Research Interests

Speaking generally, I am fascinated by the ways that organization of information affects its use. I have long believed that if one could make the information easier to access, more people would make use of it. As more and more information beccomes available to the average individual -- not just the curious scholar or the dedicated researcher -- and there are fewer controls over the quality of that information, it is increasingly urgent to learn more about how to help people find what they need, and what they don't know that they need.

Mentoring

Information transfer is at the heart of every mentoring relationship. I am interested in studying how that information is transferred between mentor and mentee, as well as in the barriers to its transfer. Initial qualitative research will help me identify the challenges to information transfer in the mentoring relationship. I can then try to replicate my study at other academic institutions.

Accessibility

Website accessibility is a significant barrier to internet use by people who rely on assistive technologies. I believe that webmasters are not more committed to making their websites accessible because they perceive that it will be difficult, and because they don't know how to begin. I suggest that webmasters would be more willing to make their websites accessible if they were given information about accessibility in an easy-to-use format. I plan to develop such information, distribute it to webmasters on campus, and then inquire about their change in attitude.

K-12 Teachers

Personal experience suggests to me that information seeking for K-12 teachers is constrained by lack of time and by the lack of knowledge of sources. I suggest that through examination of the information-seeking practices of K-12 teachers, one could develop information resources which would be more accessible and useful for this important population.

E-Reading and Literature

E-reading has grown exponentially since Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007. Reading a book used to be a solitary experience that took place in the space of one's own head, but now it's a process that is often shared, even with strangers, through online book reviewing sites like Goodreads and Library Thing, and through shared highlighting and commenting in books. How do these new ways of reading affect our understanding of literature? I suggest that while our reading habits may be somewhat dissipated by the selections now available to us, our understanding of the things we read will only be enriched by the larger community with which we can share that understanding.