INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LIBRARIANSHIP, 4(2), 129-130 

ISSN: 2474-3542 
 

ALISE 2019: Exploring Learning in a Global Information Context 

Xiaoai Ren 

Valdosta State University, Valdosta, Georgia, USA 

 

The Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE) commits to serve as the 

international leader in both education practice and research for established and emerging career 

opportunities in the information professions. Its 2019 annual conference was held in Knoxville, 

Tennessee from September 24-26th. A total of 282 people, including 76 first time attendees, 

traveled from eight countries – USA, Canada, China, Germany, Jamaica, South Africa, United 

Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom to participate. 

This year’s conference theme is Exploring Learning in a Global Information Context. It is 

to encourage engagement across the globe from LIS educators and scholars from a wide variety of 

relevant fields to share their vision for education, for teaching and learning, for pedagogy, and for 

research through an international lens. This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Jaya Raju. She is 

Associate Professor and Head of the Library and Information Studies Centre at the University of 

Cape Town, South Africa. Her talk is “Shaping LIS Education for Blended Professionals in a 

Pluralist Information Environment: Global Reflections.” She emphasized the importance for LIS 

professionals to be equipped with both technology and pedagogical skills in a digitized information 

environment. Librarians now must blend traditional skills with hardware/software skills, and the 

educational designers’ ability to apply technology appropriately to teaching and learning. She drew 

on findings from research on curriculum development directed at the hybrid LIS professional in a 

pluralist information environment which requires cross-disciplinary competencies spanning LIS, 

IT, Teaching and Learning, and other relevant areas.  

There are eight sessions during the three-day conference. Each session includes five 

concurrent programs, juried panel, juried paper and lasts 1.5 hours. The topics covered during 

these sessions include but are not limited to: innovative teaching methods & strategies, diversity, 

accessibility, information ethics, information policies and many more.  

Doctoral Student Research Poster Competition is always one of the highlights of the 

conference. This year, 19 doctoral students entered the ALISE/Jean Tague-Sutcliffe Doctoral 

Student Research Poster Competition. The first place winner is Megan Threats from the University 

of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Her poster presentation was titled “The Influence of Socio-

Technical Environments on the Information Behaviors and HIV Risk Reduction Behaviors of 

Black Gay Men.” Her study investigates how and where young black men who have sex with men 

(YBMSM) access and interact with HIV/STI-related information. She used online survey and 

semi-structured, in-depth interviews to explore and explain the associations between information 

behavior, technology usage, and HIV risk reduction behaviors among YBMSM. 

In 2019 ALISE annual conference, ALISE also organized its business meetings, committee 

meetings, and planning meetings. The winners of ALISE 2019 awards were announced during the 



Ren / International Journal of Librarianship 4(2)                                               130 

2019 awards luncheon. There are six ALISE awards, three Annual Conference Awards and Grants, 

and four ALISE Research Awards and Grants. Seventeen individuals were recognized at this event.  

As a vital resource in connecting schools and potential faculty members, ALISE also 

provide placement services. Key components of Placement Services include job postings, access 

to student resumes, and accommodations to conduct interviews onsite at the conference. This year, 

nine member schools participated in the placement services at the conference. 

The 2019 ALISE annual conference also announced the theme of the 2020 ALISE annual 

conference: Transforming LIS Education in an Interconnected World. It will be held in Pittsburgh, 

Pennsylvania in October 2020.  

Please refer to ALISE2019 website (https://www.alise.org/alise-2019-conference) for 

further information. 

 

https://www.alise.org/alise-2019-conference