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People: Faculty Profile
Joan C. Durrance Margaret Mann Collegiate Professor of Information
BA, University of Florida; MSLS, University of North Carolina; Specialist Certification, University of Wisconsin; Ph.D. in library and information science, University of Michigan
(734) 763-1569
| 3084 West Hall Connector
E-mail: durrance@umich.edu
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Classes taught
| Specialization(s): LIS
SI Ph.D. students currently advised:
Joan C. Durrance is Margaret Mann Collegiate Professor of Information at the School of Information.
She teaches and conducts research in information needs and use in community settings, the use of community information systems including libraries, the evaluation of information services, and the professional practice of librarians.
Durrance was the co-principal investigator, with University of Washington Assistant Professor Karen Fisher, of a major research and demonstration project, "How Libraries and Librarians Help," which was funded by a National Leadership Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). This research built on Durrance and Fisher's previous IMLS project, "Help-Seeking in an Electronic World," and looked at the role of librarians in assisting users with finding community information over the Internet. It examined both public library involvement in networked community information provision and public library-community networking activities. Information about those projects can now be found on the Information Behavior in Everyday Contexts site, a joint research effort of the University of Washington and the School of Information.
Durrance also works with Professor Paul Resnick on a W.K. Kellogg Foundation-funded project that seeks to help young people acquire information and technology skills and put those skills to use in public work that benefits their communities.
She developed the Community Connector -- an electronic gateway of digital community information resources -- with a team of graduate students. The Connector showcases ways community networks and community information systems serve and engage their communities.
Durrance has written five books, the most recent being How Libraries and Librarians Help: A Guide to Identifying User-Centered Outcomes, published in fall 2004. Her others are Online Community Information: Creating a Nexus at Your Library, which was coauthored by Pettigrew Fisher. Reviewer Steve Cisler wrote, "This book will help redefine information and its uses." Durrance has also authored Meeting Community Needs Through Job and Career Centers, Serving Job Seekers and Career Changers, and Armed for Action. She has also authored numerous articles.
Her research on the professional practice of librarians earned her ALA's Isadore Gilbert Mudge-R.R. Bowker Award for distinguished contribution to reference librarianship. In January 2005, she received the Award for Professional Contribution to the Field of Library and Information Science from the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE).
Durrance has conducted evaluations of several major projects, including the NEH-funded "Let's Talk About It" reading and discussion programs in public libraries and the Kellogg-funded Job & Career Information Centers.
Durrance has served the American Library Association as a member of the ALA Council and the Intellectual Freedom Committee. She has been active in the Public Library Association on various committees that focus on research and evaluation and on the provision of community information.
She is one of the developers of the Association for Community Networking, where she served as a founding member of the governing board. She has served ALISE as president and as member and chair of various units, including the JELIS Editorial Board. She serves as chair of the Advisory Committee to KALIPER, a Kellogg- funded examination of changes in library and information science education.
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