School of Information Sciences

Lawrence defends dissertation

Doctoral candidate E.E. Lawrence successfully defended their dissertation, "Reading for Democratic Citizenship: A New Model for Readers' Advisory," on March 28.

Their committee included Associate Professor Emily Knox (chair); Associate Professor Kate McDowell; Professor and Dean Allen Renear; and Jonathan Furner, professor and chair of the Department of Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

From the abstract: Readers' advisors are tasked with suggesting leisure reading materials to library patrons. The current discourse within the field has it that these advisors ought to adhere to (what I am calling) a pure preference satisfaction model wherein they aim to satisfy readers’ existing preferences without judging or altering them. While such an approach to Readers' Advisory (RA) is politically commendable in some respects, in this dissertation I interrogate the incompatibilities that have emerged between contemporary theory and practice as a result of librarians’ core commitments to social justice, diversity, and democracy. In so doing, I provide a critical inventory of the (in some cases intractable) tensions evident in RA service, going on to offer normative critiques of the dominant moral framework underpinning RA. In each case, I propose theoretical revisions that will help to alleviate harms associated with the problems identified. In light of the cumulative effects of these revisions, I propose an alternative aesthetic education model for RA. Drawing on insights from reader-response theory, I argue that leisure reading is valuable in part because it offers us opportunities to deliberate on our aesthetic experiences. Ultimately, I hold that RA-as-aesthetic-education functions as a dynamic forum for readers to practice democratic citizenship and thus develop its requisite character traits. The new model both furthers the overarching political aims of the public library and reestablishes continuity between theory and critical practice. 

Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

Olalere receives HSLI Jira Scholarship

Precious Olalere, a doctoral student in information sciences, has been awarded the 2025 Helen Knoll Jira Scholarship from the Health Science Librarians of Illinois (HSLI). This award supports individuals pursuing education in library or information science in Illinois, especially those focusing on health science librarianship.

Precious Olalere

Student Spotlight: Daria Meshcheriakova

BSIS student Daria Meshcheriakova came to the iSchool with intention. Originally from Russia, where she lived for 17 years, Meshcheriakova moved to Chicago and attended Harold Washington Community College before transferring to the University of Illinois. Among potential universities, Illinois proved to be the best fit.

Daria Meshcheriakova

iSchool researchers present at ILA 2025

School faculty, staff, and students will present their research at the 2025 Illinois Library Association (ILA) Annual Conference, which will be held on October 14–16 in Rosemont. The theme of this year's conference is "You Belong Here."

Get to know Jade Carthans, BSIS student

Jade Carthans is interested in how human-centered design, machine learning, and data analytics can come together to solve critical problems that impact organizations and individuals. She gained firsthand experience in these areas through internships with Microsoft and State Farm.

Jade Carthans

School of Information Sciences

501 E. Daniel St.

MC-493

Champaign, IL

61820-6211

Voice: (217) 333-3280

Fax: (217) 244-3302

Email: ischool@illinois.edu

Back to top