Summary/ Bio (long version also available)

I am a theorist, methodologist, researcher, and educator of Library and Information Studies. My work is organized around the question: What is the nature of information in the pleasures of life? I am investigating this matter through the concatenated study of serious leisure realms, which are crossroads of information and enjoyment. My empirical research explores the use and structure of leisure information on personal and social levels. My dissertation is a scientific ethnography of information phenomena in the hobby of gourmet cooking. I practice an interdisciplinary and international approach and maintain close ties with leisure scientists and northern European information scholars. I hope to generate basic knowledge about information in the pleasures of life; challenge existing ideas that have largely emerged from academic problem scenarios; establish positive models of organic, flourishing information environments; enliven classrooms with upbeat topics; and enrich the information experience for leisure enthusiasts.

Faculty Appointment

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, 2008+          

Professional Experience

Director of Knowledge, Upstream, LLC, Portland, ME, 1998-2000

Knowledge Navigator,Holt, Hughes & Stamell, Portland, ME, 1996-1998

Researcher and Educator, Children's Museum of Maine, Portland, ME, 1991-1995

Education

Doctorate of Philosophy in Information Studies, Dept. of Information Studies, UCLA, 2007
Bachelor of Arts in American Studies, Colby College, Waterville, ME, 1991

Scholarship
Dissertation

Hartel, J. 2007. Information Activities, Resources, and Spaces in the Hobby of Gourmet Cooking. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. University of California, Los Angeles. Chair: Gregory Leazer; Committee: Leah Lievrouw, Mary Niles Maack & Megan Franke.

Book chapters

Hartel, J. (in press). Information in the Hobby of Gourmet Cooking: Four Contexts. In Information in Everyday Life, ed. W. Aspray and B. Hayes, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Hartel, J. 2010. Hobby and Leisure Information and its User. In Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science (3 rd Edition.), ed. M.J. Bates and M.N. Maack, New York: Taylor and Frances.

Hartel, J. 2005. Serious Leisure. In Theories of Information Behavior: A Researcher’s Guide, ed. K. Fisher, S. Erdelez, and L. McKechnie, 313-317. Medford, NJ: Information Today.

Book reviews

Hartel, J. 2004. Review of “Music, Libraries and Culture, an Analysis of Discourses” / Sanna Talja. Library Quarterly, 74(3): 393-395.

Refereed journal papers

Hartel, J. (in press). Managing Documents at Home for Serious Leisure: A Case Study of the Hobby of Gourmet Cooking. Journal of Documentation.

Hartel, J. 2009. Introducing the Information Experience in Context. Faculty of Information Quarterly. 2(1).

Kari, J. & Hartel, J. 2007. Information and Higher Things in Life: Addressing the Pleasurable and the Profound in Information Science. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. 58(8): 1131 - 1147.

Hartel, J. 2003. The Serious Leisure Frontier in Library and Information Science: Hobby Domains. Knowledge Organization. 30(3/4): 228-238.

Hjørland, B. and Hartel, J. 2003. Introduction to the Special Issue of Knowledge Organization. Knowledge Organization. 30(3/4): 125-127.

Hjørland, B. and Hartel, J. 2003. Afterword: Ontological, Epistemological and Sociological Dimensions of Domains. Knowledge Organization. 30(3/4): 239-245.

Refereed conference papers

Hartel, J. (in press). Time as a Framework for Information Science: Insights from the Hobby of Gourmet Cooking. Conceptions of Library and Information Science (CoLIS), London, England.

Talja, S. & Hartel, J. 2007. Revisiting the User-Centered Turn in Information Science Research: An Intellectual History Perspective. In Information Research 12(4). Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Conceptions of Library and Information Science: Featuring the Future, Boras, Sweden.

Hartel, J. 2006. Information Activities and Resources in an Episode of Gourmet Cooking. In Information Research 12(1), Proceedings of the Information Seeking in Context Conference, Sydney, Australia.

Refereed conference panels (as panel convener)

Hartel, J. (pending). Metatheoretical Snowmen. Conceptions of Library and Information Science (CoLIS), London, England.

Hartel, J. & Kari, J. 2009. Toward a Positive Information Science? ASIST Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC.

Hartel, J. 2009. Metatheoretical Snowmen. ASIST Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC.

Hartel, J. 2008. The Office: Integrating Perspectives Across Information Science. ASIST Annual Meeting, Columbus, OH.                   

Hartel, J. 2006. Taking Leisure Seriously: Information Realities in Leisure Time (panel convener). ASIST Annual Meeting, Austin, TX.

Refereed conference presentations

Hartel, J. 2008. The Serious Leisure Perspective: Implications for Public Libraries. Reference Renaissance Conference, Denver, CO.              

Hartel, J. 2006. The Culinary Home Library. Annual Meeting of the Association for the Study of Food and Society, Boston, MA.

Hartel, J. 2006. A Visual Approach to the Study of Home Libraries, ALISE Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX.   

Hartel, J. 2005. Castles & Inverted Castles: the Work of Marcia J. Bates, ALISE Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.

Hartel, J. 2004. An American Passion for the Hobby of Cooking, American Voices Conference, University of Turku, Finland.

Workshops (as workshop convener)

Hartel, J. 2006. Snap Happy Research: Conducting a Photographic Inventory of Information Space. Connections Conference, Syracuse, NY.

Hartel, J. 2004. Everyday Life Information Seeking. University of Tampere, Finland.

Posters

Hartel, J. 2008. Enthusiasts and their Documents: A Case Study of the Hobby of Gourmet Cooking. ALISE Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.

Hartel, J. 2007. Three Temporal Arcs in the Hobby of Gourmet Cooking: Implications for Information Behavior. ALISE Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.      

Hartel, J. 2006. Cooking Up a Home Library. ALISE Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX.   

Hartel, J. 2005. Metatheoretical Snowmen. ALISE Annual Meeting, Boston, MA.  

Hartel, J. 2002. Appetite for Information, ASIST Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.

Invited lectures

Hartel, J. 2009. Appetite for Information in the Hobby of Gourmet Cooking. Canadian Library Association, Ottawa, Canada.

Hartel, J. 2006. A Recipe for the Study of Everyday Life Information Phenomena. Information School, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.

Hartel, J. 2004. Hobbies as Sites for Information Research. School of Library and Information Science, University of Kentucky, Louisville, KY.

Hartel, J. 2004. A Serious Leisure Research Program for LIS. Graduate School of Library and Information Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, IL.

Hartel, J. 2003. Hobbies as Subjects for Information Research. Royal School of Library and Information Science, Copenhagen, Denmark.     

Teaching

University of Toronto

FIS 1310: Introduction to Reference. MI program. Fall 2008, Winter 2009, Winter 2010.

This course is a requirement of the library and information science path and entails large classes (50+ students) and multiple sessions (2-3 per year). The objective is to provide participants with a basic understanding of reference work in libraries. Upon completion, students are able to critically evaluate and employ reference sources in different formats, and to communicate with users to identify and address their information needs. Building on a syllabus by Professors Nadia Caidi and Paulette Rothbauer, in the past two iterations I have re-designed 1310 around three units: Foundational Concepts, the Reference Interview, and Integrative Issues.

FIS 2305: Special Topics - The Information Experience in Context. MI program. Winter 2009, Fall 2009, Summer 2010.
This course is a dynamic and contemporary treatment of the topic of information behavior and is unique to our Faculty. The objective is to instill an awareness and understanding of the information dimension within human affairs, and to develop the observational and analytical skills necessary to do so.

University of California, Los Angeles

IS 200: Information in Society. MLS program. 2004.
Examination of processes by which information and knowledge are created, integrated, disseminated, organized, used, and preserved.

IS 245: Information Access. MLS program. 2004-2005.
Provides fundamental knowledge and skills enabling information professionals to link users with information.

IS 110: Information Resources and Libraries. Undergraduate program. 2004-2006.
Introduction to bibliographic and information resources and relevant research methodology, covering both general and specialized materials.

Supervision

Leslie Elizabeth Anne Thomson, Information in the Home Office: An Ethnographic Study of Space, Content, Management and Use. 2010. MI thesis.

Margaret Lam, Information in Knowledge in Musical SocialWorlds. 2011 (estimated). MI thesis.

Curriculum Development

INF2305: The Information Experience in Context. 2009. I developed this new and novel class from scratch in 2009; it has been offered twice and is a student favourite.

INF2020: Ethnographic Field Methods for Exploratory Research. 2009. I developed this new class from scratch in 2009; it has been approved but not yet offered.

INF1310: Introduction to Reference. 2009. Building on a syllabus by Professors Nadia Caidi and Paulette Rothbauer, I updated and re-designed 1310 around three units: Foundational Concepts, the Reference Interview, and Integrative Issues.

Working Group on Doctoral Methodology. 2009. Entailed planning meetings, background research, and the creation of a new draft syllabus for a required course of our doctoral curriculum.

Undergraduate Task Force. 2009. Explored the opportunity of an undergraduate program in information studies at the iSchool.

Fellowships & Awards

Dissertation Year Fellowship. 2006-2007. Graduate Division, UCLA. $26,500.
University Fellowship, 2006. Graduate Division, UCLA. $5,000.           
Dialog/ALISE Methodology Paper Competition (winner). 2006. $500.           
Fulbright Fellowship. 2004-2005. The International Institute of Education (USA). $18,000.  

Lois Roth Award, 2004. The Lois Roth Endowment, Washington, DC. $850.         

Summer Research Fellowship. 2004. Department of Information Studies, UCLA. $3,600.   

Academic Year Research Mentorship. 2002-2003. Graduate Division, UCLA. $20,000.       

Summer Research Mentorship. 2002. Graduate Division, UCLA. $5,000.         

Unrestricted Fellowship. 2001-2002. Department of Information Studies, UCLA.$17,000.        

University and Faculty Service

Information Services Committee, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, 2009-2010

Awards Committee, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto, 2008-2010

 
Professional Activities

Reviewer, JASIST, 2007-2008

Visiting Researcher, Dept. of Information Studies, University of Tampere, Finland, 2003 (fall)/2004-2005.

Visiting Researcher, Royal School of Library and Information Science, Copenhagen, Denmark, December 2003.

Co-editor (with Birger Hjørland), Special Issue of Knowledge Organization on Domain Analysis, 2004.

ASIST Annual Meeting Program Committee, Long Beach, CA, 2003.

Consulting (Website Design and Management)

The Serious Leisure Perspective (research program): www.soci.ucalgary.ca/seriousleisure/index.htm
Library Scholars Program (scholarship program): www.is.gseis.ucla.edu/doctoral/lsp/
Mary Niles Maack (personal academic homepage): www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/maack/
Virginia Walter (personal academic homepage): www.gseis.ucla.edu/faculty/walter/
Sanna Talja (personal academic homepage): www.info.uta.fi/talja/
Donald O. Case (personal academic homepage): www.uky.edu/CommInfoStudies/SLIS/faculty/dcase/

Professional Association Membership
American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2001-
Association for Library and Information Science Education, 2003-