Christine D'Arpa

Assistant Professor

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Office Hours

Office hours are by appointment and will be held via Zoom or MSTeams. Please contact me via email so we can find a time to meet.

Christine D'Arpa

Christine D'Arpa joined the School of Information Sciences faculty in August 2017. Her research focuses on public libraries and community engagement; the history of libraries; and the role of the federal government in information provision. She has presented her research at regional, national, and international conferences including SHARP, Library History Seminar, i-Schools Conference, Digital Library Federation, Society of American Archivists, Midwest Archives Conference, ALISE, AERI, ARSL, and ASIS&T. D'Arpa has designed and taught a range of courses in LIS including Community Archives, Digital Public History, Administration and Use of Archival Materials, Community Engagement, Administration of Cultural Heritage Organizations, Organization of Information, and Race, Gender, and Information Technology.

Google Scholar profile
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dIAOSJ3H6w
Research-related Facebook group engaging the question about how public libraries are addressing food literacy in their communities: https://www.facebook.com/groups/399101418755423; hashtag: #librariesandfood

Degrees and Certifications
Ph.D., Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Graduate Certificate in Special Collections, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.S., Library and Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Grant-Funded Research
Co-Investigator. Lenstra, N., D'Arpa C. Public libraries and food justice. Research planning grant from the Mellon Foundation. University of North Carolina, Greensboro is the lead institution. Grant awarded: $107,000. https://www.mellon.org/grant-details/food-justice-and-public-libraries-20451390

Co-Investigator. Rubenstein, E., Burke, S, Lenstra, N., D’Arpa, C. Community health and wellness: Small and rural library practices, perspectives, and programs. National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), LG-18-19-0015-19. University of Oklahoma is the lead institution. Grant awarded: $475,785.00 for FY2019-2022.

Selected Publications

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.

Peritore, N., Lenstra, N., & D'Arpa, C. (2024) Public Librarianship and the US Food System: Results from a 2022 National Survey. Public Library Quarterly. DOI: 10.1080/01616846.2023.2200365

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

Lenstra, N., Oguz, F., D'Arpa, C., Wilson, L.S. (2022). Exercising at the Library: Small and Rural Public Libraries in the Lives of Older Adults, Library Quarterly, 92:1. DOI: 10.1086/717232

D’Arpa, C. (2021 online; 2022 print). Sharing the Science of Agricultural Practice: Information Transfer via the Annual Reports of the United States Department of Agriculture, 1862–1868, Journal of Agricultural & Food Information, 23:1-2, 9-27, DOI: 10.1080/10496505.2021.2010563

Lenstra, N., & D’Arpa, C. (2021). Reimagining public library programming during a pandemic. IFLA Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/03400352211023076

D’Arpa, C. (2021). ¡Si, Se Puede! The United Farm Workers (https://ufw.org), Journal of Agricultural & Food Information, 22:1-2, 2-7, DOI: 10.1080/10496505.2021.1901182

D’Arpa, C., Lenstra, N., & Rubenstein, E. (2020) Growing food at and through the local library: An exploratory study of an emerging role.In B. St. Jean, G. Jindal, Y. Liao, & P. T. Jaeger (Eds.), Roles and Responsibilities of Libraries in Increasing Consumer Health Literacy and Reducing Health Disparities (Advances in Librarianship, Volume 47). London: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Lenstra, N. & D’Arpa, C. (2019). “Food Justice in the Public Library: Information, Resources, and Meals.” The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion (IJIDI), 3(4), 45-67. https://doi.org/10.33137/ijidi.v3i4.33010

D'Arpa, C., Lenstra, N., Rubenstein, E. & Burke, S. (2019). Small and rural public libraries: Supporting community health and wellness. ALISE 2019 Proceedings, Knoxville (TN), September 24-26, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/2142/105362

D'Arpa, C., Lenstra, N., Rubenstein, E. & Burke, S. (2019). Community health and wellness: Rural library practices, perspectives, and programs. iConference, College Park (MD), March 31-April 3, 2019. https://doi.org/10.21900/iconf.2019.103302

Smith, D.M. & D’Arpa, C. (2017). What’s history got to do with it? Seventy Years of Historical Dissertation Research at the School of Information Sciences of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Library Trends, 65(4). https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2017.0019

Willliams, S.C. & D’Arpa, C. (Eds.). (2017). Collaboration in Agricultural Librarianship and Information Work. Library Trends, 65(3). https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2017.0000

Teaching

Winter 2024
Organization of Information - INF6210
Community Engagement - INF7830

Fall 2023
Organization of Information - INF6210
Cultural Heritage Institutions - INF7885 / HIST7880
Research and Directed Study - INF7990

Winter 2023
Community Engagement - INF7830

Fall 2022
Organization of Information - INF6210
Cultural Heritage Institutions - INF7885 / HIST7880

Winter 2022
Organization of Information - INF6210
Community Archives - INF7835

Fall 2021
Organization of Information - INF6210
Cultural Heritage Institutions - INF7885 / HIST7880