Assistant Professor Nicole A. Cooke’s diverse research interests and experiences as an iSchool faculty member have taken her to an array of events this month. She will speak at three events in April, discussing topics from social justice to the roles of LIS faculty.
On April 5 Cooke participated in a panel at the New Directions in Information Fluency conference at Augustana College. As part of a panel entitled, “The Big Picture,” Cooke presented, “Training for the Future of Information Literacy and Fluency,” in which she argued that formal education should be encouraged over informal methods in the training and professional development of librarians. She further suggested that collaboration between LIS faculty and practicing information professionals be encouraged as a means of enhancing education at the intersection of LIS theory and practice
At the Symposium on Diversity in LIS Education, Cooke spoke on a panel entitled, “Social Justice: From Education to Advocacy.” The Symposium, held at the University of Maryland on April 11, focused on issues surrounding advocacy, outreach, and inclusion. The event was hosted by Maryland’s College of Information Studies and Information Policy and Access Center (iPAC), and was supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Cooke will return to her alma mater, Rutgers University, on April 23, where she will serve alongside other distinguished young alumni as an honorary juror and introductory panelist at the School of Communication and Information’s PhD Program Colloquium. She will discuss her first two years at the University of Illinois, including her transition from a library practitioner to a faculty member, initiating new curricular areas, and integrating her research, teaching, and service areas.
Cooke is an assistant professor at GSLIS, having graduated from Rutgers University with a PhD in communication, information, and library studies in 2012 (where she was an 2008 American Library Association Spectrum Doctoral Fellow). Previously, she was an instruction librarian and tenured assistant professor at Montclair State University’s (New Jersey) Sprague Library.
Her research interests include human information behavior, particularly in an online context; diversity and social justice in librarianship; LIS education and pedagogy, particularly in the online environment; and information literacy and instruction.