Owing to the scope and pace of change, society has become increasingly knowledge-based so that higher learning and research now act as essential components of cultural, socio-economic and environmentally sustainable development of individuals, communities and nations. In this environment, it is essential that higher learning and knowledge creation involve effective partnerships among academic and non-academic learning institutions and communities to create and apply learning and knowledge with stakeholders that are managing and creating sustainable development initiatives. Growing concern regarding the importance of the contribution that higher education institutions make to society has aroused increasing debate about their relevance and credibility amid escalating social problems. An underlying premise of community engagement is the understanding that not all knowledge and expertise resides in the academy, and that both expertise and great learning opportunities in teaching and scholarship also reside in non-academic settings.
This conference will explore how LIS educators and researchers can develop curricula, programs, and research activities that enable active partnerships with communities and civil society to manage and create change. How can LIS programs increase opportunities for experiential, service oriented, and community engaged student learning? How can we develop further collaboration between LIS programs and their larger communities (local, regional/ state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity?
The study and practice of digital preservation is evolving, and as such professionals in this area of LIS are constantly educating people about their work. This occurs in LIS educational programs, but also professionally within the institutions where they work and for the public as people become desirous of preserving their digital lives: a large part of their daily work is educating people about what they do and why others should be doing it too. My work examines the implementation of digital preservation workflows in Europe and the US and investigates how digital preservation initiatives serve as sites of tension for multiple audiences in ways that impact work and engagement in memory institutions. Implicit in this are many communities who are affected by the privileged status afforded to digital work at institutions that have historically been repositories for analog materials.