Jennifer T Nichols

Interests

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Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Books

• Nichols, J. T., & Melo, M. (2020). Re-making the Library Makerspace Critical Theories, Reflections, and Practices. Sacramento, CA: Library Juice Press.

Chapters

• Nichols, J. T. (2021). Why Not Make the World Equitable and Accessible?. In Wildcat Perspectives. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona.
• Nichols, J. T., Perry, J., Neal, C., Thompson, S., & Situ, P. (2019). Aligning the Library’s Strategy with the Parent Organization. In Diversity and Inclusion in Libraries: A Changing Facet of Librarianship. Rowman & Littlefield.

Journals/Publications

• Nichols, J. T., Dewland, J. C., & Melo, M. C. (2016). Makerspaces in academic libraries: Exploring the role of makerspaces as support for entrepreneurs and digital humanities. portal.
• Nichols, J. T., Dewland, J. C., & Melo, M. C. (2017). Unifying Space and Service for Makers, Entrepreneurs, and Digital Scholars. Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 17(2), 363-374. doi:10.1353/pla.2017.0022

Proceedings Publications

• Nichols, J. T., & Castro, R. P. (2022).

  Experiential Learning in the Curricula: Integrating the Makerspace into First-Year Engineering Coursework

  . In International Symposium of Academic Makerspaces, 54.

Presentations

• Briggs, M. J., Sanchez, N. P., & Nichols, J. T. (2024). Strategic Collaboration for De-siloing University Makerspaces. Makerspaces for Innovation and Research in Academics Conference. Virtual.
  More info

  The University of Arizona supports several makerspaces, administered by various units, including Engineering, Health Sciences, Art, Architecture and the Libraries. This session will provide an overview of the development of a makerspace network, started between  the Library makerspace, CATalyst Studios,  the Engineering Design Center (EDC) in the College of Engineering, and the Health Sciences Design Makerspace in the College of Health Sciences. We will address successes, failures, and barriers with implementing a strategic alignment of training protocols, equipment purchases, and policies across these spaces. We started this network in an effort to increase transdisciplinary collaboration, to establish a shared knowledge base across the maker network, and foster communities of practice across and within these makerspaces. In the session we will provide specific examples, including the unification of 3D printer authorizations and the implementation of a shop management system (GRIT Automation) followed be a demonstration of these systems and an opportunity for participants to contribute to an asynchronous discussion on strategic de-siloing within their own institutions.
• Castro, R. P., Froehlich, H. G., & Nichols, J. T. (2024, July). Our Shiny Things, Their Playground: Bringing Faculty into the Makerspace Classroom. Makerspaces for Innovation and Research in Academics (MIRA). Virtual: University of La Verne.
• Nichols, J. T. (2024, Fall). Designing for Inclusivity and Engagement. Designing Libraries XI. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina State University.
  More info

  This interactive session encourages participants to reimagine library design through the lens of inclusivity and student-centered approaches. Learn about liberatory design practice, design justice and universal design to help identify actionable changes. We will explore case studies and current research, highlighting efforts to create more equitable and welcoming environments in libraries, including small, targeted changes that can significantly impact user experience and space perception.
• Nichols, J. T., & Chivers, M. (2024, Fall). Maker Literacies Integrations. Association of Creative Technologies in Academic Libraries Conference. Arlington, TX: University of Texas, Arlington.
  More info

  The Maker Literacies Initiative exists to help establish and promote best practices that incorporate cross-disciplinary, transferable, transdisciplinary, technology-agnostic, maker-based competencies into university-level curriculum. Pioneered and continually developed by UTA Libraries since 2016, the Maker Literacies have established roots in earnest at other institutions beyond those who contributed to their creation. At ACTAL 2024 we will further the conversation regarding different applications of the Maker Literacies Frameworks at institutions where they have been in use for several years; this presentation will feature in-depth case studies of course integrations and assessment strategies at both UTA and University of Arizona.
• Nichols, J. T. (2023, November). Student Success: Positioning students to lead programs, space design and one another.. Association of Creative Technologies in Academic Libraries Conference. Richmond, VA: Virginia Commonwealth University.
• Nichols, J. T. (2023, October). People, Places and Things: how to integrate innovative library spaces with student success in and out of the curriculum. Designing Libraries X. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Libraries.
  More info

  A half-day pre-conference that explores and imagines programmatic engagement with innovative library spaces. Hosted in the University of Arizona Libraries CATalyst Studios, this pre-conference features the ways CATalyst has engaged students and faculty with both curricular and extracurricular programming as a newly renovated space and service created as part of the Student Success District. Participants will explore the space and technologies within the Maker Studio, Virtual Reality Studio, Data Studio and Media Studio, with time to hear from faculty and student collaborators and ask questions. They will also have the opportunity to work with other attendees to plan for the future, whether planting seeds for new programming and spaces, or adapting existing programmatic efforts within their own institutions.
• Nichols, J. T. (2021, June). OLC Ideate DEI Action Planning. OLC Ideate DEI Action Planning. Online: Online Learning Consortium (OLC).
  More info

  I was the chair of the task force that designed and facilitated this mini-conference. The conference took place over 4 days in June and asked participants to ideate and develop action plans related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activities in the online learning environment.
• Nichols, J. T., & Shellgren, M. (2021, September). Collaboratively Planning For Change. OLC Accelerate Fusion Summit. Online: Online Learning Consortium.
  More info

  Marking the third and final session of our multipart Fusion Summit, this interactive session will engage participants in generative and collaborative action planning. The session will begin with a brief overview of what took place during the OLC Ideate DEI experience. OLC Ideate DEI convened two events, in December 2020 and June 2021, committed to identifying critical DEI-centered actions the field of online, digital, and blended learning should take up. In December 2020, the first Ideate OLC DEI welcomed 159 participants, who engaged in a series of live speakers, workshops, asynchronous presentations and discussion forums. Together they created a draft Collaborative Charter to guide our collective actions related to ensuring diversity, equity, and inclusion within digital learning environments. At the June Action Planning event, a small group of committed OLC community members worked together to generate ideas and actions (based on the community contributions in the Collaborative Charter) to address diversity, equity and inclusion issues within online, digital, and blended learning environments. Over 4 days, groups ideated in 6 distinct areas: Pedagogy, Course Design, Research, Educational Technology, Leadership and Advocacy/Community. Small groups then created action plans drawing from ideas generated during ideation sessions on the first day. Plans outlined Who, What and How for each potential action and were designed to support the operationalization of these actions across communities and institutional contexts. Out of these gatherings we have collectively identified characteristics of online, digital, blended learning environments that center diversity, equity, and inclusion, and have developed a model for developing, facilitating, and sustaining change and action-oriented communities of practice online. With these events and the generation of a new, energized community dedicated to action-based change behind them, in this session facilitators will share major findings and highlight key takeaways from the OLC Ideate DEI experience. They will then transition to a collaborative and interactive activity, where participants will engage in action planning together, using a modified version of the same action planning templates used during June’s OLC Ideate event. With other colleagues in attendance during the session, they will generate actionable plans, through reflecting on our field’s challenges and opportunities and considering how to actualize ideas, what other resources exist that can be leveraged, who needs to be involved in this work, and what success will look like. Participants will not only leave with a DEI-centered model for moving from idea into action (whether individually or as a collective), but will be invited to join in on the work to come!
• Nichols, J. T. (2020, Fall). Beyond Design Thinking: new tools to redesign learning for racial justice and equity. OLC Ideate-Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Digital Learning Environments. Virtual: Online Learning Consortium.
• Nichols, J. T. (2020, Spring). Catalyzing Student Success: How to Center Digital Literacy, Access to Technology, and Interdisciplinary Communities of Practice in Innovative Library Spaces. CNI Spring 2020 Virtual Meeting. Virtual: Coalition for Networked Information.
• Nichols, J. T., & Melo, M. (2020, Fall). Centering voices from the margins: unsettling the exceptionalist lore of makerspaces. Critical Librarianship and Pedagogy Symposium. Virtual: University of Arizona Libraries.
• Nichols, J. T., Melo, M., & Marshall, B. (2020, Fall). Remaking the Library Makerspace: New Moves toward Equity and Joy. 2020 Maker Educator Convening. Virtual: Maker Ed.
• Nichols, J. T., Melo, M., & Marshall, B. (2020, July). Voicing Concern: Sharing Critical Theories, Reflections and Practices for Re-making the Library Makerspace. MIRA (Makerspaces for Innovation and Research in Academics) Conference. Virtual: University of La Verne.
• Senseney, M. F., Nichols, J. T., & Oliver, J. C. (2020, November). The Digital Scholarship and Data Science Fellowship (DS2F): Early Indicators from a Pilot Program at the University of Arizona Libraries. Coalition for Networked Information Fall Membership Meeting.
• Paschke-wood, J., Nichols, J. T., & Miller, L. (2019, 11). Planning and Assessing Outreach to Different Campus User Groups. Arizona Library Association Annual Meeting.
• Wallace, N. A., & Nichols, J. T. (2019, Summer). Digital humanities services in academic libraries: a design thinking approach to center inclusive and anti-oppressive approaches for DH services.. Digital Humanities Conference.
• Nichols, J. T., & Oliver, J. C. (2018, October). Sustaining communities of practice in digital scholarship and data science. Digital Library Federation Forum. Las Vegas, NV: Digital Library Federation.
• Oliver, J. C., Nichols, J. T., & O'Meara, E. (2018, Spring). Encouraging Convergence in the Libraries: Intersections of Data Science and Digital Humanities through Grassroots Collaboration. Coalition for Networked Information Spring Membership Meeting. San Diego, California.
  More info

  As scholars embark on new modes of scholarship, they are driving a demand for new skills and services. These new skills are increasingly digital, requiring expertise in areas not “traditionally” considered in the library wheelhouse, like data mining, textual analysis, spatial analysis, visualization, or 3D modeling. At the University of Arizona Libraries, we are hiring experts and partnering with campus units to develop services and position the libraries as the natural hub for digital scholarship and data science. In marrying these traditionally separate domains, we are enabling outreach and support across all disciplines, and facilitating training based on skills and tools to reach broad audiences. For example, we provide workshops and drop-in assistance with R programming, geospatial data, virtual reality content development, data management, and multimodal publishing, seeking to continually iterate on the content provided. This presentation will discuss how we work with faculty across STEM, humanities, and social sciences to integrate digital scholarship support into the curriculum, and our collaboration with CyVerse on Software and Data Carpentry workshops. We will also discuss the organizational development and cultural adjustment necessary to provide these services as a unified portfolio.
• Sanchez, A. R., Bozgeyikli, L., Cook, M., Nichols, J. T., Melo, M., Nichols, J. T., & Sanchez, A. R. (2018, June). The Academic Library's Role In Supporting Virtual Reality: A Panel On Development and Discovery. American Library Association 2018 Annual Conference. New Orleans: ALA.
• Nichols, J. T., Wallace, N. A., Sanchez, A. R., & Hussman, S. J. (2017, May). Positioning libraries at the center of digital scholarship on campus. Digital Initiatives Symposium. San Diego, CA: University of San Diego.
• Sanchez, A. R., & Nichols, J. T. (2017, March). Division of Labor: Exploring inherent tensions between philosophies of open-ended learning and organizational bureaucracy. ACRL 2017 Conference. Baltimore, MD: ACRL.
  More info

  The emergence of the makerspace within libraries has led to many new approaches to services and staffing models. This session will explore tensions between operating an innovation space and maintaining a vision of discovery and informal learning. Through discussion of our specific experience and model, we will understand how cultivating relationships on campus to serve the institutional mission of curriculum and scholarship is essential to the long-term success of any similar initiative.
• Nichols, J. T. (2016, May). Makerspaces in libraries : exploring opportunities to expand the culture of makers and technologists. HASTAC 2016. Phoenix, AZ: Humanities, Arts, Science, and Technology Alliance and Collaboratory (HASTAC).
• Nichols, J. T., & Sanchez, A. R. (2016, November). Get Your Hands Dirty!: A Technology Sandbox For Library Services. Arizona Library Association Annual Conference: Libraries Transform. Tucson, Arizona: Arizona Library Association.
• Nichols, J. T., Melo, M., & Johnson, A. (2016, February). Making the Makerspace: A Look into the Creation of the iSpace. Southwest Popular/American Culture Association. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Southwest Popular/American Culture Association.
• Sanchez, A. R., & Nichols, J. T. (2016, Fall). Assembly Not Required: Cultivating Learning Communities Through Technology & Makerspaces. Information Technology (IT) Summit at the University of Arizona. Tucson, AZ: Office of the Chief Information Officer.
• Elliott, C. M., & Nichols, J. T. (2015, November). Connecting the Dots: How to Weave Together a Network of Information Providers to Support Arizona’s Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses. Arizona Library Association 2015 Annual Conference. Flagstaff, AZ: Arizona Library Association.
  More info

  This roundtable discussion will bring information professionals from around Arizona together to discuss how to comprehensively address the information needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses in our community. The presenters will share survey results from a summer 2015 survey in Southern Arizona and discuss ways that we can address the needs of these users in a programmatic, inclusive effort across libraries and agencies throughout the state.
• Zenenga, P., & Nichols, J. T. (2015, September). Motion Capture on the Cheap. Immersive Education Summit. Paris, France: Immersive Education Initiative.

Poster Presentations

• Castro, R. P., Sanchez, N. P., & Nichols, J. T. (2024).

  Making Interns: Internship modalities utilizing Academic Library Makerspaces

  . Association of Creative Technologies in Academic Libraries (ACTAL) Annual Conference. Arlington, TX: University of Texas, Arlington.
  More info

  This poster will focus on the three types of internships offered through the University of Arizona (UofA) Library makerspace CATalyst Studios. These programs are designed to build confidence, inspire creativity, and meet the interns' personal and professional goals:CATalyst Studios Undergraduate Internship.For-credit graduate internships for MLIS students for the University of Arizona College of Information.A Student’s Journey (ASJ), a cooperative program between UofA and the Tohono O’odham Community College (TOCC).This poster will model how digital, information and maker literacies can be taught through internships and will describe time requirements, curricular design and assessment of programs. 
• Nichols, J. T., & Church-Duran, J. (2024, Fall). Exploring the impact of library makerspace use on student self-efficacy and engagement. Library Assessment Conference. Portland, OR: Association of College and Research Libraries.
  More info

  Over the past few decades, makerspaces have developed as important venues for STEM and design education, increasing becoming part of undergraduate programs. These innovative spaces allow instructors and students access to advanced technology and integration of a wide range of projects into the curriculum. Studies indicate that makerspaces offer potential benefits for the students who use them. For example, students who are involved in their campus’s makerspace show less anxiety and more confidence when engaging in design projects or tasks. This may be from gaining hands-on experience with equipment and technology outside of the classroom. However, the impact of makerspaces on student learning and engagement is not yet fully understood. At the University of Arizona Libraries, we aimed to capture what influences students to use these spaces and the overall impact on students’ attitudes towards, and confidence in, using technologies through a mixed-method study.
• Sanchez, A. R., Nichols, J. T., & Teetor, T. S. (2017, October). University of Arizona Libraries iSpace. Information Technology (IT) Summit at the University of Arizona. University of Arizona: University Information Technology Services.

Case Studies

• Nichols, J. T., & Sanchez, A. R. (2018. Digital Pedagogy and Makerspaces(p. 3).
• Nichols, J. T., & Sanchez, A. R. (2018. UA iSpace(pp 2-3).