Don Latham is an F. William Summers Professor in the School of Information at FSU. He earned his Ph.D. in English from the University of Georgia and his M.S. in LIS and Specialist degrees from Florida State University. His research focuses on social services in libraries, information behavior of youth, and information literacy.
His publications include articles on social services in public libraries, information literacy among college undergraduates, and the Peritextual Literacy Framework. He has authored three books: Evaluating and Promoting Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults, David Almond: Memory and Magic, and (with Melissa Gross) Young Adult Resources Today: Connecting Teens with Books, Music, Games, Movies, and More, and has co-edited Literacy Engagement Through Peritextual Analysis, From Text to Epitext: Expanding Students' Comprehension, Engagement, and Media Literacy, and The Information Literacy Framework: Case Studies for Successful Implementation.
He and Melissa Gross have recently completed a project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services on social services in public libraries.
He teaches Community Engagement, Information Needs of Children, Information Needs of Young Adults, and Graphic Novels in Libraries.
Education
- PhD in English, University of Georgia (1995)
- Specialist in Library and Information Studies, Florida State University (1999)
- MS in Library and Information Studies, Florida State University (1997)
- MA in English, Clemson University (1984)
- BA in English, Clemson University (1981)
Research Interests
- Social services in libraries
- Information literacy
- Information behavior of children and young adults
- Nonfiction resources for children and young adults
Teaching Interests
Community Engagement, Information Needs of Children, Information Needs of Young Adults, Graphic Novels in Libraries
Publications & Research
Select Publications
Recent Journal Articles
Latham, D., Gross, M., & Julien, H. (2024). Community college librarian views of student information literacy needs. College & Research Libraries, 85, 712-725.
Gross, M., Latham, D., Baum, B., Crabtree, L., & Randolph, K. (2024). "I didn't know it would be like this:" Professional preparation for social service information work in public libraries. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 65, 40-54.
Crabtree, L., Latham, D., Gross, M., Baum, B., & Randolph, K. (2024). Social workers in the stacks: Public librarians' perceptions and experiences. Public Library Quarterly, 43, 109-134.
Gross, M., Latham, D., Randolph, K., & Constantino, C. (2023). Information and communication technology use in rural child welfare work. Child & Family Social Work, 28, 14-24.
Randolph, K., Latham, D., Gross, M., & Constantino, C. (2023). Information communication technology and the social worker-client relationship: Lessons from communication theory. Advances in Social Work, 22, 916-935.
Baum, B., Gross, M., Latham, D., Crabtree, L., & Randolph, K. (2023). Bridging the service gap: Branch managers talk about social workers in public libraries. Public Library Quarterly, 37, 398-423.
Latham, D., Gross, M., Julien, H., Warren, F., & Moses, L. (2022). Community college students' perceptions of their information literacy needs. College & Research Libraries, 83, 593-609.
Gross, M., Constantino, C., Latham, D., Randolph, K., Preshia, E., & Rooney, M. (2022). Examining the information and communication technology use of rural child welfare workers using the experience sampling method. Journal of Education for Library & Information Science, 63, 94-114.
Gross, M., Latham, D., & Julien, H. (2022). Librarian views of the ACRL Framework and the impact of COVID-19 on information literacy instruction in community colleges. Library & Information Science Research, 44, 1-7.
Julien, H., Gross, M., & Latham, D. (2022). Teaching and its discontents: How academic librarians are negotiating a complicated role. Journal of Information Literacy, 16(2), 41-52.
Gross, M., & Latham, D. (2021). Social work in public libraries: A survey of heads of public library administrative units. Journal of Library Administration, 61, 758-775.
Recent Books
Latham, D. (2025). Evaluating and Promoting Nonfiction for Children and Young Adults. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Witte, S., Gross, M., & Latham, D. (Eds.). (2021). From text to epitext: Expanding students' comprehension, engagement, and media literacy. Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.
Julien, H., Gross, M., & Latham, D. (Eds.). (2020). The Information Literacy Framework: Case studies of successful implementation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Witte, S., Latham, D., & Gross, M. (Eds.). (2019). Literacy engagement through peritextual analysis. American Library Association / National Council of Teachers of English.
Grants & Awards
Recent Grant Funding
Gross, M., & Latham, D. (Aug 2023–Jul 2025). Social services in public libraries. Funded by Institute of Museum and Library Services. Total award $266,702.
Latham, D., Gross, M., & Randolph, K. (Jun 2021–Jun 2022). The Social Work Approach in Public Libraries: Exploring Current Practice to Inform Library and Information Studies and Social Work Education. Funded by FSU Council on Research and Creativity. Total award $21,692.
Hall-Mills, S., Everhart, N., Latham, D., Gross, M., & Johnson, L. (May 2020–Aug 2020). Knowledge and self efficacy for telepractice (KASE for telepractice). Funded by FSU Office of Research. Total award $16,423.
Latham, D., & Gross, M. (Jul 2019–Jul 2020). Community college librarian and student perceptions of student information literacy needs. Funded by Institute of Museum and Library Services. Total award $164,599.