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Bill Crowley worked in New York, Alabama, Indiana, and Ohio libraries and information organiza​tions in capacities ranging from part-time clerk to public relations representative, state library consultant, head of public services, library cooperative CEO, and deputy state librarian. At the New York Public Library he served in several positions, including reference librarian and Public Relations Representative closely cooperating with the library's Development Office. While with the Alabama Public Library Service he had statewide responsibilities for communicating the "library message." as well as general consulting. In Indiana he served as a library head of public services, and director of a seven county library cooperative. He was also Ohio's Deputy State Librarian for Library Services. As of this writing Bill has authored fifty (50) articles and book chapters in the library science, information science, and higher education literatures, as well as two books. The first, Spanning the Theory-Practice Divide in Library and Information Science, was published by Scarecrow Press in 2005. The second, Renewing Professional Librarianship: A Fundamental Rethinking, was issued as a Beta Phi Mu Monograph by Libraries Unlimited in March 2008. Bill also edited a third book, Defending Professionalism:; A Resource for Librarians, Information Specialists, Knowledge Managers, and Archivists, which was published by Libraries Unlimited in 2012. Bill earned a BA in history from Hunter College of the City University of New York, an MS in library service from New York City's Columbia University, and an MA in English from Ohio State University with a thesis in occupational folklore. He completed a PhD in higher education administration at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio with a dissertation on the research university library. Since 1996 he has been a faculty member at Dominican University's School of Information Studies where he is a full professor. Bill's latest publications are 2018's. "Resurgent Faith Traditions and Information and Library Theory and Practice." Library Philosophy & Practice, July, 1–34; 2017's. "When Practitioners Get It 'Wrong': The Largely Underanalyzed Failures of Professional Tacit Knowledge." Library Trends 66 (1); 66–90; 2015's "Differing Mental Models and the Futures of Libraries, Librarians, and Readers' Advisory." Reference & User Services Quarterly 55 (2) (Winter)58; 91-96; 2015's. "Developing Information and Library Theory for a Conflicted Paradigm World. Libr: International Journal of Libraries & Information Services 65 (3) 207-216; 2014's. "Time to Rethink Readers' Advisory Education?"Public Libraries 53(4):; 37-43.

Education
PhD, Ohio University
MA, Ohio State University
MS, Columbia University
BA, Hunter College
Research Interests


Public libraries, academic libraries, special libraries, management, marketing, information and library theory, readers advisory, knowledge management, advocacy. etc.

Selected Publications

Crowley, B. (2023). Allies, Cobelligerents, and the Political Realities of Pursuing Social Justice Librarianship in Conservative Republican Communities. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/7766Links to an external site.

Crowley, B. (2021). Facts (Almost) Never Change Minds: Libraries and the Management of Democracy-Supportive Public Perceptions. In Taylor, N.G., Kettnich, K., Gorham, U. and Jaeger, P.T. (Ed.) Libraries and the Global Retreat of Democracy: Confronting Polarization, Misinformation, and Suppression (Advances in Librarianship, 50), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley. pp. 61-87. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0065-283020210000050003Links to an external site.

Crowley, B. (2021). Progressive Librarianship in ‘Red’ America. Symposium 1: Post-Neutrality Librarianship. New Librarian Symposia. Retrieved from Scholar Commons - New Librarianship Symposia Series: Fall 2021: Progressive Librarianship in “Red” AmericaLinks to an external site.

Crowley, B. (2019). Alternative Facts, Fake News, Conflicting Perceptions, & Their Relevance to Library and Information Professionals. Open Information Science 3(1). pp. 209–221. Retrieved from https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/opis.2019.3.issue-1/opis-2019-0015/opis-2019-0015.xml?format=INTLinks to an external site.

Crowley, B. (2018). Resurgent Faith Traditions and Information and Library Theory and Practice.  Library Philosophy & Practice. pp. 1-34. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5258&context=libphilprac

 

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