Education
B.A., English, Soochow University (Taipei, Taiwan)
M.L.I.S., Library and Information Science, Louisiana State University
Ph.D., Library and Information Studies, Texas Woman's University
Background
Dr. Feili Tu-Keefner is from Taipei, Taiwan; she came to the School of Information
Science in Fall 2003. She has six years’ experience working for the Library of Congress
equivalent in Taiwan, including three and a half years as a reference librarian and
periodicals manager in a computing and informatics library.
Research Areas
- Evidence-Based Health Information Access
- Health Informatics
- Health Information Literacy
- Health Sciences Librarianship and Its Education
- Reference, Information, and Research Services
Recent Funded Research
Enhancing young adults’ e-cigarette information literacy: A pilot test of interactive
digital content and academic library intervention. Submitted with Dr. Jungmi Jun to the College of Information and Communication (CIC)
Internal Research Grants, University of South Carolina Spring 2019. A $11,325 research
grant.
Roles of Public Libraries during A Natural Disaster: How Do Information, Technology
and User Support Add Value to Communities. Submitted with Dr. Samantha K. Hastings and Dr. Jingjing Liu to the South Carolina
Resilience to Extreme Storms: Research on Social, Environmental, and Health Dimensions
of the October 2015 Catastrophic Flooding, an internal funding to pursue research
on October 2015 catastrophic flooding, sponsored by the University of South Carolina
Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. A $18,895 research
grant. Awarded. $17,000.
Teaching
Tu-Keefner’s areas of expertise in teaching are in health sciences librarianship,
reference and information services, especially virtual reference services, and online
retrieval. She is a firm believer in experiential learning and the importance of
integrating new technology and electronic service models into the library and information
science curriculum. In addition, she is committed to providing students with a high-quality
education, whether in a distance education or a face-to-face instructional setting.
She has been a SLIS nominee for the Michael J. Mungo Graduate Teaching Awards of the
University of South Carolina.
Tu-Keefner completed the Information Manager training program sponsored by the WHO
and the CDC in November 2021 and am a WHO-certified infodemic manager.
Recent Publications
Tu-Keefner, F., Hobbs, A., & Bricker, A. (2022). Is the authoritative online COVID-19 consumer health
information intelligible to adults of the general public?: A COVID-19 information
analysis. Submitted to the Journal of Consumer Health Information on the Internet. (In press)
Tu-Keefner, F., Hobbs, A., & Bricker, A. (2022, March). Is your COVID-19 health information understood
by adults in the general public? A content analysis of online resources published
by the CDC and the WHO. In Proceedings of the International Congress of Medical Librarianship (ICML) and the Association for Health Information and Libraries in Africa (AHILA) Joint Conference. (In Press)
Tu-Keefner, F., Liu, J., Lyons, D., Hobbs, A., Smith, J. C., & Corbo, M. (2020) Disaster health
information access and public libraries’ situation-specific information: What public
librarians and library users said. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 24(3), 201-227. Link
Tu-Keefner, F. (2019). Communities and libraries in times of crisis: A journey of knowledge inquiries in
South Carolina. Journal of New Librarianship, 4 (Special Issue), 405-416. Link
Tu-Keefner, F., Liu, J., Lyons, D. R., & Hobbs, A., Smith, J. C. (2019, August). Preparing future
librarians and current information professionals to lead libraries in times of crisis.
In Proceedings of the 85th World Library and Information Congress of IFLA. Athens, Greece.
Tu-Keefner, F., Liu, J., Freeburg, D., Harnett, E. J., Lyons, D. R., Corbo, M., & Hobbs, A. (2018,
August). Lessons learned after a disaster: investigations of public librarians’ health
information services to the community and community members’ information needs following
a catastrophic flood. In Proceedings of the Evidence for Global and Disaster Health Special Interest Group
Meeting, An IFLA 2018 Annual Congress Satellite Meeting. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Liu, J., Tu-Keefner, F., Zamir, H., & Hastings, S. K. (2017). Social media as a tool connecting with library users in disasters: A case study of
the 2015 catastrophic flooding in South Carolina. Science & Technology Libraries, 36(3), 274-287.
Tu-Keefner, F., Liu, J., Harnett, E., & Hastings, S. K. (2017). Health information services and
technology access during and after a disaster: Lessons learned by public librarians
in South Carolina. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 21(1), 26-39.
Tu-Keefner, F. (2016, December). The value of public libraries during a major flooding: How digital
resources can enhance health and disaster preparedness in local communities. In Maeda,
A., & Morishima, A. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 18th International Conference in Asia-Pacific Digital Libraries (pp. 10-15). Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan: University of Tsukuba.
Tu-Keefner, F., Hastings, S. K., & Liu, J. (2016, October). The value of public libraries during
a major flooding: What the 2015 catastrophic flooding in South Carolina has taught
us. In Office of Research, University of South Carolina. (Ed.), SC Floods Project Summaries: Collected Abstracts Detailing Projects Funded by the
Office of the Vice President for Research through the 2015 SC Floods Research Initiative—Prepared
for the SC Floods Conference, October 7, 2016 (p. 56). Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina.
Service
International
Standing Committee Member. Health and Biosciences Libraries Section, International
Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2019-2022.
Working Group Member. Evidence for Global and Disaster Health Interest Group (E4GDH),
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), 2019-2021.
Program Committee Member. The IFLA’s Evidence for Global and Disaster Health Interest
Group (E4GDH) Session Program at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress in
Dublin, Ireland, August 15-21, 2020.
Peer Reviewer. Journal of Cancer Education, 2019.
Peer Reviewer. Informatics for Health and Social Care, 2018.
National
Peer Reviewer. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2021.
Editorial Review Board Member. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet. 2021-.
Peer Reviewer. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet. 2020.
Peer Reviewer. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2019.
Peer Reviewer. American Journal of Health Promotion, 2016.
State and Regional
Committee Member. The Research Committee of the Southern Chapter of the Medical Library
Association, 2015-2017.
Instructor. Evidence-based Health Sciences Resources and Information Services: A Series of Eight
Professional Development Workshops for the Woodruff Health Sciences Center Library,
Emory University, October 8-December 3, 2013.
University of South Carolina
Committee member. The Faculty Advisory Committee, 2021-2022.
Member. The creation of a study-away program in Taipei, Taiwan for the CIC, 2019-2021.
Co-Chair. The College of Information and Committee Search Committee for Associate
Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, 2018.
Chair. The SLIS Curriculum Committee, Fall 2016-Spring 2017.
Committee Member. The Information Technology and Resources Committee, Fall 2016-Spring
2017.
Personal
Tu-Keefner enjoys listening to music, cooking and traveling with her husband, Paul,
an Ohioan. They love collecting world music and high-fidelity music recordings, as
well as creating Tu-Keefner fusion cuisine. She is also a dedicated yoga learner
and has been practicing yoga for several years. She also really likes hockey games.
