I was invited to give a talk, which I titled “LIS Values: Access, Equity, and Social Justice” at today’s Beta Phi Mu Initiation for our students in the School of Information Sciences. As the website exaplains, Beta Phi Mu “was founded in 1948 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by a group of leading…
IS 420 Community Informatics Fall 2026
It is honestly a dream come true to be able to teach Community Informatics in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign this fall. I came to Illinois as a doctoral student in the fall 2010 to study community informatics under Dr. Kate Williams and later under Dr. Christian Sandvig. In…
Libraries in a Democratic Ecosystem
I’m excited to join my friend and colleague, Claudia Șerbănuță for the first in a series of engaging discussions on “Libraries in a democratic ecosystem” hosted by Acesso Cultura. As the website explains (also below):Online debates5, 12, 19 May (Tuesdays) and 25 May (Monday)7-9pm CETThe debates will be held in English. They will not be…
Book Blurbs for Digital Equity Ecosystems
It turns out that you can learn quite a lot when you write a book. For one thing, I didn’t know that “blurbers” was a word! Blurbers are those who write blurbs or mini-reviews for book publishers. I am incredibly grateful and indebted to Dr. Mega Subramaniam, Dr. Amy Gonzales, and Dr. Christopher Ali for…
Invited Book Talk at MSU Quello Center
I will be giving my first book talk on Wednesday, February 18th at 11:00am (EST) at the Quello Center at Michigan State University, where I am a Research Fellow. The book will be published in June 2026 by the University of California Press. Here is the link to the event on the Quello Center’s website….
Mobile Media & Communication Article Now Open Access
In 2023, my article titled “‘It’s one of the most important things we carry for us’: How mobile hotspots support people experiencing homelessness” was published in a special issue of Mobile Media & Communication. The article featured findings from my study of the Boston Public Library’s hotspot lending program, which is still continuing today. I’m thrilled…
Book Listed in Spring UC Press Catalog
I was excited to see my book listed in the new Spring 2026 catalog from University of California Press. Particularly since there are so many amazing authors and books listed, including from Scott Kurashige, Mona Sloane, Burcu Baykurt, Jenny Davis and Apryl Williams and more . . .
Elected to iSchools Board of Directors
I look forward to serving as one of three North American region members of the iSchools Organization Board of Directors, where I will serve a two year appointment beginning in January 2026. The iSchool at Illinois wrote up this nice announcement about my new role. The news item includes the following excerpt below, which includes…
Book Flyer Available at UC Press
The flyer for my book is now available for download at UC Press!
Digital Equity Ecosystems Book Cover
The University of California Press has been absolutely wonderful to work with in designing the cover for my new book, titled Digital Equity Ecosystems: How Community Coalitions Reduce Inequality and Strengthen Democracy. Many thanks to Vanessa Rhinesmith for helping to inform the design, which is represented in this final version below! The image in the…