Inclusive Libraries

Citizen Research Empowerment

SJSU researchers collaborate closely with the surrounding community and local organizations, addressing equity gaps for information access, leading the way in learning technology integrations, creating programs that serve as national models for citizen conservancy of cultural heritage, and more.

Hosting groundbreaking community-university collaborations like our King Library partnership and engaging in diverse, locally-centered approaches, we ensure responsive and socially just research that amplifies community voices. Below is a rotating selection of our standout investigators in these areas.

   ○ Recent News and Highlights
   ○ Related Strength: Emancipatory Education

• Selected Publications

  • Chow, A., Bridges, M. Commander, P., (2014). The website design and usability of US academic and public libraries. Reference & user services quarterly 53(3).

    Hirsh, S. (2024). Library 2035: Imagining the Next Generation of Libraries. Rowman and Littlefield.

    Liu, Z., Hu, R., Bi, X., (2023). The effects of social media addiction on reading practice: a survey of undergraduate students in China. Journal of Documentation 79(3).

    Lowe, C. (2023). Promoting Transformative Encounters in Libraries and Archives. Journal of Documentation. 79(2).

    Lowe, C., Roy, M., Aguilar, M., Blackmer Reyes, K., (2021). BIPOC Voices Speak: Reparative Approaches to Collection Development. Critical Ethnic Studies in Academic and Research Libraries.

    Oladejo, B., and Hofman, D., (2023). Records in social media: a new (old) understanding of records management. Records Management Journal.

• Award Highlights

  • Alvarez, Dodge, Lowe, Roy, Villagran, “BIPOC Become Librarians”. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Award, 2022

    Blackmer Reyes, Santa Clara County Heritage Grant. Collaboration with Dr. Margo McBane and Suzanne Guerra, 2020

    Blackmer Reyes, “Side Dream exhibit and digitizing Alcario Castellano 237 videos of the San Jose chapter’s GI Forum events” — Social Science Research Council, NEH, 2022

    Hofman, Attar, Nojan, Villagran, Ghosh “Cross-Campus Interdisciplinary Responsible Computing Learning Experiences” —  Mozilla Foundation, 2023

    Villagran, “Bridging Knowledge: Supporting Indigenous Scholars Into the Field of Librarianship.” Institute of Museum and Library Services Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program award, 2021

• Affiliates

  • Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies

    Center for Comparative Philosophy

    CSU Social Science Research and Instructional Center

    Digital Humanities Center

    Record Clearance Project

    San José Public Library x SJSU King Library

    Speed City Legacy Project

Featured Faculty

Kathryn Blackmer Reyes
Librarian, University Library
Social Justice, Local History, Mexican Americans, Labor, Civil Rights, Higher Education
ORCID: 0000-0002-9411-1785

Anthony Chow
Director, School of Information
Usability, Virtual Reference Services, Instructional Technology, Information Seeking Behavior, Informatics

Sandra Hirsh
Associate Dean for Academics, College of Professional and Global Education
Information Seeking, Blockchain and Libraries, LIS Curriculum
ORCID: 0000-0003-3575-1130

Darra Hofman
Assistant Professor, School of Information
Archival Science, Records Management, Privacy, Transparency, Records, Law
ORCID: 0000-0002-1772-6268

Ziming Liu
Professor, of Library and Information Science
Information Science, Information Seeking and Use, Reading Behavior, Digital Libraries, Educational Disparities

Carli V. Lowe
Senior Assistant Librarian
Information Encountering, Serendipity, Transformative Theory, Education, Human Information Behavior
ORCID: 0000-0002-1946-082X

Mantra Roy
Senior Assistant Librarian
Representation of Marginalized Voices and Populations in the Democratic and Accessible Space of the Library
ORCID: 0000-0002-8615-5200

Michael Meth
University Library Dean
Library Management, Design Thinking, Blockchain Implementation
ORCID: 0000-0002-5705-0741

Michele A. L. Villagran
Assistant Professor, School of Information
Cultural Intelligence, Diversity, Inclusion, Community and Equity, Social Justice, Library and Information Science
ORCID: 0000-0002-0867-8794

Potential collaborators and members of the media may contact us at officeofresearch@sjsu.edu.