NICOLE MARIE GASTON, PH.

D - CURRICULUM VITAE
305A Mansfield St, Unit M, Wellington 6021 Aotearoa New Zealand
+1 (758)485-9312 | nicoleg@riseup.net
United States of America Citizen, Aotearoa New Zealand Permanent Resident

EDUCATION
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Ph.D. in Information Studies
Dissertation: Contextualising Information Behaviour: The Example of Laos
Awarded Victoria International PhD Scholarship, March 2010
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Master of Library & Information Science (MLIS)
University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
Bachelor of Arts in French (BA)
Areas of concentration: Language & Literature
Minor: Education
Open Polytechnic of New Zealand
Certificate in Designing and Facilitating E-Learning

2014

2008

2003

2016

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Open Polytechnic of New Zealand | Kuratini Tuwhera
2011 - 2016
Course leader/lecturer
Accessing Information
Reference Skills & User Education
Social Informatics
Delivery of asynchronous education to distance students in New Zealand and overseas via
the Moodle software platform. Responsible for course revisions and content design, student
communication, student assessment, management of student records and all other aspects
of teaching courses in Information & Library Studies.
Supervisor Research paper
Supervised final year undergraduate students in the completion of a research project.
Adjunct faculty Accessing Information, Reference Skills & User Education, Literature
and Information Resources for Children and Young People, Library Services for Children
and Young People, Research Methods & Interpretation
Assessed students work using an Online Marking system.
School of Information Management, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Lecturer Information Services to Special Groups
Developed syllabus, course structure, course content. Delivered instruction materials
through face to face and distance teaching methods through Blackboard & Keynote audio
conferencing software. Assessed student work.

2013

Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam

2010
Guest Lecturer
Developed original information literacy education program for library and information science
undergraduate. Instructed students in information literacy and digital literacy. Evaluated
students participation and understanding, reported to university administration.

NICOLE MARIE GASTON, PH.D - CURRICULUM VITAE

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PUBLICATIONS AND PAPERS

Gaston, N. M. (2016) Human information behaviour through a critical lens. Manuscript in preparation.
Gaston, N. M. (2016) Everyday information needs, seeking and use in Samoa. Manuscript in preparation.
Gaston, N. M. (in press). Contextualising information behaviour: A methodological approach. Journal of
Critical Library and Information Studies.
Gaston, N. M., Fields, A., Lilley, S., & Calvert, P. (2016). Raranga te kete aronui: Weaving social & cultural
inclusion into New Zealand library & information science education. In K. Kettnich (Ed.), Advances in
librarianship: Perspectives on libraries as institutions of human rights and social justice (pp. 373-398).
Bingley, UK: Emerald. doi:10.1108/S0065-283020160000041031
Gaston, N. M., Dorner, D. G., & Johnstone, D. (2015). Spirituality and everyday information behaviour in a
non-Western context: Sense-making in Buddhist Laos. Information Research, 20(2). Retrieved from
http://www.informationr.net/ir/20-2/paper665.html#.VX9Qm_mqpBc
Gaston, N. M. (2015, May). Enhancing cultural understanding in LIS education at the Open Polytechnic of
New Zealand. Library Life: Te Rau Herenga O Aotearoa, 1213. Retrieved from
http://www.lianza.org.nz/sites/default/files/Library Life 434 May 2015.pdf
Gaston, N. M. (2014). Contextualising information behaviour: The example of Laos. Victoria University of
Wellington. Retrieved from http://researcharchive.vuw.ac.nz/handle/10063/3196
Gaston, N. M., Dorner, D., & Johnstone, D. (2013). Information behaviour in transition: A developing country
perspective. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 50(1), 116.
doi:10.1002/meet.14505001060
Cullen, R., & Hassall, G. with the assistance of Gaston, N. M. (2013). An information ecology approach to
sustainable e-government among small island developing states in the Pacific. Proceedings of the
46th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (pp. 19221931). Ieee.
doi:10.1109/HICSS.2013.86
Dorner, D. G., & Gorman, G. E. with the assistance of Gaston, N. M. (2012). Developing contextual
perceptions of information literacy and information literacy education in the Asian region. In A. Spink
& D. Singh (Eds.), Library and Information Science Trends and Research: Asia-Oceania. Emerald
Group Publishing.
Gaston, N. M. (2009). Developing strategies to encourage information literacy and implement dynamic
library services: Suggestions for Lao PDR. Proceedings of the 14th Annual Congress of Southeast
Asian Librarians Conference. Hanoi, Vietnam.

PRESENTATIONS
Information behavior in Samoa: A collaborative approach
Presentation at the 8th International Evidence Based Library and Information
Practice (EBLIP) Conference. Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane,
Australia.

2015

NICOLE MARIE GASTON, PH.D - CURRICULUM VITAE

PRESENTATIONS CONTINUED
Information behaviour in transition: A developing world perspective
Paper presented at the 76th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information
Science and Technology. Montreal, Canada.
Developing strategies to encourage information literacy and implement dynamic
library services: Suggestions for Lao PDR
Paper presented to the 14th Annual Congress of Southeast Asian Librarians, Hanoi,
Vietnam.

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2013

2009

RELATED EXPERIENCE
Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean/ St. Lucia Public Library/Ministry of Education of St. Lucia
2016-present
Library trainer
Supported literacy and education initiatives in St. Lucia through capacity building amongst
staff at the Public Library System of St. Lucia. Assisted with implementation of Koha ILS and
computerisation of library services, developed and implemented extensive staff training
initiatives, provided technical expertise and support. Co-facilitated community programming
and outreach activities. Co-investigated community needs including data collection and
analysis, and development of findings/recommendations.
Open Polytechnic of New Zealand | Kuratini Tuwhera
2013 2016
Academic staff
Carried out academic responsibilities and research activities as member of the School of
Social Sciences. Undertook research into information behaviour and non-Western culture in
Samoa in collaboration with faculty from Waikato University (NZ) and the National University
of Samoa.
Montreal Childrens Library, Montreal, Canada
Richmond Square Branch Librarian
Sole-charge responsibility, including collection development and maintenance, reference,
readers advisory, etc. for a childrens library in a lower-income multi-racial community.
Coordinated and managed a team of volunteers and adjunct educators.

2009 - 2010

Central Library of the National University of Laos, Vientiane, Lao PDR

Technical Advisor in Information Literacy
2008 - 2009
Supported staff of the largest library in Laos through training and instruction, particularly in
information & digital literacy. Collaborated with library staff to design and implement
institutional information literacy education program including workshops for both staff and
students. Collaborated with staff to develop library services. Conducted research in the area
of information literacy.
Education Library of McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Assistant Reference Librarian
2006 - 2008
Supported research & provided reference services to university community. Coordinated deacquisitioning of over 10,000 items. Supervised weekend and evening staff.

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EXPERIENCE CONTINUED
United Stated Peace Corps, Athim, Benin, West Africa
Rural Community Development Volunteer
2003 - 2005
Trained over 500 women and families in community health issues in a rural West African
community. Organised a summer reading and education program for over 500 local primary
school students. Trained new Peace Corps volunteers.
Rush University Library & Archives, Chicago, IL, USA
PC Lab Assistant; Library Technician; Archival Assistant

1999 - 2003

LInstitut Amricain Universitaire, Avignon, France

Assistante/Librarian

2002

Schaumburg District Library, Schaumburg, IL, USA

Serials Desk Associate

1995 - 1997

AWARDS
Recipient, Hydestor Professional Development Award for Library & Information Management in New
Zealand, 2011
Deans list, University of Illinois at Chicago, 2003
LANGUAGES
English native language; French Speak and write fluently; Lao Speak conversationally
DIGITAL LITERACIES
Proficient in MS Windows, MS Ofce, MS Access, Mac OSX, NVivo, SPSS, Adobe Photoshop, EndNote,
Zotero, Mendeley, Moodle, BlackBoard and Keynote audio conferencing software, web design
(XHTML, CSS), various integrated library systems including Koha, PMB, and Aleph.
MANUSCRIPT REVIEWER
Journal of Critical Library and Information Studies, Encyclopedia of Library and Information Sciences,
Information Research, The Electronic Library, Library Review, Libri, Journal of Education for Library and
Information Science (JELIS), Americas Conference on Information Systems
MEMBERSHIPS & SERVICE TO PROFESSION
Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIST)
SIG USE member
2014 SIG USE Research Symposium Committee member
LIANZA (Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa)
Research SIG Committee member and treasurer
RLL1 (Research by librarians, for Librarians) Symposium Chair
2015 Annual LIANZA Conference Programmes Committee member
Advisor to Laos Library and Information Consortium

2013 present

2010 present

2008 present