Research
Wayne State University, Michigan's only urban research university, is among the nation's prestigious 3.6 percent of universities with Carnegie classification of RU/VH (Research Universities, Very High research activity). In Fiscal Year 2006, The University received $149,158,745 in research support from federal agencies. Wayne's 1,676 faculty members make a major contribution to research in engineering; science and medicine; arts and humanities; and social sciences. From 1997 to 2006, WSU faculty members were authors and co-authors of 21,000 journal articles. Survey results in The Scientist magazine placed Wayne among the 15 best research institutions at which to work in academia.
Listed below are selected SLIS faculty's recent research activities.
Cultural Competence and Library and Information Science Education
Kafi Kumasi, Ph.D.
This pilot study was conducted to examine libraryand information science (LIS) students’ perceptions of their level of preparation forbecoming culturally competent LIS professionals. Aproximately 130 LIS students participated in an electronicsurvey, which contained a Likert scale measuring three areas of cultural competence:self-awareness, education, and interaction. A gap analysis technique was employed todetect discrepancies between students’ prior knowledge and actual learning relative tocultural competence. Students indicated that all of the conceptsintroduced in this section were important to learn but their level of knowledge gainedvaried from no or low levels to moderate levels of actual learning. The results of this study were published in theJournal of Education for Library and Information Science,52 (4).251-264. This paper also received the 2011 ALISE Best Conference Paper Award.
Project ALFA: Accessible Libraries for All
Stephanie L. Maatta Smith
Project ALFA is funded through the Institute for Museum and Library Services, Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Grant Program. Project ALFA is founded on a philosophy of universal access and inclusivity. It is designed to develop a new generation of highly skilled information professionals to work with clientele of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and age.As part of Project ALFA's service learning activities a group of ALFA fellows will be conducting a needs assessment related to accessiblity and ADA compliance for the Baldwin Public Library (Birmingham, MI) in fall 2012.
Global Possibilities for Library and Information Science Programs
Professor Emeritus Joseph Mika
Professor Mika received a research grant from the H.W. Wilson Foundation in 2008 to explore global possibilities of international library and information science programs and potential impact on U.S. library and information science programs.
Library Services to the Arabic-Speaking Community. Published in: Public Library Quarterly, Vol. 28, no. 2. 2009
Professor Emeritus Joseph Mika
The Arab population in the United States has nearly doubled since the 1980 census, with Michigan and the metropolitan Detroit area leading the nation in growth. With Charlene Al-Qallaf of Kuwait University, the two researchers are ascertaining if public libraries in Michigan with the largest Arabic-speaking populations in residence are providing this population with collections and services targeted to their specific needs. For full text of the article see: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a911441961
Comparison of LIS education in other countries
Professor Emeritus Joseph Mika
Published as, "Signifikante Unterschiede in der Ausbildung" (Significant Differences in Training), in the German periodical BuB [Buch und Bibliothek - Book and Library] Dr. Mika and co-author Debbie Rabina (Assistant Professor in the School of Information and Library Science, Pratt Institute, New York) explore ten areas that Germans interested in library and information science should know about the study of LIS in the United States. The full article can be found on pages 218-223 in BuB at: http://www.b-u-b.de/cgi-local/byteserver.pl/pdfarchiv/Heft-BuB_03_2010.pdf#page=1&view=fit&toolbar=0&pagemode=bookmarks. This article builds upon the authors' travels and study of the US and German LIS schools and their visit to LIS programs in Germany during May 2009 that was sponsored by the Goethe Institute (and for Dr. Mika, also by the H.W. Wilson Company).