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Fall 2005 Practical Engagement Opportunities
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| 591CIC |
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| Listed below are practical engagement opportunities in the field of community informatics that could take the form of a practicum, independent study, volunteer job, class project, or thesis. They are open to GSLIS undergrad, masters or phd students, to alums, and others looking for practical engagement experiences, including students in other departments and other institutions, as well as community residents. What is community informatics? CI is the field of study and practice devoted to helping communities create and apply information and communication technologies to achieve their goals. CI spans communities from rural to urban and includes all domains of life, such as health, economic development, education, arts and culture, and science. Core to CI is the analysis of information needs, capacity, and practices within and across communities. It deals with how knowledge is created and shared in all forms and media, from face-to-face conversations, performances, social service programs, and storytelling to web-based classes, exhibits, citizen science, and library research to broadcast media and print publications. The CIC provides engagement opportunities for both professional practice and research. It supports the complete spectrum of GSLIS coursework, offering hands-on experience in: youth services, web development and programming, interface design, librarianship, curriculum development, management, history, policy, publishing, etc. For further information, contact: Dr. Ann P. Bishop Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 203 LIS Building 501 E. Daniel Street Champaign, IL abishop@uiuc.edu 217.244.3299 (V) 217.244.3302 (F) If GSLIS students wish to pursue one of the opportunities below as a practicum , all of the usual practicum requirements must be met: http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/courses/practicum/ and students must register for LIS 591CIC (for on-campus) or LIS 591CIL (for LEEP): http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/unit_update.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u14129.xml. The credit for 591 is 2 hours. If taking 591CIC/CIL, GSLIS students can not apply the credit of another 591 Practicum toward their degree, nor will the credit for 591CIC/CIL apply toward their degree if they have already taken a 591 Practicum. For additional information, see the Community Informatics Corps website: http://ilabs.inquiry.uiuc.edu/ilab/cic/ |
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| CIC Practical Engagement Opportunities: Select From the List Below, or Propose Your Own TOP Legacy Project The Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) Legacy Project aims to document, preserve, and provide greater public access to the results of the over 600 community technology projects supported by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the U.S. Dept. of Commerce [http://www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/top/ ]. By creating an archive that preserves and presents the riches of the TOP legacy, we also intend to support the creation of an active community of community technology researchers, as well as a model that could be used to describe and study a wide range of technology projects in the future. The TOP Legacy Project was initiated by Kate Williams, a doctoral student at the U of Michigan, in November 2004. In addition to Kate, participants include: Amy Borgstrom and Tony Wilhelm (TOP program officers); Prof. Joan Durrance (U. Mich); Prof. Ann Bishop (UIUC); and Laura Breeden (Educational Development Center - http://main.edc.org/ ). UI's role is to develop and manage a website for the project team [http://ilabs.inquiry.uiuc.edu/ilab/top/ ], as well as to bring a user-oriented perspective to the TOP Legacy Project by assessing the needs of various stakeholders to produce scenarios of use, involving users in assessing Project prototypes, etc. Current work includes the design of a web portal that will provide a variety of users with access to the TOP Legacy archive and related resources. CTC Consulting and Support In Martin Wolske's LIS 451 course and other Prairienet activities, students set up computer labs in low-income community settings (churches, daycares, shelters, community centers, afterschool programs, etc.) in East St. Louis and Champaign-Urbana. But then what happens? Many of the organizations where computers are installed to create a community technology center (CTC) are not sure how best to use computers and the Internet to serve their constituents and to support their organizational mission. Students could help bridge this gap by consulting with the CTC sites and collaborating with them to develop meaningful CTC content and programs (training sessions, online tip sheets and tutorials for their users, manuals, a strategic plan, etc.). Another need is to develop a "sister" course in CTC management that would complement the current computer lab installation course. If done as a practicum, the site supervisor for this work will be Paul Adams, Prairienet director (padams@uiuc.edu) Computer/Tech Support Listings from CUVoluneer (Check listings for currency) Computer/Technical Support Developmental Services Center http://www.cuvolunteer.org/find/opp_profile.phtml?oid=616 Computer lab assistant Generations of Hope - Generations of Hope http://www.cuvolunteer.org/find/opp_profile.phtml?oid=256 Internet Computer Monitors Champaign Public Library http://www.cuvolunteer.org/find/opp_profile.phtml?oid=1107 Computer Programmer PACE, Inc. - Persons Assuming Control of their Environment - Volunteer Program http://www.cuvolunteer.org/find/opp_profile.phtml?oid=1288 Urbana Free Library Computer Lab The Urbana Free Library is looking for GSLIS students to assist in their public computer lab. Suitable for practicum iLabs Community Portal The Community Inquiry Labs (iLabs) Collaborative, based at GSLIS, has developed a free suite of software tools that a number of community organizations are using to create their own interactive websites [see http://ilabs.inquiry.uiuc.edu/ ]. iLabs is looking for an action researcher to help build an iLab portal geared specifically to community organizations. This project entails identifying and documenting iLab creation and use by community groups and creating a web-based iLab portal that would present, describe, and support the use of iLabs by such groups. The project could also include making usability improvements (such as better interface design and documentation) based on the needs and context of community organizations. Suitable for practicum . HerMES: Consumer Health Librarianship HeRMES (http://hermes.navsaria.com ) is a student-run free clinic, founded and run by GSLIS grad and med student Dipesh Navsaria. The clinic is becoming more multidisciplinary, expanding its volunteer staff beyond just medical students to include community health undergrads and (soon) nursing students. Currently, HerMES would like to add information provision to its patients in terms of written materials and the like. Dipesh is specifically interested in recruiting GSLIS faculty/staff/students who are interested in essentially doing on-the-spot consumer health librarianship at HeRMES. HerMES operates only one evening a month (although additional time might also be had at the partner clinic, the Champaign County Christian Health Center). Dipesh also envisions the need for on-the-spot lit searches and other information needs occurring for their health care team -- every so often it does seem that a question arises, and they have few if any text books available to us at the clinic. HerMES provides an excellent opportunity to work with a vastly underprivileged community with very acute, short-term needs. It would also offer a chance to interact with health care professionals and students and make them aware of what resources the LIS professions have to offer. One component of HerMES is ongoing volunteering, where students would have some direct patient contact at the clinic. If taken as a 591CIC/CIL practicum, work would encompass a somewhat more formal experience in terms of producing an information plan, policies, consumer health guide, etc. for HerMES. Suitable for practicum Contact site supervisor Dipesh Navsaria, MPH, MS(LIS), PA-C (dipesh@navsaria.com) for further information. Youth Librarianship Project Last year, GSLIS collaborated with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) in Chicago [http://www.prcc-chgo.org ] to create a "street academy" course in community librarianship for local youth. In the course, students began learning how to manage the library resources (computer lab, book collection, poster collection, etc.) of the PRCC and plan for library programs relevant to the neighborhood (family reading night, books to prisoners program, teen reading group, etc.). Paul Adams (Prairienet Director) and Cindy Welch (GSLIS PhD student) have begun a similar youth library project at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center in East St. Louis. Current work with these projects includes: developing a curriculum for youth librarianship; helping youth plan and run library services, and writing a grant proposal for submission to the Youth and Education program at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Contact Dr. Bishop [abishop@uiuc.edu] for further information about PRCC work; contact Paul Adams [padams@uiuc.edu], Prairienet Director, if you are interested specifically in working in East St. Louis. Suitable for practicum . Paseo Boricua Librarian for Children and Youth The pre-Kindergarden and high school at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) in Chicago are looking for volunteer librarians to staff the PRCC library and computer lab. Volunteers will provide research and reference assistance to high school students, and asist the pre-K program by offering library programs for the children and/or staff development. The PRCC would also like help with institutional networking, i.e., to explore relationships for coordinating PRCC library services with those offered by other school, public, and special libraries in Chicago Suitable for practicum . Paseo Boricua Cataloging Project GSLIS is collaborating with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) in Chicago [http://www.prcc-chgo.org ] to catalog their collections (a research collection of books devoted to third world people and issues, original liberation posters, human rights network archives, etc.). Current activities include updating the PRCC cataloging manual, cataloging the book collection, developing a plan to catalog the posters and archives, entering records into the prototype PRCC web catalog and assisting with iterative design of the online catalog, and developing a web gallery for the posters. Suitable for practicum . Paseo Boricua Local History Projects The Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) in Chicago [http://www.prcc-chgo.org ] often works with local partners, such as the Family Learning Center, to document the history of neighborhood organizations, people, and events. A current project collects oral histories and produces documentary films based on them. The PRCC is also interested in creating an archive and producing relevant materials based on its own history. For example, they would like to document the national and international visitors who have come to the PRCC (e.g., Paolo Freire, the head of the juvenile justice institute at Harvard, a group of citizens from Africa, and the president of the bar association in Puerto Rico). Suitable for practicum . Paseo Boricua Small Press Publishing The Puerto Rican Cultural Center (PRCC) in Chicago [http://www.prcc-chgo.org ] is interested in producing an edited collection of letters from local political prisoners. This project would involve preparing a proposal for small press publishers and begining the process of collecting and editing letters. Spanish helpful but not required. Suitable for practicum . CII Intern GSLIS has launched the Community Informatics Initiative aimed at providing a CI focal point that brings together research, teaching, and action at many levels: within GSLIS, across campus and the state, nationally, and internationally. The CII seeks interns who can help with a variety of activities, such as: develop plans and policies, update the CII website, establish an international advisory board, develop press releases and posters/fliers, and plan and conduct CII conferences and workshops, help establish the Community Informatics Corps across other interested library and information science schools. Prairienet Interns For more than 10 years, Prairienet (http://www.prairienet.org ), the community network run by GSLIS, has been an active force in community informatics (CI) research, service-learning, and public engagement. Listed below are a number of openings for interning with Prairienet. All are suitable for practicum . -Prairienet Journalist- Much of Prairienet's work is a well-kept secret. Prairienet needs a good investigative journalist to document and publish the many-faceted results of its contributions. This involves interviewing key participants and developing an annotated list, newletter articles, etc., for the Prairienet website that present the dissertations, studies, community systems design projects, and courses involving Prairienet. Another need is to collaborate with Karen Fletcher to document the community-wide system analysis, design, and evaluation research she has conducted to produce Prairienet's large-scale database services (e.g., HelpSource information and referral directories, CUVolunteer). -Member Services- Member services interns will work with Prairienet staff to provide end-user consulting, training, and records management. -Hardware Support- Hardware support interns will collaborate with others in Prairienet's computer recycling program to identify hardware donations, fix and update hardware computer systems, and install and maintain hardware in various settings of use. -Strategic Planning and Evaluation- Prairienet's director, Paul Adams, is seeking interns interested in assisting with the planning, documentation, and assessment of prospective and new projects. These include: strategic information technology planning for Hopkins Park (Pembroke Township in Illinois); documenting and evaluating the municipal wireless project in Homer (a 20 minute drive from Champaign-Urbana); developing a proposal for establishing a Prairienet outreach service at the new Independent Media Center building in Urbana. Informatics Intern at Catholic Workers House Leigh Estabrook Independent Media Center Librarian The Radical Librarians was one of the first working groups of the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. They started meeting as a group even before the UCIMC had a space. At that time their main focus was actually the media archive, because UCIMC news gatherers were busy recording interviews, making videos, and writing stories. They’ve grown a lot since then, and now have a lending library that contains books, video, audio, zines, magazines and newspapers. The Radical Librarians are responsible for maintaining both the library and archive, which includes cataloging, circulation, collection development, and website maintenance (and development). In addition to these activities, the library group has sponsored other outreach activities such as zine readings and workshops and an ongoing Books to Prisoners project. For more information see: http://www.ucimc.org/library (there is a UCIMC Library Handbook linked from the FAQ page). SisterNet Informatics Intern SisterNet (http://www.sisternetonline.org ) is a local grassroots group of community activists. Its members are Black women who strive to nurture healthier lifestyles related to physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual health. SisterNet's Director, Imani Bazzell, is looking for someone to help develop and conduct a workshop for SisterNet's fall conference, which is scheduled for September 24th and focuses on Black women's emotional health. The workshop will echo ones done in previous years. Participants create web-based emotional health plans using GSLIS ilab tools. You can see a sample from a past workshop on spiritual health: http://www.inquiry.uiuc.edu/bin/update_unit.cgi?command=select&xmlfile=u12449.xml Beyond September, the Intern could meet with SisterNet women for follow-up workshops. Another possibility is to collaborate with SisterNet women in creating an updated SisterNet community inquiry lab (iLab) for the SisterNet website. Suitable for practicum Cataloger for the UIUC Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns Office Curt McKay (formerly an associate dean at GSLIS)is looking for someone to catalog the collection of material currently housed at the UIUC Office for LGBT Concerns: http://www.odos.uiuc.edu/lgbt/Office. Suitable for practicum. Participatory Action Researcher Join a participatory action research team conducting community research and forums on health with hispanic residents in Effingham and Danville. Spanish required. For background information, see http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/partners/ (Project leader is Ben Mueller, UIUC Extension Services). Suitable for practicum. Intern for UIUC Spanish Language Media Initiative The newly formed Spanish Language Media Initiative at UIUC is seeking an intern to help with strategic planning, coalition building across campus and community stakeholders, and media production. Media currently under the SLMI umbrella include: a) the New Horizons radio program - http://www.nuevoshorizontes.org/; b) the international Spanish-Language Internet radio feed; and c) El Informador, the local community newspaper. Spanish helpful. Suitable for practicum. Shadow Wood Community and Resource Center & Afterschool Program Over the last few years Champaign-Urbana had become the permanent home of hundreds of Latino families. Many of these families are moving to this area directly from Mexico, leaving all their possessions, extended family, and memories behind. Up until summer 2005, the community of Shadow Wood (trailer park where 50% of the families are recent Latino immigrants) benefited from having a parent resource center and the only after school program in town with bilingual –and bicultural staff. A committed group of local organizations are striving to get the Shadow Wood community center and afterschool program going again, and are looking for volunteers to help achieve the following goals: 1. To provide a resource center where Latino families can access information and resources across a wide spectrum of services and institutions. 2. To help identify culturally and linguistically competent services in the community. 3. To create and maintain partnerships with organizations and service providers around the community. 4. To facilitate parent support groups and education workshops through outreach organizations to improve families; knowledge of local, state and federal laws and increase their understanding of the educational system. 5. To serve as a community center where other organizations can reach out to the Latino community and disseminate information. 6. To provide an after school program where students can receive bilingual academic support and help with homework. Youth would also have the opportunity to get involve in culturally competent and appropriate activities. Bilingual staff and volunteers will work to help the students have a successful transition from their home culture and education to their new community. Through academic activities, guest speakers, and educational field trips students will learn to appreciate the importance of becoming bilingual and bicultural. People are needed to serve as youth outreach workers, administrative interns, afterschool program staff, and staff to build up the resource center with more and improved information for families. Spanish may be necessary for some positions. Suitable for practicum. Contact Ann Bishop for more information (abishop@uiuc.edu) and see the Shadow Wood project website at http://ilabs.inquiry.uiuc.edu/ilab/shadow Grant Researcher and Writer Ann Bishop (GSLIS) and Ben Mueller (UIUC Extension Services) are looking for assistance in developing a proposal to fund community research and forums related to hate crimes against new immigrants. Social Issue Researcher The UIUC Program on Intergroup Relations (PIR) - facilitates dialogue among students from different social and cultural backgrounds. It provides students with a proactive educational experience that promotes the exploration of group identities and open discussion of social justice issues such as discrimination based on class, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. PIR seeks to advance students' understanding of and respect for diversity and social justice issues and to augment students' skills in responding to intergroup differences and conflicts. Conduct research on social issues to support UIUC campus dialogue program (http://www.intergrouprelations.uiuc.edu/ ). PIR is looking for someone to conduct library research related to the forums they conduct on campus. Identifying and helping to analyze current research would provide useful material for those involved in campus dialogues facilitated by PIR. Suitable for practicum School Media Library Intern Assist Margie Lerch in Thomasboro (10 min. drive from Champaign) with the creation of an organized archive of lesson plans and science project materials for K-12 teachers and informal community educators. Suitable for practicum . (contact Chip Bruce for further info: chip@uiuc.edu) Uni High Counseling Office Library Intern Samuel Smith, Guidance Counselor at the Student Services Office at the UI Laboratory High School (Uni High), is seeking an intern to help build their growing library of books related to college prep and the social and emotional needs of gifted youth. In addition to organizing the collection, interns could also help conduct book discussions on such issues as gender and giftedness, and expand the Office's website. Sam is interested in experimenting with GSLIS iLabs software (http://ilabs.inquiry.uiuc.edu ) to add interactive features to the website. He also would like to have brief fact sheets and resource guide added to the site on key topics and issues, such as multicultural gifted education. Suitable for practicum Center for Women in Transition Library Intern The Champaign-Urbana CWT: Center for Women in Transition (http://www.prairienet.org/cwt/ ) has a new building which will include a library, the first time such a facility has featured prominently at the CWT. Interns are sought to develop a plan for the library's space, collections, policies, and programs and begin moving from the plan to reality. Suitable for practicum Contact Ann Bishop (abishop@uiuc.edu) if interested. Food Bank Research Assistant Andrea Rundell reports that the Foodbank of east central Illinois has a lot of data from a hunger study done in their 14-county region about 2 years ago. However, it was never compiled & assessed properly. So she is looking for help with this project via a volunteer or practicum student. Could continue with varied duties in the Spring. Suitable for practicum Books-To-Prisoners and Champaign Jail Library Project GSLIS students and other local activists have worked over the past several years to set up a robust and ongoing books-to-prisoner program with the Independent Media Center in Urbana. The latest phase of this project is to help establish libraries for inmates at Champaign jails. The library project is endorsed by the jails and an initial collection of 1000 books has been created. Volunteers will be transporting the books and setting up the collection beginning around the second week in September. For more information, see: http://ilabs.inquiry.uiuc.edu/ilab/cic/1983/view_post.php?topic_id=1&post_id=1 Homer Wireless Project Intern The village of Homer, about a 20 min. drive from Champaign, has embarked on a wireless project, in collaboration with Prairienet and C-U Wireless (http://www.cuwireless.net/ ). Interns are needed to help the village set up public access wireless sites, figure out how different organizations (schools, banks, cafes, hospitals, etc.) can use their new wireless connections to improve their services, develop digital content for a Homer community network, and study the implementation process and village impact. For more information, contact Paul Adams [padams@uiuc.edu], Prairienet Director; or Bruce Wicks, Professor in Leisure Studies and Homer resident leading the project [bew@uiuc.edu]. Suitable for practicum Book Buddies Assistant Mary Anne Wilson, of United Way's "Success by Six" program is embarking on a new project called "Book Buddies" that helps 4-year olds in low-income families develop a love of reading and early literacy skills. Altrusa volunteers have created a set of Book Buddy canvas bags with books and toys, each with a special theme, such as "dancing" or "builders" or "nutrition." Children at local daycares will check out the bags and bring them home to share with their families, while related activities are pursued in their classrooms. This project seeks assistants to help with a variety of activities, such as: assessing the impact of the program, reading with children in their classroom, developing a peer parent network, and developing a system for checking out and inventorying the Book Buddy bags. For more information, contact Prof. Ann Bishop [abishop@uiuc.edu] or Mary Anne Wilson [mawilson@uwayhelps.org]. Suitable for practicum Journal of Community Informatics Publishing Assistant GSLIS helps produce the Journal of Community Informatics, the first international, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal devoted to CI: http://www.ci-journal.net/. JoCI seeks publishing assistants to edit and proofread manuscripts, produce the online journal articles (mark-up and layout of html and pdf files), develop new journal features, and write JoCI reviews of CI books and other media. For more information, contact Prof. Ann Bishop [abishop@uiuc.edu]. Suitable for practicum Additional Possibilities (Check with Ann Bishop - abishop@uiuc.edu - if interested) -Helping local youth create a (in part, digital) library of historical material about the Douglass Park neighborhood (with Will Patterson). Opportunities for Spring 2006 -Technology intern for INASP, a non-profit organization based in Oxford, UK. Its mission is to enable worldwide access to information and knowledge with particular emphasis on the needs of developing and transitional countries. They work with partners and networks around the world to encourage the creation and production of information, to promote sustainable and equitable access to information, to foster collaboration and networking, and to strengthen local capacities to manage and use information and knowledge. |
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| Community Informatics Corps (CIC) meetings Ann Bishop (abishop@uiuc.edu, 217.244.3299) has office hours on Tuesdays at 3:00-5:00 p.m. in LIS 203. Feel free to drop by then, or make arrangements to meet at another time. |
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