Kathleen Campana, PhD

Photo of Dr. Campana

Kathleen Campana, PhD

Associate Professor
Patsy H. Perritt Chair in Youth Services

PhD: Information Sciences, University of Washington

Master's Degree(s): MLIS, Florida State University

Bachelor's Degree(s): BA, University of North Carolina Asheville

223K Peabody Hall
海角社区
Baton Rouge, LA 70803
O: (225) 578-1754
F: (225) 578-4581

EMAIL DR. CAMPANA

 

Biography

Dr. Kathleen Campana is an Associate Professor, and the Patsy H. Perritt Chair in Youth Services. Her research explores how to support learning and development for children and their families in out-of-school and digital learning environments. She earned her PhD from the University of Washington and previously was a faculty member at Kent State University. Her most recent funded research projects include Project VOICE and Project SHIELD, both funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and Read Baby Read, funded by the William Penn Foundation. She has taught in the areas of children鈥檚 and youth library services, museum studies, and research methods. Her work has been published in Library Quarterly, Information and Learning Sciences, Journal of Early Childhood Research, Early Childhood Education Journal, and Journal of Research in Childhood Education, among others. She has also co-authored one book, Supercharged Storytimes: An Early Literacy Planning and Assessment Guide, and co-edited another, Create, Innovate, and Serve: A Radical Approach to Children's and Youth Programming.

Courses Taught

LIS 7100: Youth Services Librarianship 

Research Areas

Children and families; informal learning environments; early learning, development, and health; family engagement; social justice; information needs and practices

Selected Publications

Campana, K., Mills, J.E., Chun, J. & Ickes, J. (2024). Encouraging, empowering, and educating: Informal educators, caregivers, and children as partners in computational thinking activities. Future in Educational Research.

Kociubuk, J. & Campana, K. (2024). Coding for play: identifying and categorizing educator-designed group playful learning experiences in informal learning environments. Library and Information Science Research.

Campana, K., Kociubuk, J., Mills, J.E., & Martin, M.H. (2023). Learning about what鈥檚 most important: Incorporating values into the design of learning experiences. Information & Learning Sciences.

Campana, K., Mills, J.E., Kociubuk, J., & Martin, M.H. (2022). Access, advocacy, & impact: How public libraries are contributing to educational equity for children and families in underserved communities. Journal of Research in Childhood Education.

Campana, K. (2020). As easy as 1, 2, 3: Exploring early math in public library storytimes. The Library Quarterly. 90(1), 20-37.

Selected Presentations

Campana, K., Kociubuk, J., Mills, J.E., & Martin, M.H. (2024). Community-centered family engagement: Using a strengths-based understanding for family engagement with underserved groups. Presentation given at the 2024 American Educational Research Association Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Campana, K. (2024). Transforming libraries into community-health hubs for families during early childhood. Presentation given at the 2024 Public Library Association Conference, Columbus, OH.

Mills, J.E., Campana, K., & Kociubuk, J. (2023). What do families do all day? Mapping a public library's influence on families' daily literacy environments. Presentation given at the American Library Conference, Chicago, IL.

Campana, K., Mills, J.E., & Martin, M.H. (2022). Harnessing Research to Strengthen Literacy and Learning. IMLS Citizen Readers Convening. (Invited Presentation).

Campana, K. (2022). Using shared reading to support socio-emotional learning in early childhood. Bal Sahitya Mahotsav: Children鈥檚 Literature Festival, Lalitpur, Nepal. (Invited Presentation).

Selected Grants and Funded Projects

Principal Investigator. 鈥淧roject VOICE Supplement.鈥 Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2021. $55,605. Funded.

Principal Investigator. 鈥淧roject SHIELD: Supporting Healthy Infant Early Learning and Development.鈥 Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2021. $99,982. Funded.

Principal Investigator. 鈥淩ead Baby Read Evaluation.鈥 William Penn Foundation, 2020. $275,754. Funded.

Principal Investigator. 鈥淧roject VOICE: Value-Sensitive design of Outcomes Informing Community Engagement. Institute of Museum and Library Services, 2019. $421,533. Funded.

Researcher. 鈥淪trengthening Education in North East Nigeria States.鈥 USAID, 2019. $3,907,103. Funded.

Selected Professional & Community Service

Mapping Children's Play in Museums and Libraries Project, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Advisor, 2024-2026

Research Committee, Association for Library Service to Children, Co-chair, 2023-2025

Public Libraries Advisory Committee, Public Library Association, Member, 2023-2025

The Asia Foundation, Let鈥檚 Read Mongolia Initiative, Consultant, 2021-2024

Bay Area Discovery Museum鈥檚 Reimagining School Readiness Project, Evaluator, 2019-2023

Awards & Honors

Nominated for Excellence in Research Mentorship Award, 2019, Kent State University.

ALISE/Bohdan S. Wynar Research Paper Competition 2018: Mills, J.E., Campana, K., Bayo, I., Capps, J.L., Carlyle, A., Metoyer, C., . . . Kotrla, B. (2018). Early literacy in library storytimes, Part 2: A quasi-experimental study and intervention with children鈥檚 storytime providers. The Library Quarterly, 88(2), 160-176.

President's Award for Excellence in Research 2015 - Washington Library Association