Dayanqi Si’s hometown in China only had two public libraries. As a child, she never had the opportunity to visit either of them. Little did she know, this fact would deeply influence her future academic journey.
After earning her master of library and information science at Western, she was inspired to take on a new academic quest in 2023: a PhD in library and information science (LIS). The lack of access to public libraries she experienced as a child in Nanchang, China, played a strong role in her choice of studies.
Although her decision to enrol in library and information science studies came as a surprise to many in her life, Si knows she is following her passion.
Dayanqi Si (Ali Shahan Butt/Western News)
“Back in China, we had this saying that there are three types of people in this world: women, men and women with PhDs,” Si said.
She’s using her time at Western to uncover the ways libraries positively impact their communities.
Si found a way to connect her linguistics background to her LIS education by researching how public libraries can help second-generation immigrants maintain their ancestral languages. It’s a topic that resonates deeply for her since she has three Canadian-born children. Si hopes they’ll be able to maintain their mother-tongue growing up in Canada.
“English shouldn’t be considered superior to other languages, and the associated culture shouldn’t be considered superior to other cultures,” said Si.
She is motivated by the resilience of Indigenous communities that continue to preserve their languages despite concerted efforts, through policies like residential schools, to eradicate them.
“If our libraries can encourage second-generation immigrants to maintain their ancestral languages, fewer languages would die.”
Si’s interest in LIS extends beyond her research on preserving languages. One of her favourite MLIS courses was Analog Gaming in Libraries. It looked at the concepts of information transfer, special collections, programming and curating in the context of board games in libraries.
“Libraries are no longer only about books,” she says. “We have a lot of things, including games.”
Si enjoyed the course so much that if the stars had aligned, she believes she may have just opted for a PhD in board games.
When asked about the people who inspire her, Si is quick to mention her supervisors, family and peers from FIMS. But she said she’s inspired by all women seeking education, especially those with children.
“Many people around me don’t understand why I’m doing my PhD since I already have three kids. Somehow, they think that women with kids should only be mothers and not doing PhDs.”
Si is determined to prove her critics wrong and do both successfully.
At this point in her doctoral studies, she’s not worrying about her career goals – she is instead embracing her PhD journey.
“I think post-secondary education is more for personal growth than it is just career-linked. But I’m just thinking of how much fun I’m having doing this PhD.”
