Public Libraries
Public libraries form a critical foundation of the world’s social infrastructure. With over 380,000 around the world, they provide spaces and services that welcome all members of society, foster personal exploration and growth, and uplift communities. This research aims to generate new insights and approaches for strengthening the public library’s position as an essential actor in building informed societies and driving community development. Our focus is on digital technologies and opportunities for transformative changes within the library sector.
We explore such questions as:
- How can libraries support cultivating, producing, and sustaining local knowledge?
- How can libraries enhance their role as platforms for civic engagement to more proactively address issues of community, national, and global concern?
- How can libraries leverage open data ecosystems, both for developing library services and programs, and for assisting patrons access and use open data?
- How can libraries counter the growing threat of mis/disinformation?
- What do public library programs and services look like in a post-Covid world?
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided TASCHA with a “legacy” grant to support critical public library research that would carry forward the foundation’s vision after it sunsetted the Global Libraries program in 2017. This grant allows TASCHA to respond quickly to emerging issues (such as the Covid crisis) and leverage our research base when seeking research funding for new projects.
Projects
- All
- Misinformation Escape Room
- Leveraging Use of Open Data by Public Library Staff for Community Benefit
- Ocean Data for Decision-Making
- Public Libraries and Open Data Survey
- Community Labs in Public Libraries
- Workshop: Public libraries as platforms for civic engagement
- Refugee Women And Technology Education in Seattle
- STEM Education for Gender Data Equity in Costa Rica
- Advancing Library Visibility in Africa
- Measures that Matter
- Digital Skills for Digital Librarians Evaluation
- Development & Access to Information
- Mobile Information Literacy
- Research Roadmap for Strengthening the Library Field
- Information Strategies for Societies in Transition
- Namibia Regional Library Evaluation
- Public Internet Access & Use in Vietnam
- Innovation Spaces
- Measuring perceptions of the benefits of ICT in public libraries in the EU
- Perceptions of Libraries as Development Partners
Featured Outputs
- Publications
People & Organizations
- Research Team
- Chris Coward, Senior Principal Research Scientist, Information School
- Rebecca Sears, TASCHA Assistant Director, Information School
- Maria Garrido, Principal Research Scientist, Information School
- Chris Rothschild, Senior Research Scientist, Information School
- Michelle Fellows, Research Analyst, Information School
Updates
- Developing digital skills for digital librarians
- Session at ALA: Ensuring the Future of Libraries: Connecting the Academy and the Profession
- Gates Foundation awards TASCHA with 10-year grant to advance public libraries as agents of social change
- TASCHA & IFLA report explores how access to information contributes to development
- Mind the (information) gap: Making the case for action by governments
- Making development smart & inclusive: Launch of the Development and Access to Information (DA2I) report coming soon
- Partnership design and the Global Libraries legacy initiative