Darin Freeburg studies workplace information and knowledge practices, including issues of complexity, identity, leadership and organizational change. He is the PI on the federally funded Public Library Routines project, which investigates the routine dynamics of public library work.
College of Information and Communications
Faculty and Staff
Darin Freeburg, Ph.D.
| Title: | Associate Professor |
| Department: | School of Information Science College of Information and Communications |
| Email: | darinf@mailbox.sc.edu |
| Phone: | 803-777-0446 |
| Office: | School of Information Science Davis College, Room 214 1501 Greene Street Columbia, SC 29208 |
| Resources: |

Education
B.A., English, MidAmerica Nazarene University
M.A., Theological Studies, Nazarene Theological Seminary
Ph.D., Communication and Information, Kent State University
Research
Teaching
Freeburg teaches courses at the undergrad and graduate levels on knowledge management, information science theory, policy, leadership, and information literacy. He also works regularly with students on research outside of the classroom.
Select Publications
Freeburg, D. & Klein, K. (2025).Workplace technology as a threat to worker identity: evidence from public libraries. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science [in press].
Freeburg, D. & Klein, K. (2025). Be who we all want you to be: Navigating identity regulation in the public library. Library Quarterly, 95(4).
Freeburg, D. & Klein, K. (2025). Who am I? How public library staff manage conflicting information about the self-concept. Journal of Documentation, 81(7), 293-311.
Freeburg, D. & Klein, K. (2024). Are library staff autonomous? The influence of routines and the development of workarounds. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, 56(1), 223-240.
Freeburg, D. & Klein, K. (2024). Customer service, hard work, and normativity: Identity standards encoded into public library routines. [Long paper]. Wisdom, well-being, win-win: Lecture notes in computer science series, 14597. Springer.
Personal
Freeburg and his wife, who met while playing in a band in college, are both transplants from the Midwest. They have a daughter, two small dogs and a cat. He is an aspiring furniture maker and carpenter, but only moderately good at it.