How can libraries better serve older adults? What are the best ways for libraries and archives to deal with increasing amounts of digitally created materials? Two faculty members in the School of Information and Library Science will spend the next three years researching these topics with the goal of delivering guidelines that will help librarians and archivists everywhere, thanks to funding from federal grants.

Assistant Professors Alex Chassanoff and Joseph Winberry received over $350,000 each from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in the form of Early Career Research grants from the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.

Chassanoff will study the issue of born-digital materials — or materials that have first come to life in a digital format — in cultural heritage institutions. Over the past three decades, these organizations have taken up the significant challenge of preserving and providing access to these materials. Recent reports from professional organizations suggest that very little digital preservation is currently taking place at U.S. institutions. Chassanoff will study the practitioners at libraries and archives who are tasked with preserving born-digital materials. Her goal is to develop best practices that can be taught to current practitioners and future professionals.

“Over the last decade, I have worked closely with librarians and archivist communities tackling the enormous task of born-digital preservation and want to draw attention and awareness to their perspectives,” said Chassanoff. “Are we properly resourcing and educating our born-digital preservationists with the skills needed to tackle these sociotechnical challenges? What existing gaps need to be addressed to support this critical work?”

Winberry will work to understand what skills, services, and values older adults want from librarians to inform a training series for library students and public library professionals. His end goal is to help older adults become more aware of the public library as a resource and to ensure library workers understand the needs of this fast-growing and diverse population.

“My motivation for pursuing this project was both practical and personal,” said Winberry. “We live in an aging society, but you might not realize that from examining library and information science curricula. In that respect, I saw a research and teaching gap that needed filling and obtained this grant to fill it. But my fundamental focus on the needs of older people is motivated in deep part by my Granny, Poppy, and their friends who I grew up around in Sanford, North Carolina’s Carolina Trace. They were and will forever be the ones who cheered me on, motivated me, and helped me become the person I am today. The older people in our lives have given so much in ways we realize and in ways we don’t. My research around their needs stems from a debt I am grateful to pay through the work I do every day.”

These grants enable faculty to add value to professional libraries and archives while conducting research that will inform their teaching. Both Chassanoff and Winberry expect to bring what they learn into their classrooms. In addition, both will hire student research assistants who will gain valuable hands-on experience and a deeper understanding of current challenges in libraries and archives.

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