About ITRL

The Information Technology Rural Librarian Master's Scholarship Program in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee meets an urgent need for rural librarians in the Southern and Central Appalachian region to develop information technology competencies and training in a master's program (accredited by the American Library Association) that combines work experience/practice with graduate instruction/curriculum support. This region is experiencing information poverty and unemployment, economic challenges, low levels of information literacy and educational attainment, a lack of access/use of IT, and unique environmental challenges. Library professionals who are embedded in their communities are in a strong position to help address and develop solutions to these needs.

The goal of ITRL is to recruit sixteen students who have paraprofessional jobs in the SCA region’s rural libraries to complete their master’s degree with a focus on IT and rural librarianship in the SIS program via distance. Students will receive a structured, individually-tailored curriculum with formal/informal professional mentoring by educators and practitioners. IT competencies in developing rural library work applications/practices especially tailored towards the needs of the SCA communities will be incorporated into the curriculum. The duration of the Information Technology Rural Librarian Master's Scholarship Program is from October 1, 2009, to September 30, 2012.

The overall project design covers five phases that include:

1.  Recruitment of ITRL students from rural libraries in the Southern and Central Appalachian Region
2.  Needs assessment of library services and information challenges faced by rural regional libraries
3.  Implementation of educational/training activities
4.  Mentoring
5.  Evaluation/assessment of program outcomes dissemination of program results/experiences

Two major components in the ITRL curriculum will include IT and rural librarianship courses. IT deliverables applied towards rural libraries in the SIS courses will include:

-Technology planning, assessment, and analysis
-Database and web design, development, and usability
-Building digital library, web portals, and Library 2.0 tools
-Establishing hardware and software configurations for networking systems

Management outcomes in rural library courses will include:

-Service evaluation/assessment in rural libraries
-Planning/management of a rural library program for youth and adults
-Reader’s advisory and other information services
-Grant writing and partnership development

UT-SIS’ Dr. Bharat Mehra will administer the project with Dr. Kimberly Black and Dr. Vandana Singh. The three partnering institutions are: Clinch-Powell Regional Library (Clinton, Tennessee), Sevier County Public Library System (Sevierville, Tennessee), and the Watauga Regional Library (Johnson City, Tennessee). Most recently (as of August 2009) the Nolichucky Regional Library (Don Reynolds) has agreed to partner in the grant activities. Project partners have been selected to participate in ITRL based on their leadership, role, knowledge, networks, experience, and interests to participate in promoting IT-based development and change in the SCA libraries and their communities. Though all project partners are located in the East Tennessee region, representatives from other regional and county library systems in the SCA region will be contacted to elicit their participation in the various activities identified in the grant proposal.

Project partners will assist in recruitment of ITRL students via participating in the ITRL Recruitment Board; participation/recruitment for the online/face-to-face ITRL Needs Assessment Symposium; participation/recruitment for the ITRL Practitioner Mentoring Board; and participation/recruitment for the Annual ITRL Summits. For additional details of how to participate in the ITRL grant, click here. 

The model of a master’s degree in information science to prepare future rural library professionals (who are already working paraprofessionals) with IT competencies and skill-sets that integrate coursework geared towards producing tangible outcomes and products relevant for rural communities in the SCA region will be of interest and applicability to master’s programs nationwide.

Contact: Bharat Mehra, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Information Sciences, University of Tennessee. Email: bmehra@utk.edu Phone: 865-974-5917

FUNDED BY: