We all know that Library and Information Studies students work hard for their degree, often by conducting research. Several LIS students had the opportunity to share their research at the Graduate Research and Creativity Expo and to be recognized at the School of Education’s Student and Faculty Research Awards Ceremony, both held last week. Read below for more information about their work.

Graduate Student Research and Creativity Expo

The Research and Creativity Expo gives UNCG graduate students from all disciplines the opportunity to communicate their research activities to the public. There were more than 80 participants this year, including three from the Library and Information Studies program. Graduate students Megan Bennett, Kelsey Cheshire, and Sarah Prescott each presented a poster at the expo that was held last Thursday, April 9 in the Cone Ballroom at the Elliott University Center. Below are excerpts from descriptions of their research:

• Megan Bennett, Libraries and Autism Spectrum Disorders – Her research “describes the characteristics of individuals with ASDs and advocates for improved communication between libraries and patrons with ASDs in order to further the development and creation of programs and services for patrons with ASDs.”
• Kelsey Cheshire, Advocating for Open Access by Critically Evaluating Scholarly Journals – Her research “seeks to better understand the advocative efforts of academic librarians concerning open access and critical journal evaluation … A survey of academic librarians was conducted, which explores attitudes concerning open access and quantitative journal evaluation.”
• Sarah Prescott, Building Education with Makerspaces in Schools and Libraries – Her research focuses on the SELF Design Studio in the School of Education. “UNCG’s new SELF Design Studio is a makerspace associated with the Teaching Resources Center that uses emerging technologies to build confidence and produce actual objects representative of learning … it is building a core of teacher-usable lessons for classrooms and small groups, as well as exposing pre-service teachers to makerspace instruction.”

Full descriptions of Megan, Kelsey, and Sarah’s research posters can be found in the 2015 Research and Creativity Expo program on pages 29-33.

Student and Faculty Research Awards Ceremony

The School of Education’s Student and Faculty Research Awards Ceremony was held Friday, April 10 in the School of Education Building. LIS students who were recognized at this event were Kelsey Cheshire, Kimberly Lutz, and Karla Regan. Below are excerpts from descriptions of their research:

• Kelsey Cheshire, Advocating for Open Access by Critically Evaluating Scholarly Journals – see above.
• Kimberly Lutz, Looking at the Es: Book Acquisition in the UNC System – Her research focuses on the question of “should the libraries of the University of North Carolina System consider a shared collection development approach [for print monographs]? … Using a sample of American history books, the E call number) purchased by UNCG in 2012, I discovered that the UNC system held, on average, five copies (4.96) of each book, and in all cases at least two copies. This research suggests that a shared acquisition approach could save libraries money.”
• Karla Regan, An Alternative to the Traditional School Book Fair – “My research is dedicated to examining the inequality of access to information found in public schools, specifically those with Title 1 status … [I] investigated an alternative to the traditional corporate school book fair, a used book sale, which allows students living at all income levels the same opportunity to purchase books for their home while also raising money for the school library.”