O n l i n e . L e a r n i n g . S u p p o r t
Department of Information and Library Science
Southern Connecticut State University
501 Crescent Street, New Haven, CT 06515
Fax: 1.203.392-5780 / Phone: 1.203.392-5781
Toll Free: 1-888-500-SCSU, then press 4

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Information Studies, College of Information Studies, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.

Major area of concentration, information systems; minor area of concentration, management of organizations, including course work in social systems sciences (Wharton, University of Pennsylvania).

M.S. in Library and Information Science, College of Information Studies, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA.

Including course work in computer systems, information management, and statistics.

B.S. in Secondary Education, West Chester State College, West Chester, PA.

With a specialization in comprehensive science.

DISSERTATION RESEARCH

Children's naming of subject categories: Developmental differences in the invariant properties of category labelling.

The dissertation addresses the observed problem of a static and low match-success rate between subject-headings and generated search-labels. Specifically, (1) the "search term;" (2) characteristics of word(s) used as "search term;" and (3) the effect of changes in those characteristics, as new word(s) are placed into the role of "search term," are explored. In a cross-sectional study conducted with students in elementary-, middle-, high-school, and college, four main conclusions were supported: (1) despite the apparent high match-failure, subject-headings concur with frequently named subject-labels; (2) developmental trends in naming of subject-labels are counter-productive to match-success; (3) initial match-failures can be improved by analyzing and altering non-semantic properties of the subject-label; and (4) skill in the categorization of thematic concepts may be improved by simulating the process by which knowledge of dimensions and degree of variability within a concept are acquired.

Thesis Advisors: Jacqueline Mancall, Gary Marchionini, Katherine McCain, Mary Spiers, Gary Strong, Howard White

WORK EXPERIENCE

Associate Professor and Chairperson, Department of Information and Library Science, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, August 1994-present. Promoted and tenured 2000. Term of chairperson August 2000-August 2003.

Research assistant, Psychology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, 1989-1994. Designing research and experimental materials, conducting experiments, analyzing data, presenting research, and collaborating in writing articles and research reports, with Dr. Sam Glucksberg. Participate in colloquia and classes including seminars in cognitive psychology, intelligent tutoring systems, psycholinguistics, statistics, and college teaching.

Adjunct faculty, Psychology Department, Trenton State College, Trenton, NJ, Spring 1991. Taught undergraduate cognitive psychology.

Technical computing group, DuPont Experimental Station, Wilmington, DE, 1985-1989. Responsible for technical computing needs in Polymer Products Department (approximately 600 scientists and support staff) including automation of analysis and reporting. Served on special committees and projects including On-Site Safety, United Way, and Emergency Response Team.

Teacher: Physical Science and Materials Science, Burlington County Vocational-Technical High School, Mt. Holly, NJ, 1983-1985.

Teacher: Earth Science, Introduction to Physics and Chemistry, New Castle County School District, Wilmington, DE 1978-1981.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Categorization and naming of thematic information, Information-seeking behavior, Usability testing

WORKS IN PROGRESS OR UNDER REVIEW

Brwon, M.E. & Rofuth, T. (research in progress).

Brown, M. E. & Petrus, C. (research in progress). Perceptions of teachers, administrators, and school library media specialists on the role of the school library media program in the overall educational mission of the school.

Brown, M. E. & Mills, Judith Woerner (under revision). Study of Attitudes of P&T Committees toward Electronic Publication.

Brown, M. E. (under revision). Library needs of non-native speakers.

Brown, M. E., Rofuth, T. W., & Marcato, C. (in progress). Action Research in the School Media Center: A textbook for School Library Media Specialists.

SELECTED PAPERS, PUBLICATIONS, AND AWARDS

Brown, M. E. (1999). [Review: Knowledge, concepts, and categories]. Library and Information Science Research, 21(1), 131-134.

Brown, M. E. (1997). [Review: Electronic publication and libraries; Planning for the impact and growth to 2003]. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 48(3), 276-278.

Brown, M. E. (1995). By any other name: Accounting for Failure in the Naming of Subject Categories. Library and Information Science Research, 17, 347-385.

Kumon-Nakamura, S., Glucksberg, S., & Brown, M. (1994). How about another piece of pie? The Allusional Pretense Theory of Verbal Irony. Journal of Experimental Psychology - General, 124(1), 3-21.

Glucksberg, S., Brown, M., & McGlone, M. (1993). Conceptual metaphors are not automatically accessed during idiom comprehension. Memory and Cognition, 21, 711-719.

Brown, M. E. (1992). Developmental patterns in children's generation of subject categories: Proposal of an autopoietic theory of conceptual development for information retrieval. New Jersey ASIS Key Words, Spring, 10-19. 1992 Henry Voos Paper Award.

Brown, M. E., McGlone, M. S., & Glucksberg, S. (1992). Idiom use: A matter of semantic appropriateness or an artifact of lexical priming? Presented at The Eastern Psychological Association, April, Boston, MA.

Brown, M. E. (1991).Design for a bibliographic database for non-professional users. Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science, October 28-31, Washington, D.C.

Brown, M. E. (1991). A general model of information seeking behavior. Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science, October 28-31, Washington, D.C.

Brown, M. E. (1991). Library attractibility based on social styles of users. Proceedings of the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Information Science, October 28-31, Washington, D.C.

McGlone, M. S., Glucksberg, S., & Brown, M. (1991). When is love a journey? What metaphors and idioms mean. Presented at The Psychonomic Societyıs 32nd Annual Meeting, November, San Francisco, CA.

Brown, M. E. (1989). Bibliographic database for small reference collections. Presented at the ASIS conference for graduate research, September, Washington, D. C.

Brown, M. E. (1987). Analysis: A rapid prototype of an expert database for guidance in selection of chemical analyses. Presented at Computers in Research, October, DuPont Company, Wilmington, DE.

RECENT PRESENTATIONS

Distance Education: Evolution or Revolution? Connecticut Library Association, with Emily Chasse (CCSU), William Wheeler (U Illinois and Yale), and Ed Klonoski (CDLC), Spring 2002.

Strategies for Advancement for Women in Academe, SCSU, Womenıs History Month, with Harriet Applewhite and Vara Neverow, Spring 2001

Pursuing the Future with Eager Feet ­ for Committee on Awareness in Information and Library Science, Yale University, Spring 2001

Mentoring at a Distance - Annual Conference on Online Learning, Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium, Fall 2000

Conversations in the Discipline - CSU at CCSU, Spring 1998, Distance Education (panel member)

Connecticut Library Association, Spring 1998, Digital Libraries (panel member)

12th Annual Academic Computing Conference - CSU at ECSU, Spring 1998, Web-Based Testing (panel member)

Grantsmanship Series, SCSU, Spring 1997, Preparing proposals for Federal Funding (presenter)

University Forum, SCSU, Spring 1997, Managing a WebSite for Classroom Support, (included a Web version of the presentation for those who could not attend)

GRANTSMANSHIP (Funded Proposals)

eCollege.com for funding of a pilot graduate degree online (Master of Library Science) ($150,000) (with Dennis DeLong et al., CSU)

Connecticut State Department of Education (through Fairfield Public Schools) for collaborative action research which will assess a K-12 library media curriculum for information literacy and technology skills, 1998.

Faculty Development (SCSU) for conference on qualitative research methods (with Kai Erikson), 1998.

Digital Library Project. Distinctive Program Advancement Grant. An interdisciplinary collaboration to assemble, organize and disseminate a digital journal in Social Work, 1997.

Accepting Electronic Scholarly Publications: A Study of Attitudes of Promotion and Tenure Committees. University Research Grant, 1997.

Digital Libraries: A Monograph (for class use). CSU Curriculum Related Activities Grant, 1997.

Fellowships in Librarianship for Minorities and Youth Services. U.S. Department of Education Library Education and Human Resource Program for Fellows ($88,000), 1996.

Speaker Series. Minority Recruitment and Retention Grant, 1996. Identifies minority recent PhD and ABD scholars in the field of Library and Information Science, invites identified individual to campus as part of a Speaker Series and as part of a discussion in developing an Visiting Minority Lectureship for the Department of Library Science and Instructional Technology.

Lateral thinking in Librarianship: A Monograph. CSU Curriculum Related Activities Grant, 1996. Final product titled ŒLearned Creativity,ı intended to facilitate increased problem-solving skills among students.

Application of Classic Studies in Cognition to the Understanding and Naming of Subject Categories. CSU Research Grant, 1996.

Literacy Support through Connecticut Libraries: Problem Definition. CSU Research Grant, 1995. Looks at library needs and library use. Focused group studies with newly English literate adults and a sample collection assessment for a literacy support function through OPACs.

Faculty Development Grant for a monthly forum on research, scholarship, grant writing, and technology, 1996. To promote sharing [through discussion of works-in-progress] and mentorship [including presentations and speakers] in the use of technology for research, scholarship and grant writing, including production, exhibition and publication of creative works.

Faculty Development Grant for a one-day conference with Dr. Michael Eisenberg on Information Problem Solving, 1995.

National Video Resources - MacArthur Foundation for admission to Video, CD-ROM and Beyond: Motion Media and the Library of the Future: an institute in Austin, Texas, July 30-Aug. 6, 1995. [awarded participation (including tuition, materials, lodging), and additional award for travel].

Dialog with Employers. Faculty Development Fund, 1994. One-day conference with business and industry to determine knowledge and skills in information and technology needed in todayıs environment, in general, and in Connecticut, in specific.

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