Faculty and Staff Spotlights - Fall 2023
Conferences
The School of Information Sciences was well represented this conference season at local and international conferences. SIS faculty, staff and students were present at conferences hosted by the American Library Association (ALA), Michigan Library Association (MLA), Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL), Michigan Association of School Librarians and the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T).
Association for Information Science and Technology
School of Information Sciences Professor Deborah Charbonneau (pictured second from right) was a presenter at the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) 2023 annual meeting in London, U.K., in October.
She presented “Challenging Book Challenges: Understanding the Background, Examining ‘Astroturfing’ as a Current Political Strategy, and Finding Ways Forward” with Suliman Hawamdeh, University of North Texas; Shannon Oltmann, University of Kentucky; Joseph Winberry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill; Jieun Yeon, Syracuse University; and Andrew Zalot, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Assistant Professor Christine D’Arpa (second from left) represented her colleagues and the work they did on the IMLS-funded 
research project Community Health and Wellness (IMLS Grant LG-18-19-0015) at ASIS&T 2023.
She presented “Public Library-University Partnerships in Library and Information Science: Approaches, Challenges, Implications for Translating Research into Practice” with Kahyun Choi, Indiana University Bloomington; Ayoung Yoon, Indiana University Indianapolis; Hee Rin Lee, Michigan State University; Gi Woong Choi, University of Cincinnati; Lance Simpson, The University of Alabama; Soo Hyeon Kim (lead organizer for the panel); and Sarah Evans, University of North Texas.
Michigan Association of School Librarians (MASL - previously known as MAME - Michigan Association for Media in Education)
Kathleen McBroom, school library media practicum coordinator, and Gwenn Marchesano, part-time faculty member, were speakers for the breakout session, “Reflecting on Learning: Where We’ve Been – Where We’re Going.” They also hosted a welcome reception co-hosted by Wayne State’s School of Information Sciences.
Alumna and part-time faculty member Kathy Lester, (left, with author Kelly J. Baptist) immediate past president of the American Association for School Librarians, delivered the keynote address, “We are all leaders and advocates.”
European Conference on Information Literacy (ECIL)
Professor Hermina Anghelescu, pictured with SIS alumna Elizabeth Gross, attended the European Conference on Information Literacy in Krakow, Poland, where she presented "Alarming Literacy Rates in One of America’s Largest Cities: What Can Be Done in the City of Detroit?"
After graduating with her MLIS in 2001, Gross received her Ed.D. from Wayne State’s College of Education where Anghelescu served on her dissertation committee. She is now an associate professor at Sam Houston State University where she teaches school media.
Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE)
Professor Deborah Charbonneau and Assistant Professor Christine D’Arpa were speakers for the breakout session, “Discussing Health and LIS Research and Education.”
Charbonneau was also a speaker for the “Advocating for Disability Access: The Bridge We Need” breakout session.
D’Arpa also presented the WIP (works-in-progress) poster “Faculty/Student Research Collaboration: Enhancing LIS Student Learning and Creating Opportunities” with SIS MLIS students Andrew Wilhelme and Elisha Miranda.
American Library Association (ALA)
Academic Services Officer Mike Dutkewych attended the ALA annual conference in Chicago in June where he hosted a reception for School of Information Sciences alumni at the Highline Bar and Lounge.
Michigan Library Association (MLA)
Academic Services Officer Mike Dutkewych and Diversity Outreach Graduate Student Assistant Tori Robinson attended the MLA annual conference in Kalamazoo in October where they hosted a booth in the exhibition hall where they met and gifted SIS swag and prizes to alumni attendees.
Click here to see more 2023 conference photos.
Honors and Achievements
School of Information Sciences announces faculty promotions
Associate Professors Kafi Kumasi, Xiangmin Zhang and Deborah Charbonneau, chair of the school’s Master of Library and Information Science program, were promoted to the rank of full professor in May.
Full professor is the highest academic rank that a faculty member can achieve at Wayne State University. The position is attained after many years of teaching, research and service to the institution. Full professors are considered to be experts in their fields and are highly respected for their contributions to scholarship and education. Read more
Professor Stephen Bajjaly retires, earns emeritus status
After more than 15 years of dedicated service to Wayne State University’s School of Information Sciences, Professor Stephen Bajjaly announced his retirement in August and was granted the esteemed title of Emeritus Professor by Wayne State Provost Mark Kornbluh. Read more
Professor Deborah Charbonneau receives the ALISE/ProQuest Methodology Paper Competition award
Professor Deborah Charbonneau 
received the 2023 ALISE/ProQuest Methodology Paper Competition award. This prestigious award, sponsored by ProQuest, recognizes innovations in research methodologies in the field of library and information science. Charbonneau collaborated with Dr. Keren Dali from the University of Denver, and their research paper entitled “Using Hermeneutic Phenomenology and the Single Question Aimed at Inducing Narrative (SQUIN) in Disability Research,” was selected as the winner 2023 ALISE/ProQuest Methodology Paper competition. The study was supported by a Flowback grant from the Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver.
Charbonneau and Dali were recognized during the awards luncheon at the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) Annual Conference in October 2023 in Milwaukee. Read more
Publications and Presentations
Professor Hermina Anghelescu
- Anghelescu is co-author of Inside Hong Kong’s Arts and Culture Scene: Conversations with Hong Kong’s Leading Arts and Cultural Administrators, Educators, Producers and Presenters to be published in November 2023 by Nova Science Publishers. Co-authors are Patrick Lo, Rebekah Okpoti, Wei-En Hsu and Dickson K.W. Chiu.
- Co-edited books
- Anghelescu co-edited Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America. (2 vols). Lo, P., Anghelescu, H.G.B., and Allard, B. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, 2022.
Volume 1 offers interviews with curators of Japanese and Korean library collections in the US and Canada. Volume 2includes interviews with curators of Chinese library collections in the US and Canada. Each volume contains “East Asian Librarianship and Library Collections in the United States and Canada: A Selective Bibliography, 2000-2020” compiled by the students in my INF 7160. A student, Alice Law, and I co-edited this bibliography (vol. 1, pp. 279-301; vol. 2, pp. 257-280).
- Anghelescu co-edited Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America. (2 vols). Lo, P., Anghelescu, H.G.B., and Allard, B. Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, 2022.
- Co-authored book chapters
- Anghelescu, H.G.B., Lo, P. and Allard, B. (2022), “East Asian Librarianship and Library Collections in North America: Introduction,” in: Lo, P., Anghelescu, H.G.B., and Allard, B. (Eds.). Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America, Vol. 1, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-233-120221026
- Anghelescu, H.G.B., Lo, P. and Allard, B. (2022), “East Asian Librarianship and Library Collections in North America: Conclusion,” in: Lo, P., Anghelescu, H.G.B., and Allard, B. (Eds.). Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America, Vol. 1, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 303-325. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-233-120221024
- Co-edited selective bibliography
- Anghelescu, H.G.B. and Law, A.Y.L. (2022), “East Asian Librarianship and Library Collections in the United States and Canada: A Selective Bibliography, 2000–2020,” in: Lo, P., Anghelescu, H.G.B. and Allard, B. (Eds.). in: : Lo, P., Anghelescu, H.G.B., and Allard, B. (Eds.). Inside Major East Asian Library Collections in North America, Volume 1, Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, 2022, pp. 279-301. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80262-233-120221023
- Charbonneau, D.H. and Vardell, E. “How has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced reference, research, and instruction in health sciences libraries?” Virtual presentation hosted by the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Health Sciences Interest Group. (August 4, 2023).
- Charbonneau, D. H., & Ketcheson, L. R. (2023). Retracted publications in autism research are mostly concerned with ethical misconduct. Health information and libraries journal, 10.1111/hir.12482. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12482
- Charbonneau, D., D'Arpa, C., & Belz, S. (in publication). Partnerships for health literacy: Information access, training, and programs. In E. Vardell & D. H. Charbonneau (Eds.), Health Literacy and Libraries. Rowman & Littlefield.
Assistant Professor Christine D’Arpa
- Lenstra, N. and D’Arpa, C. (2023), "Sustaining Ourselves, Sustaining Relationships, Sustaining Communities", Williams-Cockfield, K.C. and Mehra, B. (Ed.) How Public Libraries Build Sustainable Communities in the 21st Century (Advances in Librarianship, Vol. 53), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 27-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0065-283020230000053003
- Peritore, N., Lenstra, N., D'Arpa, C. (2023). Public Librarianship and the US Food System: Results from a 2022 National Survey. Public Library Quarterly, DOI: 10.1080/01616846.2023.2200365
- Charbonneau, D., D'Arpa, C., & Belz, S. (in publication). Partnerships for health literacy: Information access, training, and programs. In E. Vardell & D. H. Charbonneau (Eds.), Health Literacy and Libraries. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Kumasi, K. (Exp. Spring 2024) Forward. The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Street Literature, 2nd Edition. American Library Association.
- Kumasi, K. (Exp. Dec. 2023) Unleashing the Power of Hip Hop: Catalyst for Equitable Library Services for Young Adults. Young Adult Services: Challenges and Opportunities. Rowan & Littlefield.
- Kumasi,K. (Nov 2023). Hip Hop’s Ameoba-Like Influence: Lessons for Educators as Hip Hop Turns 50. Invited Panel Presentation. “You Believe in Me”: Celerating 50 Years of Hip Hop in Education. East Carolina University, College of Education.
- Kumasi, K. (Oct. 2023) Literacy Liberty for All: A Community Q&A. Friends of the Canton Public Library and Friends of the Plymouth District Library.
- Kumasi, K. (Nov. 2023) Banned Books and School Libraries. Keynote speaker, Detroit Study Club.
- Debajyoti Pal , Vajirasak Vanijja, Himanshu Thapliyal, & Xiangmin Zhang (2023). What affects the usage of artificial conversational agents? An agent personality and love theory perspective. April 2023, Computers in Human Behavior 145(3). DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2023.107788
- Published two high impact journal articles:
- Debajyoti Pal, Xiangmin Zhang, Subhodeep Mukherjee, & Suree Funilku (2023). Switching to metaverse? Perspectives from push–pull–mooring model, Nov. 2023, Journal of Computers in Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40692-023-00301-y Journal Impact factor: 6.1
- Debajyoti Pal, Vajirasak Vanijja, Himanshu Thapliyal and Xiangmin Zhang (2023). What affects the usage of artificial conversational agents? An agent personality and love theory perspective. April 2023, Computers in Human Behavior 145(3). DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2023.107788. Journal impact factor: 9.9
- Editing two journal special issues:
- Guest editor, Special Issue on The Unexpected Consequences of Emerging Technologies, the International Journal of Information Management Data Insight, 2024
- Guest editor, Special Issue on Explainable AI for Recommender Systems, the International Journal of Computational Intelligence, 2023.
- Collaborating with Dr. Seunghee Choi, College of Nursing, on the We Quit project, an intervention program for couple-based smokers. Project in progress.