The School of Information Science includes scholars from a wide variety of backgrounds including library science, communication, education, computer science, and information science. Our faculty pursue a wide range of research topics. Our School’s faculty conduct research across broad areas including libraries/information science, communication, technology learning, civic engagement, and youth. They have
- have brought in over $2 million in funded research in the last five years
- created special research interest groups like CAPR, ICR, and YISE
- are recognized at UK and nationally for their research
Several of our faculty are currently working on grants from IMLS and other agencies. Dr. Oltmann and her team received the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant for $445,281. Oltmann plans to use the grant for a three-year research project that will examine how public libraries respond to attempts to ban books. Dr. Cahill is part of a multi-university team that received $249,000 in funding from National Leadership Grants for Libraries for a project titled "Demonstrating Your Data: An Evidence-based Practice Curriculum for School Librarians." The goals of the project are to pinpoint school librarians’ current evidence-based practice (EBP) knowledge and activities, as well as identify their challenges and best practices in using EBP.
Dr. Shannon Crawford Barniskis was awarded a $410,294 grant to study public library Boards of Trustees, through the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. Dr. Crawford Barniskis will investigate current public library trustee demographics, selection, training, and work practices to understand how trustee practices affect or interact with libraries and their communities, how trustees practice collaborative governance and civic engagement, and how trustees understand and sustain equitable access to library services.
Dr. Daniela DiGiacomo is currently working on a multi-university study into the long-term effects of community-based arts programming on youth, through a $1.4 million dollar grant from the Wallace Foundation. As their community-based research partner, DiGiacomo also works with the Kentucky Student Voice with generous support from the Walton Family Foundation on various youth-led research projects focused on student voice and equitable access to learning opportunities, in and outside of school. DiGiacomo's work supporting pre-service K-12 teachers' instructional practices related to information literacy and civic empathy is also supported by UK's own UNITE Racial Equity Research Priority Area.
Areas of Study
- Community Engagement, Social Justice, and Inclusion
- Health Informatics and Communication
- Human-Centered Design and Interaction
- Information Technology and Society
- Instructional Communication and Educational Technology
- Knowledge Management and Information Use
- Libraries as Community Hubs and Learning Spaces
- Privacy and Security
- Research Methods
- Youth Engagement and Development
Interdisciplinary Research Groups
Community-based, Applied and Participatory Research Group (CAPR)
CAPR is a group of interdisciplinary researchers focused on marginalized populations, refugees, children and youth, information inequities, health disparities, education and libraries.
Instructional Communication and Research (ICR)
ICR faculty and courses play an extremely important role in serving undergraduate students by delivering cutting-edge education in integrated communication skills, which are among the top skills sought by employers of college undergraduate students in all fields of study.
Youth: Information, Spaces & Experiences (YISE)
The purpose of YISE is to serve as an interdisciplinary space to bring together faculty and students who are interested in the scholarship focused on children and youth's experiences in communication and information contexts (e.g. libraries, museums, online spaces, youth programs, informal and formal learning settings).
Research Resources
As a part of the College of Communication and Information and the University of Kentucky, our researchers have access to a variety of college and university level resources to aid in completing their research. For a list of available research resources, click here.
