academic e-exchange

Yesterday, my LEEP class, Local, Regional and Global Intersections in Library and Information Science was focusing on youth services. We were very pleased to have Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen, Assistant Professor at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, join us via Blackboard Collaborate to discuss her work on library programming, collections and outreach to adoptive families. We learned a great deal about effective practice in this realm as well as challenges related to the majority of authors, illustrators, and library program facilitators who work in this area not being adopted – and not understanding and/or thoughtfully representing issues. Today, I had the opportunity to reciprocate and speak with students in her Introduction to Library and Information Science course about youth advocacy via Skype. I emphasized current outreach initiatives via Mix IT Up!, a grant program for which I serve as PI.