Karen V. Nourse

Karen V. Nourse, Ph.D., serves as Professor and Research & Data Librarian at Middle Tennessee State University's James E. Walker Library, supporting students and faculty across all research lifecycle stages from study planning to scholarly dissemination and archiving. She joined MTSU in 2013 as Education Librarian before transitioning to the library's inaugural Research & Data Librarian role in 2022, building on prior experience as a rural Virginia school librarian where she developed her philosophy of education as ministry.

Her academic foundation includes a Master of Library & Information Science from UNC-Greensboro, Master of Science in Education from Radford University, and Ph.D. in Literacy Studies from MTSU. She is currently completing a graduate certificate in Research Data Management at the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Nourse's research centers on innovative academic library instruction and services, with core expertise in information literacy, school librarianship, and educational technology applications. Her work investigates gamification strategies for library orientation, crisis management in librarianship (particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic), and school librarians' evolving roles as literacy co-instructors. She actively explores data science applications in research data management and text mining, bridging theoretical frameworks like Teacher Citizenship Behavior theory with practical library service models.

Analysis of her publication record reveals strong interdisciplinary collaboration trends, especially at the library science-education-technology intersection. Key thematic clusters include policy impacts (notably ESSA) on school librarians, user-centered design in library instruction through gamification, and data-intensive research support services development. Her work consistently addresses practical challenges in information literacy instruction across forensic science, STEM, and literacy education contexts.

Her scholarly contributions have earned significant recognition:

• 2020 American Association of School Librarians/Educators of School Librarians Section Research Grant
• 2019 L. Anne Clyde Memorial Research – Best Conference Paper Award at the International Association of School Librarianship conference

As an educator, Dr. Nourse mentors graduate students in library and information science programs and secures research funding, exemplified by her 2020 AASL/ESLS Research Grant project. Her collaborative approach involves cross-departmental MTSU teams and external institutional partnerships focused on advancing information literacy pedagogy and research data management infrastructure. Current initiatives include integrating data science methodologies into curricula and supporting campus-wide scholarly communication frameworks.

Though not leading a formal research lab, she actively participates in professional working groups driving library innovation, particularly in research data management standardization and crisis response protocols. Her collaborations span academic departments, forensic science programs, and STEM education initiatives, emphasizing community partnerships and service learning applications.