Dr. Eric Ely

Dr. Eric Ely-Ledesma is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Professional and Educational Programs at the University of Central Missouri. He received a PhD in Information from the University of Wisconsin-Madison; his dissertation explored perceptions, conceptions, and attitudes of academic Libraries among First-generation College Students. As an emerging scholar in Library and Information Science (LIS), he utilizes his training in the humanities, sociology, and User Experience (UX) to explore the human side of LIS. His body of published research includes student- and practitioner-centered explorations of academic libraries. Along with his existing research, Dr. Ely-Ledesma is developing a research agenda examining information practices in contested spaces; much of this work is historical in nature, as he is also interested in the social and intellectual histories of information and libraries in the United States. His teaching experience is diverse and includes a variety of courses and content areas, including foundations of library and information science, library services to diverse populations, the sociology of information, academic librarianship, research methods, and User Experience (UX) in libraries.