Palaces for the People: Mapping Public Libraries\u27 Capacity for Social Connection and Inclusion

Public libraries are trusted community hubs that foster connections with individuals of different socioeconomic statuses; ages; ethnic, linguistic, religious, and cultural backgrounds; and sexual and gender identities. Located in diverse settings, library branches offer resources and programs that meet the specific needs of their communities who are navigating the effects of our increasingly asocial society. Libraries have been shown to cater to individuals contending with higher levels of social isolation and loneliness, as well as increased rates of mental illnesses and antisocial behaviours. The shift to online environments during COVID-19 has exacerbated feelings of disconnection. During these times of change, public libraries facilitate resilience, helping communities withstand and adapt to difficult circumstances. While several individual studies have separately examined libraries’ outreach efforts, what remains unknown is the broader knowledge landscape regarding public library practices, spaces, and activities that collectively create and reinforce social connections in an increasingly asocial society. We examined scholarly literature to answer the following questions to to bridge existing knowledge gaps: How do public libraries help patrons create or maintain connections in their communities? What population groups are included in public library research and in what ways are they differently impacted by public library services, materials, and/or spaces? How are public library virtual programming and services (especially prominent during COVID-19) changing the ways in which patrons engage with public libraries? In what ways does the Canadian public library research landscape compare or differ from that in European and Australasia countries, and what lessons can we glean from these differences?Underlying a majority of the included articles is an acknowledgement that the role of public libraries is changing, from operating as information repositories to now also operating as community hubs. The ways in which public library systems and branches engage with their communities and patrons are therefore also shifting. Focusing in particular on the current state of public library-related research knowledge on issues related to growing feelings of disconnection, isolation and loneliness, articles explored the multiple ways in which public libraries afford connection for and among their patrons. Public libraries draw on their spaces, their staff, their collections and materials, their programs, and relationships with community organizations to bolster feelings of connection. Given the distribution of public libraries across the country, in urban and rural locales and in neighbourhoods of high and low poverty, the ways in which public libraries both connect with and provide connection manifest differently depending on their contexts. Research on this topic is indicative of the many different population groups that public libraries engage with and support on a daily basis. Research focuses on a myriad of population groups, including: children, youth, older adults, parents, unhoused populations, differently abled individuals, immigrants and non-permanent residents, among others. This breadth of population groups, each with their own unique circumstances, needs, and expectations, is indicative of the range of factors and contexts library workers need to consider and incorporate in their programs, collections, arrangement of physical and virtual spaces, and administration. Across published research, public libraries fostered connection through the following means: Encouraging feelings of belonging Creating connections through technology Reinforcing cultural identities Creating safe physical spaces Addressing issues of accessibility Creating new educational programming Creating new recreational/social programmin

Befriending through online gaming

Peer reviewe

“Catching reading”: an investigation into the use of an online social book networking platform and its influence on Grade Eight students’ reading habits.

Masters Degree.University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.This study investigates the effects of an online social book platform on secondary school learners’ reading habits, in order to explore how teachers and librarians can support students in improving their motivation and ‘will’ to read. Research shows that the affective processes of reading powerfully predict a reader’s engagement and success in reading and help to sustain the reader in their long-term reading journey. As students move into adolescence, and start secondary school, their motivation to read books for pleasure appears to decrease. Students appear to lose the ‘will’ to read books for pleasure. This results in less time spent reading books and engaging with written book texts, and thus students do not enjoy the potential benefits that this type of reading offers. The focus of this research has been on book reading. There is a vast amount of research showing the immense benefits that book reading confers on the readers’ current and future lives. Researchers agree on the benefits of book reading but there is limited research investigating the role of the affective processes involved in reading, namely: reader attitude, reader self-concept, a reader’s value of reading and a reader’s motivation for sustained and regular reading. The social nature of technology and its popular status in the life of the adolescent may afford these students’ opportunities that might impact their reading ‘will’, thus positively influencing their reading motivation, resulting in a more positive reader attitude, reader self-concept, as well as improved perceptions of the value of reading. In this exploratory case study in an all-girls’ secondary school in Durban, KZN, South Africa, Grade Eight students were introduced to Goodreads (GR), a social book networking platform specifically aimed at readers and book lovers. The aim of this study was to investigate and explore the use of the online platform GR, and how through its creative and engaging technological interface, it might impact and influence the young adolescent readers’ reading for pleasure. It was thought that GR might afford each reader a differentiated reading experience, a personalised meeting of other book lovers, readers and authors and in doing this connect with these adolescent readers where they were in their reading journey. In this case study I followed the reading journey and reading activity of 170 Grade Eight students. Using mixed methods, quantitative and qualitative data from the student survey responses and written reading reflections, as well as observations of their time spent on the GR intervention, this case study has indicated some change in relation to their reading engagement, reading volume, reading motivation, reader self-concept and perceived value of reading. The findings show that a readers’ motivation varies depending on the individual. Thus, to increase and arouse a student’s reading motivation the interventions sought must be personal and differentiated rather than systemic. Themes identified in this research are: the importance of choice and goal setting in reading; the social capital of reading within the school, home and community as it relates to a student’s value of reading; and the reader’s reading self-concept which is related to their motivation for reading. Implications for parents, teachers of reading and librarians are discussed, and recommendations for further research generated

Community building, multiculturalism and the suburban public library

This research investigates the role of public libraries in building communities and cross-cultural citizenship through provision of equitable information resources and services to English as Additional Language (EAL) speakers, particularly in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. The rapidly changing demographic profile of Western Australia is producing an ever increasing diversity of people who need to access information in order to thrive in their new community. However, access to these information services pose challenges to users who lack competency in language, computer and general literacy, while the increasing diversity in the local population creates widely divergent competencies in information seeking skills among library clients. Diversity, which has become evident in many contemporary communities, unveils a wide range of information seeking skills, which varies from individuals who are illiterate (often from an agrarian background) and others who are highly educated with substantial English language and computer skills. In this research, the concept of equity in the provision of library services for EAL speakers was investigated by reviewing the library environment in Perth, Western Australia from the perspective of library staff and EAL clients. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants from across various EAL backgrounds as to their knowledge, understanding and current usage of library services. The interview sessions identified the extent of user acceptance of these services and the factors which indicated levels of perceived equity of these library services. The findings from the responses of the public library staff and EAL speakers revealed a complex and diverse local library environment. The public library system, in Western Australia traditionally modelled to serve English language clientele, is yet to fully recognise the presence of the multicultural clientele in its library service provision. Thus, the shift in public library perspectives towards service provision for diverse ethnic groups is evident in isolation but not in adherence to a transparent, consistent government policy which filters down to the local libraries as a guide for normal practices. The EAL speakers’ responses revealed a dire need for English language and computer skills education for some ethnic groups, in order to facilitate their public library access. The findings revealed that some of the EAL groups are unaware of the public library system, its intrinsic value or its culture including that the services are free and offered in a democratic and safe space. Some of the EAL groups also distrust government entities and figures of authority per se as officials symbolise maltreatment of their families and ethnic groups in their countries of origin. Reliance on natives from their own communities, revealed within the interview data, has led to an emergence of bonding social capital tendencies and limited integration with the host culture. The public library is strategically located to draw diverse individuals from its local suburb and contribute towards community building strategies and integration in Western Australia. Having located gaps between library service provision and library service needs, this research developed a model for possible future strategic directions for public libraries in Western Australia

The Future of Library Services for & with Teens: A Call to Action

As part of the year-long National Forum on Libraries and Teens effort, YALSA has released a report, "The Future of Library Services for and with Teens: A Call to Action" providing direction on how libraries need to adapt and change to meet the needs of 21st century teens.The report is a call to action for the library community. It provides recommendations on how libraries must address challenges and re-envision their teen services in order to meet the needs of their individual communities and to collectively ensure that the nation's 40+ million teens develop the skills they need to be productive citizens. By acting on this call, the library community can work within their own local communities to create the kind of spaces, services, and opportunities that today's teens need in order to succeed in school and in life

Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice

22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3

Higher education students’ media usage: A longitudinal analysis

Responding to the lack of longitudinal analyses on media usage in higher education, this study explores the changes of higher education students’ access to and use of technology for learning in 2012, 2015 and 2018. Using an online questionnaire, a total of 5,572 German higher education students participated. Via descriptive and inferential analysis, the data show a clear trend towards using flexible, location-independent devices, accompanied by a rapid increase in the use of instant messaging. This is in line with an increasing demand for digital and flexible learning opportunities such as web-based training and lectures as podcasts or vodcasts, which is not met by higher education institutions. On that basis, improvements in development and application of these digital tools seem crucial for German higher education institutions and should be considered by educational technologists and decision makers. Of particular relevance against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in Spring 2020, this longitudinal analysis provides a framework for the ongoing development and implementation of digital media in teaching and learning at higher education institutions

Higher education students’ media usage: A longitudinal analysis

Responding to the lack of longitudinal analyses on media usage in higher education, this study explores the changes of higher education students’ access to and use of technology for learning in 2012, 2015 and 2018. Using an online questionnaire, a total of 5,572 German higher education students participated. Via descriptive and inferential analysis, the data show a clear trend towards using flexible, location-independent devices, accompanied by a rapid increase in the use of instant messaging. This is in line with an increasing demand for digital and flexible learning opportunities such as web-based training and lectures as podcasts or vodcasts, which is not met by higher education institutions. On that basis, improvements in development and application of these digital tools seem crucial for German higher education institutions and should be considered by educational technologists and decision makers. Of particular relevance against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that started in Spring 2020, this longitudinal analysis provides a framework for the ongoing development and implementation of digital media in teaching and learning at higher education institutions

How is Fanfiction Framed for Literacy Education Practitioner Periodical Audiences : Media Frame Analysis (2003 - 2013)

This dissertation reports out the results from a socio-cultural media research study that examined how professional periodicals written for United States K-12 public school literacy educators described fanfiction-based recreational literacy practices between 2003 and 2013. In the first decade of the 21st century, many K-12 literacy scholars advocated for the adaptation of predominantly out-of-school literacy practices for use within US public school literacy instruction programs. During this period, some literacy researchers expressed concerns that teachers may have held incomplete or inaccurate conceptions of fan-based literacy practices such as fanfiction, to the detriment of their students and the literacy practices themselves. This research study investigates these concerns within the context of journal articles that describe and discuss fanfiction literacy practices. Practitioner research journal articles were collected and analyzed using socio-cultural media frame analysis in order to determine how fanfiction was presented and evaluated for inclusion within US public school classrooms. Analysis of data uncovered three dominant frame categories -- the youth practice frame, the out-of-school practice frame and the utilitarian practice frame -- each of which reflected how discussions of fanfiction literacy practice were aligned with particularly salient perspectives on the nature and worth of K-12 students\u27 recreational literacy practices. The youth practice frame reflects an orientation toward the view that recreational literacy is juvenile, the out-of-school practice frame reflects the implications and connotations associated with labeling recreational literacy practices as non-academic, and the utilitarian practice frame reflects how recreational literacies are evaluated in terms of their ability to foster in-school literacy performance and assessment. By exploring how fanfiction literacy practices were framed over a decade punctuated by successive US K-12 public school literacy education reforms, this dissertation helps to illustrate the extent to which the qualities and merits of recreational literacy practices are often reoriented, reshaped, and resold to educators as solutions to classroom problems

Contexts for children’s digital citizenship in India, Korea and Australia: A literature review

Children’s digital citizenship today: In an increasingly digitised and technically mediated world, an individual’s digital citizenship, or “ability to use digital technology and media in safe, responsible and ethical ways” (DQ Institute, 2019) has never been more relevant, particularly when it concerns our youngest digital citizens. Navigating online spaces safely and confidently are skills fundamental to a modern individual’s social and emotional development, education, work and play. A digital citizen’s abilities, however, are greatly impacted by notions of access; not just physical access, but also access mediated culturally and socio-economically. Less is known about very young children’s experiences of digital citizenship, and with recent pandemic related events accelerating a move to even greater online engagement, challenges posed to children’s digital citizenship development require thoughtful, child-led, culturally nuanced, and research-based solutions