College of Information and Communications
Faculty and Staff
Vanessa Lynn Kitzie, Ph.D.
| Title: | BSIS Program Coordinator CIC Associate Professor and Women’s and Gender Studies Faculty Affiliate |
| Department: | School of Information Science College of Information and Communications |
| Email: | kitzie@mailbox.sc.edu |
| Phone: | 803–777–1136 |
| Office: | School of Information Science 1501 Greene Street, Room 211 Columbia, SC 29208 |
| Resources: | Curriculum Vitae |
Education
B.A., Sociology, Boston University
B.S., Advertising, Boston University
M.L.I.S., Rutgers University
Ph.D., Library & Information Science, Rutgers University
Research
Vanessa Kitzie studies the information practices of marginalized groups, with a focus on LGBTQ+ people and communities. Her research findings inform how information centers, such as libraries, and systems can better serve these individuals. Kitzie's work is interdisciplinary, spanning library and information science, communication, sociology, and critical studies.
Funded Research
- Principal Investigator. Leveraging National Library Partnerships to Develop a Community-Driven Online LGBTQIA+ Consumer Health Guide. Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grants – Libraries. $249,980. 2024-2027.
- Project Lead. Leveraging LIS Research Insights to Support LGBTQIA+ Communities. American Library Association Carnegie Whitney Grant. $5,000. 2024- 2026.
Teaching
Kitzie teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. BSIS courses: Data, Information, and Society; News Literacy: Battling Misinformation, Deepfakes, and Conspiracy Theories; Social Issues in Information and Communications Technologies; Information and Communication Needs and Assessment; and a Special Topics course, “Gender and Technology.” MLIS courses: Ethics, Values, and Foundational Principles of Library and Information Science Professions; Research Design and Evaluation. Ph.D. courses: Research Issues in Library and Information Science; Theory and Research Methods in Library and Information Science.
Recent Publications
Kitzie, V. & Sweet, N. (2025). Resisting erasure: LGBTQIA+ public library workers in South Carolina and the fight for visibility and inclusion. Public Library Quarterly.
Kitzie, V. & Crouse, C. (2025). The power of inclusive practices in academic libraries for LGBTQIA+ communities. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 51(5) 103086.
Wagner, T.L. & Kitzie, V. (2025). "You're this person who's providing light”: Embodied responses to information loss and transition within LGBTQIA+ communities [Special issue, “The Theory and Practice of Informational Transitions”]. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, Eds. J. Bronstein, A. Hicks, J. Hyldegård, P. McKenzie, I. Ruthven, & G. Widén.
Kitzie, V. (2024). Comparing the health information practices of sapphic people by age group and generation. Journal of Lesbian Studies, 1–34.