Doctoral Research
My doctoral research focuses on the reciprocal relationship between disaster recovery and cultural heritage preservation, and how culturally-based preservation strategies and theories for the library and archive may be developed and implemented. I am particularly interested in sovereignty of indigenous peoples of the United States as it relates to ownership and control of knowledge, and the implications of disaster recovery on this sovereignty. Because preservation work is mostly prescriptive and based on hegemonic understandings of what is meaningful, I am using various theories of information behavior and practice to explore how communities establish a collective sense of values and priorities, especially in disaster situations. The elevated stress of a disaster situation may more quickly reveal where these values and priorities lie, while information practice may highlight what types of messages, networks, and sources are viewed as reliable, and thus considered a priority for the response and recovery processes. While an abundance of literature has explored the growing use of information communication technologies (ICTs) to facilitate disaster response and recovery communications, my research will focus on local and indigenous knowledge networks, and the role they play in both short term disaster response and long-term disaster recovery.
Education
Doctorate Degree (In Progress)
University of Texas at Austin, School of Information
Masters of Arts (2010)
Indiana University - Bloomington, Folklore and Ethnomusicology
Masters of Library Science (2010)
Indiana University - Bloomington, School of Library and Information Science
Bachelor of Arts (2002)
University of Wisconsin - Madison, International Relations and History
University of Texas at Austin, School of Information
Masters of Arts (2010)
Indiana University - Bloomington, Folklore and Ethnomusicology
Masters of Library Science (2010)
Indiana University - Bloomington, School of Library and Information Science
Bachelor of Arts (2002)
University of Wisconsin - Madison, International Relations and History
Publications
Luehrsen, Virginia and Karen Pavelka. “Collaborative Conservation: Sharing Expertise at the Goodwill Computer Museum.” Electronic Media Review, 2 (2013): 81-86.
Luehrsen, Virginia. Reading Between the Lines: Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Library. Masters Thesis, Folklore & Ethnomusicology. Bloomington, IN, 2010.
Luehrsen, Virginia. Reading Between the Lines: Intangible Cultural Heritage in the Library. Masters Thesis, Folklore & Ethnomusicology. Bloomington, IN, 2010.
Courses Developed
Representation and Preservation of Cultural Heritage Information. University of Texas at Austin. Taught 2012-2013.
Research Strategies and Sources. University of Texas at Austin. Taught 2012-2014. (co-designed with J. Finn)
Research Strategies and Sources. University of Texas at Austin. Taught 2012-2014. (co-designed with J. Finn)
