PALNI grant to support information literacy assessment among religious leaders

Photo by Brittany Purlee, courtesy of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

INDIANAPOLIS and ELKHART, Ind.—The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) is pleased to award a $4,405 Library Innovation Research Grant to be coordinated by Karl Stutzman, Director of Library Services at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Stutzman will partner with Aestiva Solutions co-founders Ruth Szpunar and Eric Bradley to support the project, “Information Literacy Assessment of Religious Leaders.” 

This deeply collaborative project will explore the information literacy behaviors of practicing faith leaders and will help inform models that broadly address information literacy needs. It will be supported for up to one year, with recipients expected to present their results and share ideas for further collaboration and innovation across PALNI and beyond. 

“By working together in the PALNI Collaborative, librarians at PALNI colleges and seminaries have the opportunity to tackle the information challenges of our time and positively influence future generations,” says Kirsten Leonard, PALNI Executive Director. “This is one important example of that work, and we are happy to support it.”

“The work to research information literacy needs of religious leaders came out of my collaboration with fellow PALNI librarians who support seminarians,” says Stutzman. “We are collectively curious about how our practicing religious leaders are exercising information literacy and how we can work together to build their skills. I’m excited about collaborating with my colleagues to identify precise research questions as well as coordinating with Ruth and Eric of Aestiva Solutions in conducting the research.”

“We are thrilled to apply our expertise in qualitative research methods to this project,” say Szpunar and Bradley, who also serve as PALNI Reference, Instruction, and Outreach (RIO) Coordinators and Consultants. “Engaging with faith leaders offers a unique opportunity to gain new insights from a highly influential group.” 

About the project

Faith leaders play a pivotal role in their communities, serving as key communicators and unifiers. Their influence extends beyond spiritual guidance, encompassing the wise and effective use of information that impacts the lives of their community members. Despite this crucial role, there is a noticeable gap in research regarding the information behaviors of faith leaders and how these behaviors can inform an effective information literacy model tailored to faith-based contexts.

The project seeks to bridge this gap by exploring the information behaviors of practicing faith leaders through established methodologies and fostering deep collaboration among the diverse theology and religion librarians within PALNI. The interdisciplinary nature of the project promises to generate a robust conversation that spans the theological spectrum, ensuring that the findings are broadly applicable and beneficial.

PALNI deep collaboration

A panel of PALNI librarians is collaborating with Stutzman to lead this research. The project team includes James Bell, Director of Libraries at Anderson University; Amy Bryant, Library Director at Earlham College; Tonya Fawcett, Library Director at Grace College & Seminary; and Roger Peters, Assistant Director of Library and Information Services at Concordia Theological Seminary. Their interdisciplinary expertise and the diverse religious affiliations of their institutions will significantly inform the research.

“Our faith leaders are often looked to for guidance, not just within our congregations but in our broader communities. This places a responsibility on them to critically evaluate information and speak truth,” says Fawcett. “The messages and methods church leaders use have a ripple effect—when congregants or community members observe their faith leaders practicing critical thinking, they may be inspired to do the same. The challenge lies in discerning where information comes from and whether it’s reliable. This project will explore how we, as librarians, can equip and empower our church leaders to be information literate and fulfill that crucial responsibility to speak truth.”

Key aspects of the project include:

• Conducting Comprehensive Research: The project will utilize established methodologies to thoroughly investigate the information behaviors and literacy needs of religious leaders.
• Interfaith Collaboration: By engaging with faith leaders from various theological backgrounds, the project aims to create an inclusive and representative assessment of information literacy needs.
• Deliverable Report: The research findings will be compiled into a detailed report, which will be shared with broader academic and faith-based communities. This report will provide valuable insights and serve as a foundational resource for developing information literacy models applicable to faith community leadership.

Visit the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Library and Aestiva Solutions online to learn more about them.

For more information about PALNI, visit the consortium website.

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About Aestiva Solutions

Aestiva Solutions exists to help academic libraries make a big impact. Founded in 2019 by Eric Bradley and Ruth Szpunar, the company specializes in library support solutions for library websites, analytics, usability and user needs assessments, and reference and user services. They seek to be an energetic and fun, yet focused and goal-oriented team for your organization. Visit https://aestivasolutions.com/ to learn more and subscribe to the quarterly Aestiva Solutions Campfire newsletter.

About Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Located in Elkhart, Indiana, on ancestral land of the Potawatomi and Miami peoples, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance as well as a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world. Visit https://ambs.edu for more information.

About the Private Academic Library Network of Indiana

The Private Academic Library Network of Indiana (PALNI) is a non-profit organization that supports collaboration for library and information services for 24 colleges, universities and seminaries throughout the state. From its inception in 1992, the PALNI collaboration has been a key avenue for its supported institutions to contain costs while providing more effective library services. More recently, PALNI has adopted a model of deep collaboration that pools resources and people as a tool to expand services while containing costs. Simultaneously, PALNI is expanding collaboration within its institutions and with external library partners to address challenges and build cost-effective services. Visit http://palni.org for more information.

PALNI Supported Institutions 

Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary | Anderson University | Bethel University | Butler University | Concordia Theological Seminary | Christian Theological Seminary | DePauw University | Earlham College | Franklin College | Goshen College | Grace College | Hanover College | Huntington University | Manchester University | Marian University | Oakland City University | University of Saint Francis | Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College | Saint Mary’s College | Saint Meinrad’s Seminary and School of Theology | Taylor University | Trine University | University of Indianapolis | Wabash College