About Kate McDowell
Kate McDowell is Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. She is launching a new research project, Storytelling at Work, analyzing how storytelling operates in all kinds of workplace organizations. As more research situates storytelling as fundamental to human communication and the organization of information in our brains, this project investigates how storytelling operates practically on a day-to-day basis in workplace environments.
Contact:
Dr. Kate McDowell
kmcdowel@illinois.edu
@KateNarrative
or visit my faculty homepage
Her previous teaching and research have analyzed historical and innovative ways to engage young people with reading, learning, and exploring our information world, with a special emphasis on the art of storytelling as a means of engaging people of all ages. She has published articles in Library Quarterly, Library Trends, Children & Libraries, and Book History, and has several book chapters, including an examination of evolution in children's science books published in Culture of Print in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine. McDowell's research on the history of children's reading was funded by the University of Illinois Campus Research Board and awarded the Arnold O. Beckman Research Award. Her article "Surveying the Field: The Research Model of Women in Librarianship, 1882-1898" won the biennial 2010 Donald G. Davis award of the American Library Association's Library History Round Table.
McDowell has been co-PI on two grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Closing the App Gap, which developed a model for combating summer reading losses by bringing tablet-based reading experiences to underserved populations during summer reading programs, and App Authors: Closing the App Gap II. She led a youth services workshop at the 2013 iSchools conference, served as co-chair of the ALISE Youth Services special interest group in 2012, and co-chair of the ALISE conference in 2016.
McDowell teaches youth services librarianship, fantasy literature and media for youth, and storytelling (traditional and digital). Her teaching adapts community informatics concepts to build bridges between public libraries and other youth-focused community organizations. McDowell's students have frequently placed her on the List of Teachers Ranked Excellent by Their Students.
Contact:
Dr. Kate McDowell
kmcdowel@illinois.edu
@KateNarrative
or visit my faculty homepage
Her previous teaching and research have analyzed historical and innovative ways to engage young people with reading, learning, and exploring our information world, with a special emphasis on the art of storytelling as a means of engaging people of all ages. She has published articles in Library Quarterly, Library Trends, Children & Libraries, and Book History, and has several book chapters, including an examination of evolution in children's science books published in Culture of Print in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Medicine. McDowell's research on the history of children's reading was funded by the University of Illinois Campus Research Board and awarded the Arnold O. Beckman Research Award. Her article "Surveying the Field: The Research Model of Women in Librarianship, 1882-1898" won the biennial 2010 Donald G. Davis award of the American Library Association's Library History Round Table.
McDowell has been co-PI on two grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Closing the App Gap, which developed a model for combating summer reading losses by bringing tablet-based reading experiences to underserved populations during summer reading programs, and App Authors: Closing the App Gap II. She led a youth services workshop at the 2013 iSchools conference, served as co-chair of the ALISE Youth Services special interest group in 2012, and co-chair of the ALISE conference in 2016.
McDowell teaches youth services librarianship, fantasy literature and media for youth, and storytelling (traditional and digital). Her teaching adapts community informatics concepts to build bridges between public libraries and other youth-focused community organizations. McDowell's students have frequently placed her on the List of Teachers Ranked Excellent by Their Students.
