scholarly journals Student trauma experiences, library instruction and existence under the 45th

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-199
Author(s):  
Michelle Gohr ◽  
Vitalina A. Nova
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Literacy Practice ◽  
Systemic Racism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Issues

Purpose By historicizing the broader system of education contextualized under the 45th presidential administration, this paper aims to provide a nuanced discussion regarding the condition of information literacy and librarianship as capitalist institutions in service to the state. In response, tools to oppose systemic racism and minimize harm in the classroom as well as recommendations for change and resistance are addressed. Design/methodology/approach The paper focuses on historical analysis of libraries as institutions within larger educational systems and draws heavily on critical theories as a method of critique. Findings This paper demonstrates that the 45th presidential administration is a logical progression of neoliberalism and institutionalized discrimination, which has had adverse effects on the health and safety of (primarily marginalized) students, library workers and library practice, but that critical reflection and information seeking on part of librarians may provide solutions. Practical implications This paper can be used as a guide for librarians seeking to contextualize the educational environment and apply a critical praxis to information literacy programs. Social implications The reflection presented in this paper can aid in expanding awareness in LIS surrounding issues of equity and justice, and impart urgency and need for institutional change. Originality/value Given the lack of diversity in library and information science, this paper provides critical interventions for information literacy practice. The authors’ unique practical and theoretical backgrounds allow for nuanced discussion and pedagogical creation which directly impacts and addresses key issues of justice and equity in the classroom.

scholarly journals Documenting the Information-seeking Experience of Remedial Undergraduate Students

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelley Blundell
Keyword(s):  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Primary Analysis ◽  
Dissertation Research

As presented at DOCAM’14, this proceedings paper discusses my ongoing dissertation research: Documenting the information-seeking experience of undergraduate students enrolled in a remedial English course at a 4-year state university in Ohio, United States. Because the information behaviors, needs, and information literacy abilities of these students are understudied areas in library and information science and higher education literature; I chose to investigate these areas in my dissertation research toward contributing research to this gap, using descriptive phenomenological (qualitative) methodology to do so. Although secondary data analysis is still in progress, this paper presents findings from primary analysis (a necessary step in phenomenological study to eliminate bias and assumption from secondary analysis). Ultimately, I aim to use study findings to create targeted, needs-based instruction for remedial undergraduate students, toward supporting their academic progress through information literacy development, and consequently encouraging their persistence toward graduation.

Teaching ethical dilemmas in LIS coursework

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 180-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
James H. Walther
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Teaching Method ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Teaching Strategy ◽  
Professional Associations ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Content Type ◽  
News Sources ◽  
Seeking Behavior

Purpose This paper aims to examine the teaching of library graduate students in an introductory course on the foundations of librarianship. To examine the specific skill of developing an ethical foundation in their future profession of librarianship, an examination is offered here using a multiple-step teaching strategy, introducing specific instructional materials, including a model of assessing ethics and a proposed integration of research skills with problem-based learning (PBL) as the suggested teaching delivery. As the experience proved to provide positive outcomes for student learning, the paper provides not only this operational examination but also the theoretical justification for further adaptation and usage of PBL as a teaching method in library and information science (LIS) education. Described are details LIS faculty should consider in implementing the method in teaching, especially on the topic of professional ethics. Methodology/approach This research project focused on exploring a new way of exploring the teaching of ethical behaviors in the library profession by examining real-world examples of ethics in trade news sources. It was therefore determined that the best strategy was to design a teaching activity that assists students in learning two sets of skills: information-seeking behavior and developing ethical boundaries and standards that a librarian would use in professional practice. Findings The process is often taught in a linear manner, but in practice, ethical situations are found and expressed in non-linear ways. In practice, the profession is rife with ethics, non-rules, non-lists and no checklists upon how to behave. Ethical dilemmas are extemporaneous, and yet decisions regarding them can be made from the guidance of professional associations and combined with thoughtful analysis. Originality/value Redefining any pedagogical activity in graduate teaching is, at times, more herculean than it seems at the start, yet with distilling the process into workable steps with appropriate protocols, we can successfully teach ethics in new ways. More integration of PBL is hereby advocated throughout LIS curriculum in a variety of contexts.

The effect of socio-demographic characteristics on the information-seeking behaviors of police officers

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 350-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Idris Guclu ◽  
Ali Can
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Information Seeking Behaviors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine the information-seeking behaviors of police officers who work in police stations in the context of staying current. Leckie et al.’s (1996) model of the information-seeking behavior of professionals is tested. Design/methodology/approach – A quantitative research design was employed for data collection. The sample includes 642 cases. It is both descriptive and exploratory. Findings – Police officers first rely upon their personal knowledge and experience, then their colleagues and then official documents. On the other hand, they rarely consulted informants, libraries, journals, books, and attendance at conferences as information sources. There were significant differences in the information sources used by police officers based on their gender in the context of staying current. Lastly, the results of this study indicated that service years in policing and the roles in police station were significantly correlated with the information sources used by police officers regarding staying current. Originality/value – This study, being the first, provides a huge theoretical base for future studies. It contributes to the discipline of information science by validating a theoretical model in a different context. In addition, it contributes to public safety by understanding the frontline police officers’ information needs and information-seeking behavior.

Social relevance assessments for virtual worlds

2017 ◽  
Vol 73 (6) ◽  
pp. 1209-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaitlin Light Costello
Keyword(s):  
Kidney Disease ◽  
Virtual Worlds ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Comparative Method ◽  
Social Characteristics ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relevance Assessments

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of social relevance assessments, which are judgments made by individuals when they seek out information within virtual social worlds such as online support groups (OSGs). Design/methodology/approach Constructivist grounded theory was employed to examine the phenomenon of information exchange in OSGs for chronic kidney disease. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 participants, and their posts in three OSGs were also harvested. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis and the constant comparative method. Theoretical sampling was conducted until saturation was reached. Member checking, peer debriefing, and triangulation were used to verify results. Findings There are two levels of relevance assessment that occur when people seek out information in OSGs. First, participants evaluate the OSG to determine whether or not the group is an appropriate place for information exchange about kidney disease. Second, participants evaluate individual users on the OSG to see if they are appropriate people with whom to exchange information. This often takes the form of similarity assessment, whereby people try to determine whether or not they are similar to specific individuals on the forums. They use a variety of heuristics to assess similarity as part of this process. Originality/value This paper extends the author’s understanding of relevance in information science in two fundamental ways. Within the context of social information exchange, relevance is socially constructed and is based on social characteristics, such as age, shared beliefs, and experience. Moreover, relevance is assessed both when participants seek out information and when they disclose information, suggesting that the conception of relevance as a process that occurs primarily during information seeking is limited.

Mnemonics in the Mouseion

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 278-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ole Olesen-Bagneux
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Book History ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Core ◽  
The One

Purpose – Mnemonics was a tool in classification and information seeking processes in pre-print libraries. The purpose of this paper is to study the role of spatial mnemonics in Hellenistic libraries, including the one in Alexandria. Design/methodology/approach – Since library- and information science has not explored this subject in depth, philology, rhetoric, book-history and archeology constitute the core literature. From this literature, the role of mnemonics in the libraries is discussed. Findings – A new description of the practice of classification and retrieval in Hellenistic libraries, based on spatial mnemonics. Originality/value – This paper is a new analysis of spatial mnemonics in the Hellenistic libraries. As will become clear, they blend easily and logically with each other.

scholarly journals How can you tell if it’s working? Recent developments in impact evaluation and their implications for information literacy practice.

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Markless ◽  
David Streatfield
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Impact Evaluation ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Literacy Practice ◽  
Programme Theory ◽  
Literacy Support ◽  
Library Impact

This paper surveys the (patchy and uneven) advances in LIS impact evaluation over the past ten years and notes the surge forward in public library impact evaluation, before looking more broadly at international and educational impact evaluation scene and noting the advance of programme-theory driven approaches. The authors then identify various trends drawn from the wider evaluation discourse that they think are likely to be relevant to information literacy (IL) practitioners, academic staff, employers and others who are concerned with impact evaluation of IL work.The trends identified are:growing clarity about the levels of evaluation expertise needed to deliver information literacy support from the perspectives of leaders of LIS education programmes, staff of academic institutions, library leaders and managers and IL practitioners,growing interest in more inclusive or democratic approaches to impact evaluationthe limitations of the simple logic model of evaluationre-purposing of existing data to meet new evaluation needscollecting and presenting stories of change as impact evaluation evidence.Implications for IL practitioners are offered in relation to each of these trends. The authors then predict that over the next ten years there will be a strong focus on whether IL interventions are having an impact in combating misinformation and disinformation; more systematic and sustained approaches to IL impact evaluation in the health and higher education sectors but less so in some school libraries and other settings. They think that the more proactive public libraries will adopt IL evaluation approaches, that workplace IL will continue to depend upon the organisational culture, and that research on information seeking in context will shed light on evaluation priorities. Finally, they hope that future IL work will be underpinned by programme theory-based evaluation. 

Virtual learning: a disruptive service in academic libraries

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Ajibade ◽  
Stephen M. Mutula
Keyword(s):  
Academic Libraries ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Virtual Learning ◽  
Learning Technologies ◽  
Disruptive Technology ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Virtual Library ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disruptive Technologies

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the alignment of disruptive technologies into library and information science (LIS) and libraries as virtual learning spaces during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown as alternative trajectories to end the disruption caused by the COVID-19; however, the educational systems are still facing challenges in achieving these lofty objectives. Design/methodology/approach A living-lab methodology was adopted for this paper as an innovative approach, in which technologies that are in the development stages or full deployments are integrated with social research design to test the viability of such technologies for the intended purposes. Findings The LIS alignment of virtual learning technologies showed that disruptive technology could benefit academic libraries, with minimum training of staff. However, internet bandwidth, digital divide and lack of built-in functionality on the Zoom, compared with Moodle, for assessment and grading are huge setbacks. Nevertheless, library platforms must be mobile-response and agile software algorithm to include voice-over and voice recognition search functionality to access all the databases. Research limitations/implications For this paper, use of disruptive technology was limited to virtual online learning, Zoom and Moodle; however, the alignment of blockchain and big data and the libraries services was not covered. Practical implications This paper showed that the LIS could mitigate the COVID-19 global pandemic with disruptive IT alignment with learning management systems (LMS) and for the libraries to remain open during the coronavirus lockdown. Social implications Academic libraries can deploy disruptive technologies as virtual library spaces. Originality/value Disruptive technology alignment with LMS as virtual library space was posited for the academic librarians to mitigate the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.

Appraising information literacy skills of students in Singapore

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-394
Author(s):  
Shaheen Majid ◽  
Schubert Foo ◽  
Yun Ke Chang
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
School Curriculum ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
School Librarians ◽  
Information Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Education Administrators

PurposeTo investigate information literacy (IL) skills of secondary students in Singapore after integration of these skills into school curriculum. The study also explored cyber wellness skills of the students.Design/methodology/approachA survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 14 secondary schools, located in different geographical zones of the country. A total of 3,306 secondary students participated in this survey. A scoring scheme was devised to assess IL skills of the students.FindingsThe students achieved an overall mean score of 52.6%, which is considered as a “middle” level of IL competency. The students obtained high mean scores for two IL skills: “defining information task and analysing information gaps” (60.5%) and cyber wellness (60.1%). Lowest scores were achieved for two IL skills: “selecting information sources” (47.4%) and “appraising the information process and product” (48.0%).Research limitations/implicationsThis study has not investigated IL knowledge of teachers, responsible for teaching IL components. Similarly, content analysis of school textbooks, integrating IL skills, could be useful.Practical implicationsIt appeared that integration of IL skills into school curriculum showed limited success in imparting these skills. This paper suggests measures for improving the integration of IL skills into school curriculum. Findings of this survey will be useful to curriculum planners, education administrators, instructors teaching IL skills and school librarians.Originality/valueThis study was unique as, in addition to standard IL skills, it also investigated cyber wellness skills. It was desirable as now social media have become a popular source for information seeking and sharing.

Assessment of information literacy skills and information-seeking behavior of medical students in the age of technology: a study of Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-94
Author(s):  
Mohammad Sohail Haider ◽  
Chen Ya
Keyword(s):  
Medical Students ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Medical College ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Information Literacy Skills ◽  
Library Staff

Purpose Information literacy skills (ILSs) and information-seeking behavior (ISB) is a widespread topic that needs modern technologies to improve the technical skills of the students. The purpose of this study is to assess the usage of library resources for medical college students. To explore and understand the student’s level of satisfaction, learning and seeking behavior by efficient information retrieval systems. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on a quantitative research method and data was collected from the undergraduate students of medical colleges Islamabad Pakistan. The data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 using Pearson correlation statistical test to identify the level of proficiency of correlation of variables and testing of the proposed hypothesis. Findings The finding of the study shows that the medical students can enhance their IT skills to seek the information in this technology era. The medical institutional administration can develop the education development policy, traditional health education policy, funds allocating policy, health information literacy and collaborate with library staff for enhancing the services and to meet the information need of medical students. Practical implications The conclusion of this study is very helpful to reduce the barriers between the students and the library staff. The findings of the study are also beneficial for the administration to improve and develop the strategies for enhancing the ILSs of medical students to achieve medical educational information in the age of technology. Therefore, all significant structures want to improve and to develop the environment of information seeking by medical students to achieve medical educational information. Social implications Medical college library administrative management must be design useful a durable policy to come up with the technology development for digital literacy. The study reduces the barriers between the students and the library staff. Originality/value The study is based on quantitative research method to find out ISB of medical students.

Saturation, acceleration and information pathologies: the conditions that influence the emergence of information literacy safeguarding practice in COVID-19-environments

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Annemaree Lloyd ◽  
Alison Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Information Literacy ◽  
Literacy Practices ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Literacy Practice ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Standard Information ◽  
The Uk

PurposeThe purpose of this second study into information literacy practice during the COVID-19 pandemic is to identify the conditions that influence the emergence of information literacy as a safeguarding practice.Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative research design comprised one to one in-depth interviews conducted virtually during the UK's second and third lockdown phase between November 2020 and February 2021. Data were coded and analysed by the researchers using constant comparative techniques.FindingsContinual exposure to information creates the “noisy” conditions that lead to saturation and the potential for “information pathologies” to act as a form of resistance. Participants alter their information practices by actively avoiding and resisting formal and informal sources of information. These reactive activities have implications for standard information literacy empowerment discourses.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper is limited to the UK context.Practical implicationsFindings will be useful for librarians and researchers who are interested in the theorisation of information literacy as well as public health and information professionals tasked with designing long-term health promotion strategies.Social implicationsThis paper contributes to our understandings of the role that information literacy practices play within ongoing and long-term crises.Originality/valueThis paper develops research into the role of information literacy practice in times of crises and extends understanding related to the concept of empowerment, which forms a central idea within information literacy discourse.

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