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<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">A research group at Kent State University’s School of Information is researching LIS education and training trends and opportunities and is looking to speak with currently employed LIS professionals and paraprofessionals about
their educational experiences and goals. Please consider participating to help us identify ways in which education providers can better serve library, archive, and museum employees’ educational needs.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">*******************************************</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">Dear LIS Current or Future Employee, </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">We are scholars at Kent State University and have identified you as someone working in the field of Library and </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">Information Science. We would like to interview you for our study, tentatively</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">called:</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">Ohio
Pilot Study STACKS: Stackable Training for Accessible Career Knowledge</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 14px;">and Skills.</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">We would ask you open-ended questions (prompts) related to education and training in the field, as related to your specific role in the field, such as: </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">1. Background/trajectory:</span></p>
<blockquote style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; border: medium; padding: 0px;">
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">a. Can you tell me about your current work/studies? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">b. How did you first become interested in this field? </span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">2. Identity/future self:</span></p>
<blockquote style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; border: medium; padding: 0px;">
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">a. How did you imagine yourself when you first started pursuing a degree? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">b. How do you see yourself professionally now? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">c. If you had to describe your professional self in one sentence, how would you describe it? (e.g. A who likes B and works for what?) </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">d. Can you describe any challenges you have experienced (or expect) when pursuing a career in this field? </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">3. Education and preparation: </span></p>
<blockquote style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; border: medium; padding: 0px;">
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">a. What kind of education or training do you think are important for your career goals? (e.g. MLIS and beyond MLIS such as social work, specific disciplinary knowledge) </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">- In what ways did your MLIS education prepare or not prepare you for your current work? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">b. (current students & alumni) Can you describe educational experiences that have been most and least helpful for you? Why? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">c. (paraprofessionals) What factors influenced your decision not to pursue an MLIS degree? Are you planning to get a MLIS degree? If not, why and what would be barriers and benefits of your choice? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">d. Have you heard of micro-credentials that make you learn relevant courses and stack credits towards a degree? Do you have intentions to enroll in this kind of program for your professional development? If not, why? </span></p>
</blockquote>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">4. Do you have any ideas you would like to mention to develop MLIS programs? </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">If you are interested in participating, we would interview you via Zoom, Teams, or similar, at your convenience. The interview would take no more than 60 minutes. Upon completion of the interview, you will receive a $30 gift
card as a token of our appreciation.</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">To communicate your interest in participating, please visit the following site to provide us with your contact information: <a href="https://kent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0DtJItFdbFCI1Ho">https://kent.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0DtJItFdbFCI1Ho</a></span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">We look forward to hearing from you! </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">Sincerely yours,</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">Principal Investigator: Marianne Martens, Ph.D.</span><span style="font-size: 14px;"> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">Co-Investigator Jeeyeon Chun, Doctoral Candidate </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 14px;">Co-Investigator Karen F. Gracy, Ph</span></p>
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<div>*************************************************</div>
<div>Dr. Karen F. Gracy</div>
<div>Professor</div>
<div>School of Information</div>
<div>Kent State University</div>
<div>kgracy@kent.edu</div>
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