courses, reflecting diverse career options.
    • A new required seminar sequence taken in the first and last semesters, supporting professional development, peer mentoring and the creation of the culminating experience artifact. New students will enroll in LIS 691 Masters Seminar I (1 credit) in their first semester, while graduating students enroll in LIS 692 Masters Seminar II (2 credits). Both seminars will meet concurrently.
    • In place of the oral comprehensive exam, we are proposing an ePortfolio as a culminating experience for non-thesis students. Students will compile evidence from course assignments and program experiences to demonstrate mastery of program Student Learning Outcomes, and present a reflective, professional ePortfolio. The ePortfolio will be introduced, compiled and refined in the required seminars, and in regular advising sessions.

    Thirty-nine credits will still be required to graduate. When this process is complete, we will have created, revised or retired approximately 40 LIS courses!

    We believe this new curriculum will result in more flexibility for students to craft individualized programs of study, more peer mentoring and engagement, and more tangible artifacts of students’ understanding, creativity and mastery.

    While details are still evolving, here’s a preview:

    Core requirements: Students will be able to select any of the following core course options to meet each corresponding Student Learning Outcome (SLO):

    SLO1 Services: Design, provide, and assess information services

    • LIS 601 Introduction to Reference and Information Services

    SLO2 Professionalism: Apply history and ethics to develop a professional LIS identity

    • LIS 610 Foundations of the Information Professions
    • LIS 654 Archival Ethics & Profession

    SLO3 Resources: Create, organize, manage and discover information resources

    • LIS 602 Resource Discovery
    • LIS 605 Metadata Creation for Information Organization
    • LIS 615 Collection Management
    • LIS 645 Asian Research Materials and Methods
    • LIS 651 Archival Arrangement and Description

    SLO4 Technologies: Evaluate and apply information technologies

    • LIS 661 Informatics
    • LIS 665 Digital Instruction
    • LIS 672 Technology for Libraries and Information Centers

    SLO5 Cultures: Engage with diverse communities and/or indigenous cultures

    • LIS 630 Community Engagement
    • LIS 631 Introduction to Hawaiʻi and Pacific Librarianship
    • LIS 634 Multicultural Resources for Diverse User Groups
    • LIS 662 Asian Informatics

    SLO6 Management: Demonstrate skills necessary to manage and work effectively within information organizations

    • LIS 614 Navigating Information Organizations
    • LIS 650 Management of Libraries & Information Centers
    • LIS 658 Archival Management

    Courses and professional pathways

    Our working proposed course list can be found here. To create a program of study tailored to your interests, we plan to offer seven professional pathways: suggested groups of courses associated with different professional environments:

    • Academic/Special Librarianship
    • Archives
    • Asian Studies Librarianship
    • Cultures/Communities
    • Informatics
    • Public Librarianship
    • School Library Media

    We will be eliciting suggestions in the 2017-18 academic year for appropriate core and elective courses recommended for each corresponding pathway. For all pathways, related Internship (LIS 690) courses are also strongly recommended.

    Pathways are optional, and will not appear on your transcript or diploma, so you may follow them, combine them or create your own, in consultation with your faculty advisor. Articulating how your diverse individual experiences can help solve problems in professional information environments is a core component of the culminating ePortfolio.

    Culminating experience

    The ePortfolio is a reflective, artifact-based summation of how your coursework and other program experiences have prepared you to become an effective information professional. It consists of one artifact for each of the six program SLOs and a reflective narrative, and is summarized by the student in a presentation. It is assessed by two faculty members, as is the case with the current oral comprehensive exam, and must be successfully completed in order to graduate.

    Students opting to write a thesis take a research methods course and 6 credits of LIS 700 Thesis Research as part of the 39-credit degree requirement.

  • Faculty position available

    Faculty position available

    We welcome applications for a full-time, tenure-track faculty colleague to join us in the Spring 2018 semester. The ideal candidate will develop a research and instructional program integrating elements of library and information science with related units across the university. Researchers who locate their work in informatics, information organization and/or indigenous knowledge are especially encouraged to apply.

    Through research, teaching and service, the ideal candidate will support the LIS Program, the Department of Information and Computer Sciences, the College of Natural Sciences and related units across campus, and increase the breadth of our contribution to the University’s values: a Hawaiian place of learning, a local to global perspective, sustainability, technology, community and diversity.

    Duties

    Conduct research and teach courses in support of an ALA-accredited master’s degree program in Library and Information Science (LIS). Advise graduate students and participate actively in professional organizations at the local, state, national, and international levels. The teaching load is two graduate courses per semester with the option of summer teaching. All faculty are expected to work effectively with diverse constituencies, teach in the core curriculum, teach using face to face, online and hybrid modes, maintain a vigorous research agenda, meet expectations of tenure and promotion, engage in interdisciplinary scholarship, and obtain research funding.

    Minimum qualifications

    • Earned doctorate in Library and Information Science or a related field
    • Master’s degree or equivalent
    • Commitment to effective teaching
    • Poise and good address for meeting and conferring with others
    • Exhibit the potential to become a nationally recognized researcher and scholar

    Desirable qualifications

    • MLIS or equivalent from an ALA-accredited institution
    • College or university teaching experience

    To apply

    Please review application instructions listed in the job announcement at the Work At UH web site.

  • Research Assistantship Opportunity

    Research Assistantship Opportunity

    imls_logo_2cStarting in the Fall 2017 semester, Dr. Gazan will have a graduate research assistantship available for a student interested in social computing and information literacy, as part of an Institute of Museum & Library Services grant, Online Q&A in STEM Education: Curating the Wisdom of the Crowd. Working with Associate Professor Rich Gazan, the RA will help evaluate and field test a tool designed to allow STEM learners to evaluate crowdsourced information alongside more traditionally authoritative resources. The RAship is an 11-month appointment, renewable for a second year, and comes with a stipend and tuition exemption.

    For more information, contact Dr. Rich Gazan at gazan@hawaii.edu.

  • UH LIS Program is now on Twitter

    twitter_announce

     

    Follow @Hawaii_LIS and tag #HawaiiLIS to keep up with and share news of interest to our community. Learn more about this popular information network here.

     

  • Project PEARL Produces Trainer’s Guide to Help Students with Research

    Pathways for Excellence and Achievement in Research and Learning (PEARL), a project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and directed by the Library and Information Science Program at UHM, has produced an online trainer’s guide. The three-year project provided professional development for teams of teachers and librarians from twenty Hawaii DOE and private schools working on researching skills in project-based learning with their students. The teams designed and implemented collaborative instructional approaches in reading, writing, and critical thinking to assist students in developing projects across diverse disciplines.

    The trainer’s guide is downloadable from the PEARL Web site at http://www.hawaii.edu/lis/pearl/ The site also showcases examples of student projects as well as teaching resources for instructors. For more information on Project PEARL, contact its director Violet Harada at vharada@hawaii.edu.

    Karen Lee, Executive Director of the Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, noted that the project is “a perfect example of work done in the cross-sector space that builds critical skills in our high school students to be ready for life after college.”

    Acknowledgments to the PEARL development team: Carolyn Kirio, Kapolei Middle; Sandy Yamamoto, Kapolei High; Michael-Brian Ogawa, UHM Dept. of Information & Computer Sciences; Jodie Mattos, UHM Libraries; Megan Terawaki, UHM graduate assistant; and Kendyll Doi and Ed Meyers, UHM technical assistants.