The study of, and discourse around, galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs) has traditionally focused on cognitive processes in these institutions. This special issue of JALIA on ‘Serving the Whole Person in GLAMs’ seeks to bring together researchers and practitioners interested in learning more about how these institutions serve the whole person. Drawing from the National Wellness Institute’s (NWI) framework, Six Dimensions of Wellness (emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual and spiritual), this issue seeks to explore the whole person in GLAM contexts.
The classical idea of a library is of a space to exercise your mind. Museums too have been strongly positioned as sites of learning. And yet a growing body of literature suggests that libraries and museums, for example, are currently (Celano, Knapczyk, & Neuman, Citation2018; Goulding & Crump, Citation2017; Packer, Citation2008; Whiteman et al., Citation2018), and have been in the past (Buggeln, Citation2012; Stauffer, Citation2016), spaces that stimulate and support the body as well as the spirit. For example, in 2012, Minnesota public librarian Sara Zettervall opened up a conversation on what she calls ‘whole person librarianship’ based on interactions she was having with colleagues in the field of social work. The concept has since spread to studies of U.S. academic libraries (Lockman, Citation2015; Warner, Citation2016), particularly around how to serve the ‘whole student’ (e.g. Smith, Lock, & Webb, Citation2016). In archives, research on affect and the archives point to similar interests in how archives engage whole people (Cifor and Gilliland (Citation2016). And in the museum context, there is an increasing interest in expanding the museum beyond its traditional learning walls, as a site for meaning-making, mindfulness (e.g. Smith & Zimmermann, Citation2017), healing (e.g. Silverman, Citation2010) and well-being (e.g. Chatterjee & Noble, Citation2016).
By bringing together work across the GLAM fields, this special issue seeks to stimulate discussion on how GLAMs serve the whole person. We are particularly interested in research, theoretical and empirical, and models on GLAMs as sites for the whole person (emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual and spiritual).
Below are a few suggestions for submissions:
Contemplative Practice, Mindfulness, Restoration in GLAMs
Play in GLAMs
Physical activity and fitness in GLAMs
GLAMs as physical refuges from environmental threats
GLAMs as site of stress reduction and positive mental health
GLAMs as Sacred and Profane Spaces
We invite contributions to this special issue that addresses these and other facets of how GLAM institutions serve the whole person. Research and evaluation of practice drawing on a wide range of methods is welcomed. JALIA traditionally publishes three article types: Peer reviewed full research papers, peer reviewed research-in-practice papers and editorially reviewed information-in-practice papers, and we will also entertain submissions in a variety of novel representational formats.
The journal
JALIA is the official journal of the Australian Library and Information Association and published by Taylor and Francis. Instructions for authors and a link to the journal’s submission system are available from the JALIA’s web pages at: https://tandfonline.com/toc/ualj21/current.
The JALIA editors encourage authors to post an open access version of the full text of the Accepted Manuscript (AM) version of their paper to an institutional or subject repository and if they wish also to personal or departmental websites, immediately upon publication. For more information see here:
https://authorservices.taylorandfrancis.com/zero-embargo-green-open-access/
Timeline
Contacts
For further information on this special issue please contact:
Kiersten F. Latham, [email protected]
or
Noah Lenstra, [email protected]
References
- Buggeln, G. (2012). Museum space and the experience of the sacred. Christ College Faculty Publications. Retrieved from http://scholar.valpo.edu/cc_fac_pub/10
- Celano, D. C., Knapczyk, J. J., & Neuman, S. B. (2018). Public libraries harness the power of play. YC Young Children, 73(3), 68–74.
- Chatterjee, H., & Noble, G. (2016). Museums, health and well-being. London: Routledge.
- Cifor, M., & Gilliland, A. J. (2016). Affect and the archives, archives and their affects: An introduction to the special issue). Archival Science, 16(1), 1–6.
- Goulding, A., & Crump, A. (2017). Developing inquiring minds: Public library programming for babies in Aotearoa New Zealand. Public Library Quarterly, 36(1), 26–42.
- Lockman, R. (2015). Academic librarians and social justice: A call to microactivism. College & Research Libraries News, 76(4), 193–194.
- Packer, J. (2008). Beyond learning: Exploring visitors’ perceptions of the value and benefits of museum experiences. Curator: The Museum Journal, 51(1), 33–54.
- Silverman, L. H. (2010). The social work of museums. London: Routledge. Retrieved from http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=465568
- Smith, J. S., & Zimmermann, C. (2017). The sanctuary series: Co-creating transformative museum experiences. Journal of Museum Education, 42(4), 362–368.
- Smith, S., Lock, M. B., & Webb, M. (2016, May). A library for the whole student: Creating a culture of health & wellness at your library. ACRL e-Learning Webcasts, Webinar. #
- Stauffer, S. M. (2016). Supplanting the saloon evil and other loafing habits: Utah’s library-gymnasium movement, 1907–1912. The Library Quarterly, 86(4), 434–448.
- Warner, E. J. (2016). The power of encouragement: The role of Christian academic librarians in supporting the whole student. The Christian Librarian, 59(1), 13.
- Whiteman, E. D., Dupuis, R., Morgan, A. U., D’Alonzo, B., Epstein, C., Klusaritz, H., & Cannuscio, C. C. (2018). Public libraries as partners for health. Preventing Chronic Disease, 15, E64.