Decoloniality of knowledge and open scholarship: A comparative study of the libraries at the University of Brasília and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Abstract:
In the 21st century, the activities of academic libraries have been impacted by the emergence of the Open Science Movement, which advocates for transparency, democratic access to scientific knowledge, the involvement of non-academic audiences, and the consideration of social agendas (Costa & Leite, 2019). These demands align with historical calls for informational justice and the end of scientific colonialism and racism (Ocholla, 2020; Mathiesen, 2015; Silva et al., 2022). In this talk, Dr. Costa presents preliminary research findings that analyze the main characteristics and trends of information resources and services that contribute to overcoming inequities in scholarship at the libraries of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Brasília. This research further seeks to identify elements from diverse contexts to problematize the decolonization of knowledge and expand the actions of academic libraries in advancing open scholarship.
Biography:
Dr. Michelli Costa is currently a visiting scholar at the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library. She holds the position of professor at the Faculty of Information Science at the University of Brasília and, starting in 2024, serves as the vice-coordinator of the Graduate Program in Information Science. She holds PhD and Master's degrees in Information Science, with a Bachelor's degree in Library Science, from the University of Brasília (UnB). Her interests focus on open science, digital libraries, and initiatives to democratize access to information. She coordinates the extension projects "Comunica Mulher: information service to combat violence against women" and "Popular Library Catando Palavras." She also leads the research project "Paulo Freire Digital Memorial Archive: trajectory of the struggle of social and popular movements for the Education of Young, Adult, and Elderly Workers (EJA)," which, following the principles of digital humanities, develops the digital library of the EJA Forums in Brazil.
Previously, she was a professor in the Library Science program at the University of Caxias do Sul (UCS) from 2016 to 2017. From 2011 to 2014, she worked as a researcher and consultant on open science at the Brazilian Institute of Information in Science and Technology (IBICT). Between 2018 and 2020, she contributed to the development and implementation of the 4th National Action Plan of the Open Government Partnership, aiming to establish mechanisms for scientific data governance to advance open science in Brazil.
Co-Sponsors: Mortenson Center for International Library Programs |
University of Illinois Library Urbana-Champaign