Dear colleagues:

We are Dr. Bharat Mehra, EBSCO Endowed Chair in Social Justice and Professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama and Dr. Kimberly Black, Associate Professor in the Department of Computing, Information and Mathematical Sciences and Technologies at Chicago State University. You are invited to participate in an online focus group (via Zoom) where you will be asked to provide feedback regarding your opinions and experiences about the role of public libraries in conducting community engagement activities to encourage and promote racial justice. The online focus group is for all public library workers (i.e., staff, paraprofessionals and professionals, friends of the library, volunteers, etc.) working in the American South.

​This research study seeks to explore the role of public libraries in their support and promotion of racial justice and positive social change in communities. The purpose is to document the perspectives and experiences of public library staff about their information offerings, activities, and initiatives to address issues related to racism and racial justice in their communities. Data collected from this research will help develop contextually relevant strategic information tools (e.g., roadmap, action plan, taxonomic framework of information responses) that public libraries can use to overcome problems related to racism in their communities. You are being invited to take part in this research study because you are a critical agent in explaining the integration of civic engagement for racial justice in public libraries and their communities in the American South. Also, please forward the message to others who may be interested to participate. You will be asked about your opinions and experiences about your library’s civic engagement efforts that support and promote racial justice in your community.

This research forms part of the three-year grant entitled “Civic Engagement for Racial Justice in Public Libraries (RJ@PL)” funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Leadership Grants for Libraries (NLG-L)– FY 2022 Guidelines (Implementation – Project Type), from August 2022 – July 2025, to the University of Alabama and Chicago State University [PI: B. Mehra. Co-PI: K. Black]. [LG-252354-OLS- 22]. https://www.imls.gov/grants/awarded/lg-252354-ols-22. Project website: http://civicengagement4racialjustice.ua.edu. [copy and paste the URL in your web browser].

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 public library communities by informing the development of civic engagement initiatives to further racial justice.

If you choose to participate, you will be asked questions related to your role as a public library staff member involved in integrating social justice in your community-based settings in the American South. The online focus group will take approximately 30-60 minutes and include 10-20 questions for your feedback. Your participation is completely voluntary. Your answers will be anonymized to protect individual privacy. A consent form will be provided to you before the meeting. You will be provided a small stipend for your participation in this research.

If you are interested in participating in the focus group, please send an email to Drs. Mehra and Black, at bmehra@ua.edu and kblack21@csu.edu.

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

Thank you.
Sincerely,
Drs. Bharat Mehra and Kimberly Black