[SOA] Fwd: SJ4A Scholarship Program: Recruitment Letter to Participate in an Online Interview or Focus Group with Archivists-Related Professionals

[The Society of Ohio Archivists]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Ron Harris <rlharris1 at crimson.ua.edu>
Date: Thu, Apr 13, 2023 at 6:18 PM
Subject: SJ4A Scholarship Program: Recruitment Letter to Participate in an
Online Interview or Focus Group with Archivists-Related Professionals
To:
Cc: Bharat Mehra <bmehra at ua.edu>


*## Please excuse cross-posting and share with interested parties.##*

Dear colleagues:

Greetings from Drs. Bharat Mehra (EBSCO Endowed Chair in Social Justice and
Professor) and Robert B. Riter (Assistant Professor and Marie Drolet
Bristol-EBSCO Endowed Professor; Program in Archival Studies Coordinator)
in the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University
of Alabama (UA).

You are invited to participate in an online interview or focus group (via
Zoom) where you will be asked to provide feedback regarding your opinions
and experiences as archives-related professionals regarding challenges in
developing and integrating social justice work applications in your
communities. Additionally, we will ask you to share topics related to local
information needs, the use of information resources and services,
challenges and barriers, areas of improvement, and the use of computers and
information technologies to further social justice and impact-driven
offerings in archives-related settings.

You are being invited to take part in this research study because you are a
critical agent in explaining the integration of social justice in
archival-related settings. Also, please forward the message to others
interested in participating. You will be asked about your opinions and
experiences as archives-related professionals regarding challenges in
developing and integrating social justice work applications in your
communities.

This research forms part of the three-year grant entitled Training of
Community-Embedded Social Justice Archivists” (SJ4A) [Archival Studies
Social Justice Master’s Scholarship Program] supported by the Institute of
Museum and Library Services, Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program – FY
2022 Guidelines (LB21) (Implementation – Project Type) [RE-252356-OLS-22].
The purpose of the SJ4A Program is to recruit and train 12
community-embedded paraprofessional archivists who are Black, Indigenous,
and people of color (BIPOC) to get their master’s degree in the University
of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies’ synchronous distance
education program, with a focus on archival studies and social justice
intersections. As an esteemed member of the archives-related professional
community, you were selected to share your opinions and experiences
regarding challenges in developing and integrating social justice work
applications in your communities.

We know your time is valuable, but by taking a brief moment out of your
busy schedule to participate in this study, your contribution will benefit
communities by informing the development of mentoring materials, course
content, practicum projects, advising protocols, and the SJ4A summits. It
will allow SJ4A to develop as an evidenced-based program, responding to the
current concerns and needs of archives-related professionals and their
institutions.

If you choose to participate, you will be asked questions related to your
role as an archives-related professional involved in integrating social
justice in community-based settings. The online interview or focus group
will take approximately 30–60 minutes and include 10-20 questions (not
including demographic questions) for your feedback during the discussion.
Your participation is completely voluntary. Your answers will be anonymized
to protect individual privacy. A consent form will be shared with you prior
to the meeting.

We look forward to hearing back from you and appreciate your contribution
to the study.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Drs. Bharat Mehra and Robert Riter
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