Valeda F. Dent

Dr. Valeda Dent is currently Dean and Chief Operating Officer for the Long Island University Libraries in New York. She previously served as Associate University Librarian for Research and Instructional Services at Rutgers University, and as Project Director for the eLib/JISC MALIBU digital library project in London, United Kingdom. She holds an M.S.W. and M.I.L.S. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from the Palmer School at Long Island University. Her research interests include information literacy, rural libraries in Africa and related literacy and reading habits, and ethnographic approaches to understanding the user experience. She has published two books, Keeping the User in Mind: Instructional Design and the Modern Library (2009) and Qualitative Research and the Modern Library (2011). She is the author of numerous articles, and has been published in journals such as Library Hi Tech, New Library World, Libri, and Oral Traditions. Valeda’s longitudinal research on rural village libraries in Uganda and elsewhere in Africa has spanned more than eight years. Valeda and her husband, Dr. Geoff Goodman, have been selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2014 and will spend almost a year in Uganda continuing their study of the rural village library. In her spare time, Valeda enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter Carlyn.

Publications

Studying the Effectiveness of the Storytelling/Story-Acting (STSA) Play Intervention on Ugandan Preschoolers' Emergent Literacy, Oral Language, and Theory of Mind in Two Rural Ugandan Community Libraries
Studying the Effectiveness of the Storytelling/Story-Acting (STSA) Play Intervention on Ugandan Preschoolers' Emergent Literacy, Oral Language, and Theory of Mind in Two Rural Ugandan Community Libraries
Geoff Goodman, Valeda F. Dent. © 2019. 32 pages.
This study explored the impact of two rural village libraries in Uganda on preschool children's school readiness skills. Using two rural village libraries in Mpigi and...
Rural Library Services in African Countries: History, Development, and Characteristics
Rural Library Services in African Countries: History, Development, and Characteristics
Valeda F. Dent, Geoff Goodman, Michael Kevane. © 2018. 16 pages.
This chapter provides a very brief overview of the history, development, and characteristics of rural library services in several African countries from both a historical and...
Studying the Effectiveness of the Storytelling/Story-Acting (STSA) Play Intervention on Ugandan Preschoolers' Emergent Literacy, Oral Language, and Theory of Mind in Two Rural Ugandan Community Libraries
Studying the Effectiveness of the Storytelling/Story-Acting (STSA) Play Intervention on Ugandan Preschoolers' Emergent Literacy, Oral Language, and Theory of Mind in Two Rural Ugandan Community Libraries
Geoff Goodman, Valeda F. Dent. © 2017. 32 pages.
This study explored the impact of two rural village libraries in Uganda on preschool children's school readiness skills. Using two rural village libraries in Mpigi and...
Rural Community Libraries in Africa: Challenges and Impacts
Rural Community Libraries in Africa: Challenges and Impacts
Valeda F. Dent, Geoff Goodman, Michael Kevane. © 2014. 277 pages.
Around the word, in developed as well as developing countries, libraries play an important role in the dissemination of knowledge. The availability of information resources can...