Kimberly R. Lavoie, PhD

Educator • Researcher • Librarian

I am an educator, researcher, and librarian whose work examines the evolving roles and professional identities of librarians and information professionals. My research interests include professional identity and role evolution, school librarianship, instructional leadership, blended and online learning, advocacy and professional visibility, intellectual freedom, and equitable access to information.

My teaching spans the library and information science curriculum, including reference and information services, information science and technology, leadership and management, assessment, youth services, school librarianship, and children’s and young adult literature. I approach graduate education as a bridge between theory and professional practice, designing learning experiences that prepare students to exercise professional judgment in a rapidly changing information environment.

My research is grounded in more than two decades of professional experience across K–12, academic, medical, public, and special library settings. My current scholarship builds from my doctoral research on school librarians’ professional roles following emergency remote learning and extends to broader questions of librarian identity, instructional leadership, advocacy, and the changing nature of professional practice.

She earned a doctorate in Library and Information Science from Simmons University and most recently served as Interim Coordinator of the School Library Media Program and Lecturer in the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Rhode Island.