Joan E. Beaudoin

Joan E. Beaudoin is an Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at Wayne State University, where she teaches and conducts research in metadata, digital libraries, digital preservation, and visual information access. She previously served as a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Fellow at Drexel University’s School of Information Science and Technology and has extensive experience in art history education, archaeological fieldwork, and visual resources management.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Information Studies, Drexel University, 2009
• M.S. in Library and Information Science (Management of Digital Information), Drexel University, 2005
• M.A. in Art History, Temple University, 1997
• B.F.A. in Fine Art (Art History), Massachusetts College of Art, 1989

Research Interests:
Her research spans content representation, metadata, digital libraries, information behaviors, museum informatics, digital preservation, and technologies supporting humanities scholarship. Her recent work has focused on the documentation and preservation of Detroit’s public art, including the Detroit Mural Map project.

Awards and Honors:

• Resident Scholar, The Humanities Center, Wayne State University (2022–2023)
• ASIS&T SIG Publication of the Year Award (2012)
• Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Fellowship (2005–2009)

Teaching & Advising:
She teaches core and specialized courses including Metadata in Theory and Practice, Digital Curation and Preservation, Organization of Information, and Digital Libraries. Her teaching emphasizes experiential learning and community-engaged scholarship.

Research Projects & Labs:
Beaudoin co-leads the Detroit Mural Map project (2021–2024), a collaborative digital initiative to document and preserve Detroit’s public murals, involving students from communications and library science.