The Role of Library and Information Science Education in the Development of Community Health Information Services for People Living with HIV/AIDS: Perspectives of Directors and Managers of Public Libraries
Bharat Mehra, Adrienne Dessel
.
DOI: 10.4236/wja.2011.13012   PDF    HTML     6,204 Downloads   13,466 Views   Citations

Abstract

This article identifies the role of library and information science (LIS) education in the development of community health information services for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Preliminary findings are presented from semi- structured qualitative interviews that were conducted with eleven directors and managers of local branches in the Knox County Public Library (KCPL) System that is located in the East Tennessee region in the United States. Select feedback reported by research participants is summarized in the article about strategies in LIS education that can help local public librarians and others in their efforts to become more responsive information providers to PLWHA. Research findings help better understand the issues and concerns regarding the development of digital and non-digital health information services for PLWHA in local public library institutions.

Share and Cite:

B. Mehra and A. Dessel, "The Role of Library and Information Science Education in the Development of Community Health Information Services for People Living with HIV/AIDS: Perspectives of Directors and Managers of Public Libraries," World Journal of AIDS, Vol. 1 No. 3, 2011, pp. 78-87. doi: 10.4236/wja.2011.13012.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] J. H. Shera and D. B. Cleveland, “History and Foundations of Information Science,” In: M. E. Williams, Ed., Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Vol. 12, Knowledge Industry Publications Inc., White Plains, New York, 1979, pp. 249-275.
[2] P. Vakkari, “From Library Science to Information Studies,” In: R. Verwer, J. Nijboer, and R. Bruyns, Eds., The Future of Librarianship: Proceeding of the 2nd International Budapest Symposium, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Faculteit, Economie en Informatie, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1994.
[3] M. H. Harris, “History of Libraries in the Western World,” 4th Edition, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland, 1995.
[4] M. Buckland and Z. Liu, “History of Information Science,” In: T. B. Hahn and M. Buckland, Eds., Historical Studies in Information Science, Information Today Inc., American Society for Information Science, Medford, New Jersey, 1998, pp. 272-295.
[5] W. B. Rayward, “International Federation for Information and Documentation,” In: W. A. Wiegand and D. G. David Jr., Eds., The Encyclopedia of Library History, Garland Publishing, Inc., New York, 1994, pp. 290-294.
[6] I. Abdullahi, “Diversity and Intercultural Issues in Library and Information Science (LIS) Education, New Library World, Vol. 108, No. 9/10, 2007, pp. 453-459. doi:10.1108/03074800710823980
[7] G. Benoit, “Critical Theory and the Legitimation of LIS,” Information Research, Vol. 12, No. 4, 2007. http://InformationR.net/ir/12-4/colis30.html
[8] B. Mehra, K. Black and S. Lee, “Perspectives of East Tennessee’s Rural Public Librarians about the Need for Professional Library Education: An Exploratory Study,” Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, Vol. 51, No. 3, 2010, pp. 142-157.
[9] B. Mehra, H. A. Olson and S. Ahmad, “Integrating Diversity across the LIS Curriculum: An Exploratory Study of Instructors’ Perceptions and Practices Online,” International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1, 2011, pp. 39-51.
[10] R. Parker, P. Aggleton, K. Attawell, J. Pulerwitz and L. Brown, “HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination: A Conceptual Framework and an Agenda for Action,” 2002. http://www.dec.org/pdf_docs/PNACQ832.pdf
[11] UNAIDS, “Reducing HIV Stigma and Discrimination: A Critical Part of National AIDS Programmes, A Resource for National Stakeholders in the HIV Response,” Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, Geneva, 2007. http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/jc1420_stigma_discr_en.pdf
[12] Kaiser Family Foundation, “HIV/AIDS Policy Fact Sheet: The HIV/AIDS Epidemic in the United States,” Impact across the Country section, para. 3, Washington, DC, July 2007. http://www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/3029-071.pdf
[13] L. Espinoza, K. L. Dominguez, R. A. Romaguera, X. Hu, L. A. Valleroy and H. I. Hall, “HIV/AIDS among Hispanics—United States, 2001-2005,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (Newsletter), Thompson Gale, New York, 12 October, 2007.
[14] S. Hunter, “AIDS in America,” Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2006.
[15] R. E. Beckley and J. R. Koch, “The Continuing Challenge of AIDS: Clergy Responses to Patients, Friends, and Families,” Auburn House, Boston, 2002.
[16] D. D. Wessner, “The AIDS Pandemic: HIV/AIDS in the Southeastern United States,” 2006. http://the-aids-pandemic.blogspot.com/2006/11/hivaids-in-southeastern-us.html
[17] R. C. Gallo, “A Reflection on HIV/AIDS Research after 25 year,” Retrovirology, Vol. 3, 2006, p. 72. doi:10.1186/1742-4690-3-72
[18] M. S. Gottlieb, “Pneumocystis Pneumonia—Los Angeles 1981,” American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 96, No. 6, 2006, pp. 980-983.
[19] J. T. Huber and M. L. Gillapsy, “Social Constructs and Disease: Implications for a Controlled Vocabulary for HIV/AIDS,” Library Trends, Vol. 47, No. 2, 1998, p.190.
[20] H. Albrechtsen and E. K. Jacob, “The Dynamics of Classification Systems as Boundary Objects for Cooperation in the Electronic Library,” In: G. C. Bowker and S. L. Star, Eds., How Classifications Work: Problems and Challenges in an Electronic Age (A special issue), Library Trends, Vol. 47, No. 2, 1998, pp. 203-312.
[21] S. L. Star, “The Structure of Ill-Structured Solutions: Boundary Objects and Heterogeneous Distributed Problem Solving, In: L. Gasser and M. N. Huhns, Eds., Distributed Artificial Intelligence, Pitman, London, 1989, pp. 37-54.
[22] D. S. Ginn, “The AIDS Information Crisis: Confluence of Roles of Information Creator, Seeker, and Provider,” Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, Vol. 75, No. 4, 1987, pp. 333-341.
[23] J. T. Huber, “Dictionary of AIDS-Related Terminology,” Neal-Schuman, New York, 1993.
[24] J. T. Huber and M. L. Gillaspy, “HIV/AIDS and HIV/AIDS-Related Terminology: A Means of Organizing the Body of Knowledge,” Haworth, New York, 1997.
[25] T. Stanton, “HIV/AIDS and Information,” Kindle Edition, Taylor and Francis, London, 2007.
[26] B. Wexler, “AIDS/HIV (Information Plus Reference Series),” Gale Cengage, Florence, Kentucky, 2008.
[27] L. Dube, “Insights into the Diffusion of HIV/AIDS Information in Higher Education Institutions in South Africa,” The International Information and Library Review, Vol. 37, No. 4, 2005, pp. 315-327. doi:10.1016/j.iilr.2005.10.001
[28] S. K. Patra and P. Chand, “HIV/AIDS Research in India: A Bibliometric Study,” Library and Information Science Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2007, pp. 124-134. doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2006.08.010
[29] U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Information Services for HIV/AIDS: Recommendations to the NIH: Report of a Conference Co-sponsored by the National Library of Medicine and the NIH Office of AIDS Research, June 28-30, 1993,” U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 1994.
[30] U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Guide to NIH HIV/AIDS Information Services, with Selected Public Health Service Activities,” U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 1995.
[31] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “HIV/AIDS Surveillance in Adolescents and Young Adults,” (Through 2006), 2003. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/graphics/adolesnt.htm
[32] B. R. Flay, S. Gramlich, E. Segawa, J. L. Burns and M. Y. Holliday, “Effects of Two Prevention Programs on High Risk Behaviors Among African-American Youth,” Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Vol. 158, No. 4, 2004, pp. 337-384. doi:10.1001/archpedi.158.4.377
[33] F. Sabogal and J. A. Catania, “HIV Risk Factors, Condom Use, and HIV Antibody Testing Among Heterosexual Hispanic/Latinos: The National AIDS Behavioral Surveys (NABS),” Hispanic/Latino Journal of Behavioral Sciences, Vol. 18, 1996, pp. 367-391.
[34] M. Suarez-Al-Adam, M. Raffaelli and A. O'Leary. “Influence of Abuse and Partner Hypermasculinity on the Sexual Behavior of Latinas,” AIDS Education and Prevention, Vol. 12, 2000, pp. 263-274.
[35] P. A. Vanable, D. G. Ostrow, D. J. McKirnan, K. J. Taywaditep and B. A. Hope, “Impact of Combination Therapies on HIV Risk Perceptions and Sexual Risk Among HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Gay and Bisexual Men,” Health Psychology, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2000, pp. 134-145. doi:10.1037/0278-6133.19.2.134
[36] National Institutes of Health and National Library of Medicine, “HIV/AIDS Information Resources,” NIH Publication, Number 96-4134, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, 1996.
[37] M. Novellino and S. Ferreira, “Information Sources for a Diverse Audience: The Case of HIV/AIDS,” In: H. A. Olson, Ed., Information Sources in Women’s Studies and Feminism, K. G. Saur, Munich, 2002, pp. 117-127. doi:10.1080/09540120600568731
[38] S. D. Rhodes, L. J. Yee and K. C. Hergenrather, “A Community-Based Rapid Assessment of HIV Behavioural Risk Disparities within a Large Sample of Gay Men in Southeastern USA: A Comparison of African American, Latino and White Men,” AIDS Care, Vol. 18, 2006, pp. 1018-1024.
[39] M. Gross, A. Goldsmith and D. Carruth, “What do Young Adult Novels Say about HIV/AIDS? A Second Look,” The Library Quarterly, Vol. 78, No. 4, 2008, pp. 397-418. doi:10.1086/591181
[40] O. B. Onyancha and D. N. Ocholla, “Country-Wise Collaborations in HIV/AIDS Research in Kenya and South Africa, 1980-2005,” Libri: International Journal of Libraries and Information Services, Vol. 57, No. 4, 2007, pp. 239-254.
[41] K. de la P. McCook, “Introduction to Public Librarianship,” 2th Edition, Neal-Schuman Publishers Inc., New York, 2011.
[42] B. Mehra and R. Srinivasan, “The Library-Community Convergence Framework for Community Action: Libraries as Catalysts of Social Change,” Libri: International Journal of Libraries and Information Services, Vol. 57, No. 3, 2007, pp. 123-139.
[43] L. A. Martin, “Enrichment: A History of the Public Library in the United States in the Twentieth Century, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, 1998.
[44] B. Mehra, K. Rioux, and K. S. Albright, “Social Justice in Library and Information Science,” In: M. J. Bates and M. N. Maack, Eds., Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences. Taylor and Francis Group, New York, 2009.
[45] M. Biggs, “Sources of Tension and Conflict between Librarians and Faculty,” Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 52, No. 2, 1981, pp. 182-201. doi:10.2307/1981090
[46] H. S. White and M. Paris, “Employer Preferences and the Library Education Curriculum,” The Library Quarterly, Vol. 55, No. 1, 1985, pp. 1-33. doi:10.1086/601557
[47] W. Wiegand, “Tunnel Vision and Blind Spots: What the Past Tells Us about the Present; Reflections on the Twentieth-Century History of American Librarianship,” The Library Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 1, 1999, pp. 1-32. doi:10.1086/603022
[48] U. S. Census Bureau, “State and County QuickFacts. Data Derived from Population Estimates, Census of Population and Housing, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, State and County Housing Unit Estimates, County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics, Economic Census, Survey of Business Owners, Building Permits, Consolidated Federal Funds Report,” 2000. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/47000.html
[49] Knox Country Public Library, “Knox County Public Library: It’s the Smart Place To Be!” http://knoxrooms.sirsi.net/rooms/portal/media-type/html/language/en/country/US/user/anon/page/Sirsi_HOME
[50] Lib-Web-Cats, “A Directory of Libraries throughout the World: Knox County Public Library System,” 2007. http://www.librarytechnology.org/lwc-displaylibrary.pl?RC=749
[51] Tennessee Department of Health, “HIV Maps,” 2005. http://health.state.tn.us/STD/maps.htm
[52] Tennessee Department of Health, “2005 Tennessee Integrated Epidemiologic Profile for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Planning,” Department of Health HIV/AIDS/ STD Program (Surveillance and Data Management Section), Nashville, 2005. http://www.coetenn.com/PDFfiles/2005MASTEREpiProfile1012.pdf
[53] Hope Center, “Hope is the Belief in Possibilities,” 2008. http://hopecenterknox.org/resources.html
[54] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Twenty- Five Years of HIV/AIDS—United States, 1981-2006,” MMWR, Vol. 55, 2006, pp. 585-589.
[55] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “2006 Disease Profile: National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, 2008. http://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/Publications/docs/2006_Disease_Profile_508_FINAL.pdf
[56] State of Tennessee Department of Health, “Tennessee HIV Data: 2004 Cumulative Data Maps for Tennessee through 12/31/2004,” 2002, last edit: 2008. http://www.coetenn.com/HIVdata/HIVdataCumulative.htm
[57] J. Hunter, “‘Not a Big-City Disease Anymore,’ Living Positive: HIV/AIDS in East Tennessee,” Knoxville News Sentinel, August 2005.
[58] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “2003-2008 HIV Prevention Community Planning Guidance,” National Center for HIV, STD and TB Prevention, Atlanta, 2003. http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pubs/hiv-cp.htm
[59] R. Kennedy, “HIV on the Homefront,” Metro Pulse, Vol. 18, No. 45, 2008, pp. 20-26.
[60] B. Mehra and K. S. Albright, “Health Information Services Available for People Living with HIV/AIDS: Perspectives of Library and Information Professionals,” Proceedings of the 69th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science & Technology 2006: Information Realities: Shaping the Digital Future For All, Vol. 43, Austin, 3-8November, 2006.
[61] B. G. Glaser and A. L. Strauss, “The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research,” Aldine, Chicago, 1967.
[62] A. Strauss and J. Corbin, “Grounded Theory Methodology,” In: N. Denzin and Y. Lincoln, Eds., The Handbook of Qualitative Research, Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, 1994, pp. 273-285.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.