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Karen Smith, Professor & Graduate Advisor: Continuing Students

Rosenthal 262
Graduate School of Library and Information Studies
Queens College, City University of New York
Phone: (718) 997-3790
Fax: (718) 997-3797
Email: karen.smith@qc.cuny.edu

Education

Ed.D. (1982) Teachers College, Columbia University - Curriculum and Teaching

Ed.M. (2001) Teachers College, Columbia University - Communication, Computing and Technology in Education/ Instructional Technology and Media

MA (1986) Teachers College, Columbia University - The Teaching of English

MS (1973) Lehman College, City University of New York - Elementary Education/ Reading

BA (1971) Lehman College, City University of New York - Music History

Work Experience

Professor (1998-Present) Queens College GSLIS

Associate Professor (1995-1998) Queens College GSLIS

Assistant Professor (1987-1995) Queens College GSLIS

Graduate Advisor (1991-2001) Queens College GSLIS

Elementary School Principal (1986-1987; 1981-1983) Yonkers Board of Education, Yonkers, New York

Director of Integration and Human Relations (1981-1983) Yonkers Board of Education, Yonkers, New York

Teacher of Elementary Grades (1971-1981) Yonkers Board of Education, Yonkers, New York

Adjunct Assistant Professor (1987-1988) Teachers College, Columbia University, New York

Adjunct Assistant Professor (1986-1987) Queens College, Flushing, New York

Research & Professional Interests

My research interests focus upon children’s and young adult literature, the nature of the literature and its use in public libraries and school media centers. Most recently, I have become interested in issues of literacy, adult literature, thematic connections of adult literature with children’s and young adult literature and its uses with educators and librarians. I am also interested in the manner in which internet resources can be used to positively enhance learning and teaching within the literary spectrum. I am intrigued by fantasy literature for children and young adults, in particular British fantasy as well as multicultural literature written for these populations. In recent years, I have also conducted research in Australian literature for children and young adults and am currently working on a publication in this area. During the course of my career I have participated in presentations and seminars at meetings of the American Library Association, The National Council of Teachers of English, The Association of Library and Information Science Education, The Children’s Literature Association and The International Reading Association, among others. The opportunities I have had to study children’s literature at the former Columbia University School of Library Service, as well as my own previously established interests as a collector of the literature- nineteenth and twentieth century materials, have helped define my strong interest in continuing my primary research and presentations in this area. It is my belief that literature can and should be a vital force in stimulating young people to want to read, and that professional librarians can and do have a major role in making this a reality.

Selected Publications

“Forgive Them Their Trespasses”” Christian Ethic and the Concept of Forgiveness in Katherine Paterson’s Jacob Have I Loved and Preacher’s Boy,” pp. 235-253, in Bridges for the Young: The Fiction of Katherine Paterson. Ed. Joel D. Chaston and M. Sarah Smedman. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, 2003.

“Acknowledging, Citing, Going Beyond: Issues of Documentation in Nonfiction Literature” pp. 32-41, in Celebrating Nonfiction: The Orbis Pictus Award’s First Decade. Ed. Richard Kerper, Julie Jensen and Myra Zarnowski. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English,2001.

African-American Voices in Young Adult Literature: Tradition, Transition, Transformation. Ed. Karen Patricia Smith. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1994. Includes Introduction by the editor and also chapter entitled “A Chronicle of Family Honor: Balancing Rage and Triumph in the Novels of Mildred D. Taylor,” pp. 247-276.

The Fabulous Realm: A Literary-Historical Approach to British Fantasy, 1780-1990. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, 1993.

Library Trends 44, no. 4 (Spring 1996), “Imagination and Scholarship: The Contributions of Women To American Children’s and Young Adult Literature and Services.” Ed. Karen Patricia Smith. Includes Introduction and also article entitled “Initiative and Influence: The Contributions of Virginia Haviland to Children’s Services, Research, and Writing,” pp. 736-754.

Selected Honors and Awards:

American Library Association, G.K. Hall Award 1996, in recognition of African –American Voices: Tradition, Transition, Transformation.

Carey McWilliams Award 1995, in recognition of African-American Voices: Tradition, Transition,Transformation.

Courses Taught in the Past Two Years:

GSLIS 705: Organization and Management: General
GSLIS 709: Research and Bibliographic Methods
GSLIS 735: The History of Children’s Literature to the Twentieth Century
GSLIS 737: Literature for Children and Adolescents
GSLIS 738: Mythology and Folklore for Children and Adolescents
GSLIS 739: Literature for the Young Adult
GSLIS 775: Librarianship in a Multicultural Society
GSLIS 790.3: Literacy, Literature and Reading