About Me

I am a Professor at the College of Information (INFO) at the University of Maryland (UMD), College Park. I am currently on sabbatical leave and serving as a Fulbright Scholar at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where I am engaged in teaching and leading professional development for librarians through August 2026.

My research focuses on strengthening the role of libraries in advancing digital literacies among marginalized populations through community-centered approaches. I have a particular interest in enhancing the skills of both pre-service and in-service youth librarians to support digital literacy learning among young people. I have led the design of multiple professional development resources and training initiatives for library staff, including ConnectedLib, Safe Data Safe Families, and IMPACT Libraries, and have developed curriculum for statewide digital literacy initiatives such as Marylanders Online. Across this work, I embrace research–practice partnership model that brings advances from information science, learning sciences, and human–computer interaction into librarianship.

I co-led the ConnectedLib project, through which we developed a Toolkit—a suite of professional development resources designed to build teen library staff’s capacity to leverage digital media and connected learning principles to promote 21st-century skills among the youth they serve. I led the IMPACT Libraries project, which focused on developing computational thinking assessment instruments that library staff can use to evaluate computational thinking programs offered in and through libraries. Through the Safe Data Safe Families project, my team created resources for libraries (including training materials, policy frameworks, privacy teaching moments, and programming resources) and for families (such as privacy tips, games, and activities) to help protect youth online. Most recently, through the Ready NOW project, we launched a practical guide to designing with communities—featuring essential tasks and tools to strengthen preparedness and relationships that support effective response and recovery before, during, and after crises. All of this work has been generously funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

I also co-lead the Marylanders Online team in collaboration with colleagues from University of Maryland Extension, where we have designed and delivered digital literacy resources and training across the state of Maryland. A key outcome of this project is the Marylanders Online Navigator Education Toolkit (MONET), a comprehensive course for digital navigators. MONET consists of 12 self-paced online modules designed to equip current and prospective digital navigators with the essential tools needed to effectively teach digital skills and provide technical support within their communities.

My research has received national and international recognition, including the Library Journal’s 2019 Movers and Shakers Award, the Young Adult Library Services Association’s 2020 Outstanding Achievement Award, and both the Fulbright Specialist and Fulbright Scholar Awards.

I regularly teach courses in our Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) program, which is ranked #3 by U.S. News & World Report.

I am also a recent recipient of the AIM grant from UMD to design an experiential learning course titled AI Literacy for Community Empowerment. This course will prepare students to develop foundational knowledge and practical skills for understanding, applying, and facilitating AI literacy learning in community settings, and will be offered in Fall 2026 for upper-level undergraduate students at UMD.

News

2026.02.01 - 2026.08.15 I will be giving multiple talks in Indonesia as well as other East Asia Pacific countries. Please follow along on my LinkedIn page.

2026.01.07 My Ready NOW team has launched our brand new Field Guide that library staff can use to support communities before, during, and after a crisis.

2026.01.09 I presented a paper for Marylanders Online at the HICSS conference.