Nadia Caidi

Professor , Director of International Student Experience

Phone 416-978-4664

Email: nadia.caidi@utoronto.ca

Office: BL 630

Website: https://caidi.ischool.utoronto.ca/

Nadia Caidi is a Professor at the Faculty of Information, University of Toronto. Trained in Linguistics (Universite Lumiere Lyon 2, France) and Communication (MST from Universite Stendhal, Grenoble, France), she also holds an MLIS and a Ph.D. in Information Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Caidi is the inaugural Director of International Student Engagement for the Faculty.

She joined the Toronto iSchool in 2000, and since then has been teaching, researching, and mentoring students in the areas of human information behaviour, information policy, and the social implications of information and communication technologies.

Her co-edited book “Humanizing LIS Education and Practice: Diversity by Design” came out with Routledge (2021). She is also the executive producer on a 5-min animated film “We Were Here All Along: Canada’s Failed Promise to Women in STEM” (in partnership with TechGirls Canada) based on ongoing research.

Dr. Caidi is the recipient of the 2019 ALISE Pratt-Severn Faculty Innovation Award and the 2020 Watson Davis Award for Service (from ASIS&T). She was the 2016 President of the International Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T), and was the President of the Canadian Association for Information Science (CAIS) in 2011. She sat on the Executive Board of the DC-based Council of Scientific Society Presidents, and has extensively consulted on information and media practices for a range of governmental agencies and foundations.

Program

Master of Information (MI)

PhD in Information Studies
Research

Professor Caidi’s work is situated in the context of global migration and the role that information resources, institutions, and technologies play in the everyday lives of diasporic communities as well as the host country. She is interested in how the multiple and overlapping local, transnational, and information environments of immigrants are negotiated and comprehended, and in how they come to embody new kinds of knowledge. Within that framework she pursues several lines of research, examining information for social and economic inclusion, digital diasporas, and the relationship between cultural institutions and diverse audiences. Past research has focused on the attractiveness of LIS careers to students and alumni stemming from diverse backgrounds, the diversity of LIS professions, and the significant disconnect that persists in how the goals of LIS education are seen by certain groups of practitioners, students, and faculty members. These strands of research seek to expand on the meanings and values of diversity, with an eye toward reconceptualizing it as a powerful force for advancing and reshaping the information professions. Prof. Caidi was awarded the American Library Association (ALA)’s 2018 David Cohen/EMIERT Multicultural Award for her article “Diversity by Design” (co-authored with Dr. Keren Dali) which appeared in The Library Quarterly.

Her recent research examines expressions of spiritual and religious identities within diasporic communities, specifically the contemporary manifestations of the pilgrimage tradition, and how information in its multiple forms (textual, spiritual, corporeal, and others) has mediated and shaped the pilgrim’s spiritual, physical, and informational journey. Prof. Caidi received the 2019 Outstanding Research Article Award by The International Journal of Information, Diversity and Inclusion, for her article “Holy Selfies: Pilgrimage in the Age of Social Media” (co-authored with S. Beazley and L.C. Marquez).
Specialization

Human Information Behaviour, Information and Global Migration, Marginalized communities, Information Policy, Information Ethics
Selected Publications

Caidi, N., Du, T., Li, L., Shen, Y., Sun, Q. (Forthcoming). “Immigrating After 60: Information Experiences of Older Chinese Migrants to Australia and Canada.” Information Processing and Management, 2019.

Zhang, J., & Caidi, N. (2019). “The Sensitive Period, Big Vs, and the Diaspora: A Brief Account of “#MeToo” in China.” In Proceedings of the Social Media & Society Conference. (Available in ACM Digital Library).

Kim, A., Caidi, N., & Chah, N. (2019). ” ‘Our Korea’: Transcultural affinity as negotiated through YouTube encounters.” Information Research, 24(1), paper isic1828. Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/24-1/isic2018/isic1828.html

Caidi, N. (2019). “Pilgrimage to the Hajj: An Information Journey.” The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, 3(1): 44-76.

Duncan, J. & Caidi, N. (2018). “Mobilities, Media and Governmentality: Asylum Seekers in Lacolle, Quebec.” Special Issue on Migration and the Media, Migration und Soziale Arbeit (German Journal of Migration and Social Work), 4, 331-340.

Allard, D. & Caidi, N. (2018). “Imagining Winnipeg: The translocal meaning making of Filipino migrants to Canada.” Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, 69(10), 1193–1204.

Caidi, N., & Dali, K. (2018). The special issues: The International Diversity by Design Symposium Toronto, ON, Canada (September 13-14, 2017). The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, 2(1/2).

Caidi, N., Beazley, S., & Marquez, L. C. (2018). Holy selfies: Performing pilgrimage in the age of social media. The International Journal of Information, Diversity, & Inclusion, 2(1/2).

Caidi, N., Ghaddar, J. J., & Allard, D. (2017). Negotiating Borders: Librarianship and Twenty-First-Century Politics. The Library Quarterly, 87(4), 391-409.

Caidi, N., & Dali, K. (2017). Diversity by design. The Library Quarterly, 87(2), 88-98. [Note: also listed as Dali & Caidi — authors have equal authorship rights, and authors can be listed in any order].

Dali, K., & Caidi, N. (2016). A two-way street: building the recruitment narrative in LIS programs. New Library World, 117(7/8), 499-539. [Awarded the Outstanding Paper in the 2017 Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence].

Komlodi, A., & Caidi, N. (2016). Learning in Second-Language Searching. In SAL@ SIGIR.

Reyes, W., Martin-Hammond, A., Komlodi, A., Caidi, N., & Sundin, N. “An Informed Transition? International Medical Graduates Settling in the United States and Canada.” Proceedings of the 79th ASIS&T Annual Meeting, Copenhagen (Denmark), Oct 16-18, 2016.

Komlodi, A. & Caidi, N. “Learning in Second-Language Searching.” Proceedings of Search As Learning (SAL) Workshop at SIGIR 2016, Pisa (Italy), July 15, 2016.

Komlodi, A., Caidi, N., Martin-Hammond, A., Reyes, W., & Sundin, N. “Culturally-Situated Information Literacy: International Medical Graduates Navigating New Information Landscapes.” Proceedings of CaTaC’16: Culture, Technology, Communication: Common World, Different Futures? London (UK), June 16, 2016.

Dali, K., & Caidi, N. “A Two-Way Street: Recruitment and Retention Narratives as Apprehended by LIS Students.” New Library World 117.7/8 (2016): 499-539.

Caidi, N. & Dali, K. “Can We Talk? Perceptions of Diversity Issues by Students with Diverse Backgrounds, and a Rumination on Personal Roads to Systemic Change.” New Library World 116.11/12 (2015): 748-80.

Caidi, N., Komlodi, A., Lima Abrao, A., and Martin-Hammond, A. “Collectively Figuring It Out: Foreign-Trained Health Professionals and Labour Market Integration.” Libres – Library and Information Science Research E-Journal 24.2 (2014): 118-131.

Ghaddar, J. and N. Caidi. “Indigenous Knowledge in a Post-Apology Era: Steps Toward Healing and Bridge-Building.“ Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 40.5 (2014): 41-45. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Jun-14/JunJul14_Ghaddar_Caidi.pdf

Nomura, T. and Caidi, N. “Heritage Language Acquisition and Maintenance: Home Literacy Practices of Japanese-Speaking Families in Canada.” Information Research 18.3 (2013): paper C37. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://InformationR.net/ir/18-3/colis/paperC37.html

Caidi, N., Stevenson, S., and Richmond, T. “The Power of Data or Why Scholars Should Care About Policy.“ Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 40.2 (2013) : 35-38. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://www.asis.org/Bulletin/Dec-13/DecJan14_Caidi_Stevenson_Richmond.pdf

Cortinois, A., Glazier, R., Caidi, N., Andrews. G., Herbert-Copley, M., & Jadad, A. “Toronto’s 2-1-1 Healthcare Services for Immigrant Populations.” The American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 43.6 (2012): 475-482.

Caidi N., and Lam, M. “Working with First Nations: The On-Demand Book Service.” Paper presented at BooksOnline’10 Workshop at the 19^th ACM International Conference on Information and Knowledge Management (CIKM) 2010, October 26, 2010,Toronto. ON. Accessed November 27, 2016. http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/events/booksonline10/papers.aspx

—, Allard, D., and Quirke, L. “The Information Practices of Immigrants.” Annual Review of Information Science and Technology (ARIST) 44 2010): 493-531.

— and MacDonald, S. “Information Practices of Canadian Muslims Post 9/11” Government Information Quarterly 25.3 (2008): 348-378.

— and Ross, A. “Information Rights and National Security.” Government Information Quarterly 22.4 (2005): 663-684.

— and Allard, D. “Social Inclusion of Newcomers to Canada: An Information Problem?” Library and Information Science Research, 27.3 (2005): 302-324.
Supervision

Postdoctoral (MITACS)

Sambhavi Chandrashekar, 2010-2012.

Rhonda McEwen, 2009-2010.

Doctoral

Cansu Ekmekcioglu Dedeoglu (2018-present).

Mariam Karim (in progress).

Jamila Ghaddar, 2021.

Danielle Allard, 2015.

Diane Dechief, 2014.

Lisa Quirke, 2014.

Rhonda McEwen, 2009.

Co-supervision

Sambhavi Chandrashekar, 2010. (With Dr. Stephen Hockema).

Masters Thesis:

Jamie Duncan, 2019

Elise Chien, 2005.

Pia Russell, 2004.
Course Titles

CCT218              Introduction to Information Studies

INF2332             Information Behaviour

INF2181             Information Policy, Regulation and the Law

INF2126             Public Library Services to Culturally-Diverse Communities

INF1300             Foundations of LIS

INF1322 Communities and Values

INF2010 Analyse et Conception de Services en Langue Francaise

INF2300 Les Bibliotheques et leurs Publics en Milieu Francophone
In the News

‘Information Practices of Immigrants: Enabling Social Inclusion.’ Feature in the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) Newsletter, October 2016. Available online at: http://triec.ca/information-practices-of-immigrants-enabling-social-inclusion/

‘Holy Selfies’ Coverage:

The Toronto Star (September 2015); and

The Faculty of Information Alumni Magazine, University of Toronto, Winter 2015.

Nadia Caidi

Nadia Caidi

Program

Research

Specialization

Selected Publications

Supervision

Course Titles

In the News