LRRT (Library Research Round Table)

 View Only
last person joined: 12 hours ago 

The mission of the Library Research Round Table (LRRT) is to contribute toward the extension and improvement of library research; to provide public program opportunities for describing and evaluating library research projects and for disseminating their findings; to inform and educate ALA members concerning research techniques and their usefulness in obtaining information with which to reach administrative decisions and solve problems; and expand the theoretical base of the field. LRRT also, serves as a forum for discussion and action on issues related to the literature and information needs for the field of library and information science.

Learn more about LRRT on the ALA website.

Back to discussions
Expand all | Collapse all

This Friday: LRRT Webinar on Data Storytelling

  • 1.  This Friday: LRRT Webinar on Data Storytelling

    Posted 23 days ago

    Join the Library Research RoundTable on November 14th for our webinar: Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries

    How can your library use data stories not just to survive, but to thrive? In this interactive session, Dr. Kate McDowell introduces key ideas from her forthcoming book Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries (ALA Editions, 2025), designed to help all library workers-whether data experts or story experts-craft ethical, evidence-based narratives for advocacy and impact. Participants will learn how to:
    ·         Reach diverse audiences with stories that inform persuasively
    ·         Leverage classic and emerging narrative structures for true stories that connect emotionally
    ·         Increase the resilience of libraries through mindful approaches to conflict 

    Based on McDowell's 30 years of library work and national consulting, this session shares insights from the IMLS-funded Data Storytelling Toolkit for Libraries. In an era of rising censorship and shrinking budgets, critical data storytelling offers a powerful response-one that supports library workers from the smallest rural branches to the largest academic institutions. This session is for anyone who wants to use data to tell the story of why libraries matter-truthfully, powerfully, and strategically.

    Date: November 14th, 2025,  2 pm Eastern, 1 pm Central, 11 am Pacific
    Kate McDowell regularly teaches both storytelling and data storytelling courses and was the 2022 recipient of the ASIS&T Outstanding Information Science Teacher Award. She researches and publishes in the areas of storytelling as information research, social justice storytelling, and what library storytelling can teach the information sciences about data storytelling. Her projects engage contexts such as libraries, nonprofit fundraising, health misinformation, social justice in libraries, and others. McDowell has worked with regional, national, and international nonprofits, including the Pan-American Health Organization, the Public Library Association, and the Research Institute for Public Libraries. She leads the nationally-funded Data Storytelling Toolkit for Librarians project to equip libraries with narrative tools for data-informed advocacy, which has been used by over 1,000 librarians in over 50 countries so far.  Her book Critical Data Storytelling for Libraries: Crafting Ethical Narratives for Advocacy and Impact came out August 2025. 


    ------------------------------
    Amanda Harrison
    Faculty
    University of Central Missouri
    ------------------------------