Melissa Chomintra

Melissa Chomintra serves as an Assistant Professor in the Libraries and School of Information Studies at Purdue University, a position she has held since 2021. Prior to this appointment, she worked as a Scholarly Engagement Librarian for the Social Sciences and Geospatial Data at Tulane University from 2018 to 2021. She is an active member of several professional organizations including the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA), the American Library Association (ALA), the American College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and the Research Data Access and Preservation Association (RDAP).

Dr. Chomintra's research is grounded in critical and feminist frameworks applied to information studies praxis. Her scholarly interests span multiple interconnected domains:

• Critical Perspectives on Library and Information Science (LIS)
• Data Science and Society
• Feminist Cartography & GIS
• Feminist Information Literacy
• Information Literacy and Instruction
• Pedagogy in LIS
• Research Methods

She teaches INFO 220 – Resources and Information Services in Professions and Disciplines, with a focus on Maps & GIS. Her educational background includes a Master of Library and Information Science from Kent State University and a Master of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Dr. Chomintra's scholarly work demonstrates a consistent focus on applying critical frameworks to information practices, particularly examining how power structures manifest in information literacy instruction, GIS applications, and collection development. Her publications address pressing issues of authority, mis/disinformation literacy, feminist pedagogy, and DEI practices in spatial information contexts. This body of work reveals her commitment to advancing more equitable and critically aware approaches to information science and library practice.

Her professional service includes active participation in multiple scholarly associations that align with her research interests in critical information studies and feminist approaches to LIS.