Subject positions of children in information behaviour research

Introduction: This paper problematises how children are categorised as a specific user group within information behaviour research and discusses the implications of this categorisation. Methods: Two edited collections of papers on children’s information behaviour are analysed. Analysis: The analysis is influenced by previous discourse analytic studies of users within information science and by the sociology of childhood and the discourse analytic concept of subject positions guides the analysis. Results: In the children-focussed discourse of information behaviour research, children are described as being characterised by distinctive child-typical features, which means that similarities between children and other groups, as well as differences within the group, are downplayed. Children are also characterised by deficiencies: by not being adults, by not being mature and by not being competent information seekers. The discourse creates a position of power for adults, and for children a position as those in need of expert help. Children are also ascribed a subject position as users of technologies that affect the group in various ways. Conclusions: It is suggested that information behaviour research would benefit from shifting the focus from trying to explain how children innately are and therefore behave with information, to creating understandings of various information practices which involve people of a young age

An ageist perspective on age and older adults in information behaviour research

This study aims to answer the question what kind of research exists on aging and older adults in information behaviour and information seeking. A systematic literature review was conducted in two databases, LISA and Scopus. The results were refined and tagged thematically and clustered into main research topics. (Online) health information behaviour is the largest research topic in relation to aging and older adults. Underrepresented topics are information needs and behaviour outside of the health care sector. An ageist perspective is strongly present in information behaviour studies. Existing research on (online) health information behaviour primarily addresses a negative aspect of old age, frailty and illness, which may amplify the stereotypical image of older people and aging. This paper suggests that the research field should turn to topics that are more diverse and use the demographic variable of age more carefully in order to mitigate ageism.Peer Reviewe

How do you solve a problem like the whole user? The construction of worthy and problematic users in online discussions of the public library

In this article I use a discursive approach and the concept of the ‘category entitlement’ to analyse the ways that contributors to a public Internet discussion of the value of the public library make cases for different user characteristics and behaviour as ‘worthy’ or ‘problematic’, and use these characteristics to discuss and debate the kinds of individuals and the kinds of behaviour that properly belong to each category. Contributors to the discussion represented users in three categories: a fluid ‘everyone’, which included people represented as being disadvantaged and in legitimate need of the library’s resources, expertise, and support; the user in-formation, whose worthy variant takes advantage of the library’s offerings to achieve success in economic, cultural, and civic domains and whose problematic variant fails to do so; and the visceral user who may meet bodily needs or engage in pleasurable non-purposive activities and who is deemed worthy or problematic based on their behaviour in the library space. Despite public libraries’ growing emphasis on serving the whole user, these public comments prioritise users who exercise their mind to develop into worthy members of a community and who meet behavioural expectations consistent with quiet intellectual activity

El discurso profesional en la biblioteca: alternativas en red a la relación usuario-sistema

Este trabajo analiza la relación entre bibliotecarios y usuarios partiendo de un enfoque que toma el texto generado por estos profesionales, no como una ventana a una realidad única, sino como objeto de análisis. Se trata del análisis del discurso, que permite adoptar una perspectiva crítica, cuestionando hechos ampliamente aceptados y reflexionando sobre el objeto de estudio, en este caso los usuarios de las bibliotecas

Performing search : Search Engines and Mobile Devices in the Everyday Life of Young People

I denna avhandling undersöks sökmotorers och mobila redskaps betydelse i unga människors vardagsliv. Studien har genomförts i en svensk kontext med deltagare i åldern 13–16 år. Avhandlingen tar avstamp i den utbreddatillgången till sökmotorer vilken möjliggörs genom smarta mobiler, laptops, surfplattor och datorer. Detta scenario innebär att det är möjligt att söka information om nästan vadsomhelst, närsomhelst och varsomhelst. Att användasökmotorer har kommit att bli en del av vardagen i dagens samhälle. Avhandlingen är en sammanläggningsavhandling som består av fyra artiklar. För att uppnå syftet med avhandlingen så utforskas sökning, mobilaredskap och sökmotorer från olika perspektiv i de fyra artiklarna. Följande forskningsfrågor formuleras i avhandlingen:1. Hur genomförs sökning på internet i skolan, och hur legitimerasaktiviteten i en skolkontext?2. Vilka inramningar går att identifiera i relation till hur tonåringarbeskriver samt använder Google Sök?3. Hur blir unga människor medvetna om spåren efter sina sökningarpå internet, samt vilka strategier har de för att hantera spåren, omnågra?4. Vilka inramningar av den smarta mobilen går att identifiera utifrånsättet som redskapet används och beskrivs av unga människor, samthur relaterar dessa inramningar till sökning på internet?Genom dessa infallsvinklar så undersöks i avhandlingen både sättet som unga människor använder sökmotorer i sin vardag, samt hur de förhåller sig till normer gällande användningen av sökmotorer och mobila redskap i olika sociala kontexter. Sammantaget så visar resultaten på den viktiga roll som sökning spelar i unga människors vardag. Avhandlingen visar på att unga människor inte använder mobila redskap slumpmässigt eller ogenomtänkt. Iställetframträder en medvetenhet om normer som präglar olika sociala kontexter. Samtidigt pekar resultaten på hur osynliggjort sökning är i vardagen vilket medföljer att aktiviteten inte alltid reflekteras över. Det går därmed attidentifiera en spänning i materialet mellan en medvetenhet om social kontext och ett förgivettagande av sökning i vardagen. Detta förgivettagande underbyggs även av sättet som vuxenvärlden, lärare och föräldrar, använder sig av sökmotorer och mobila redskap i vardagen. Resultaten bör därför betraktas i ljuset av ett samhället präglat av en användning av sökmotorer för att hitta information. Bland deltagarna i studien så associeras användningen av Google Sök med skola och faktaletande, till skillnad från andra former av sökning, så som via YouTube. Olika former av sökning överlappar dock, vilket framkommer i avhandlingen. Resultaten pekar på ett behov av att synliggöra och problematisera användningen av sökmotorer i vardagen

The influence of culture and direct library instruction in the information seeking behaviour of primary school aged children

Information Behaviour (IB) Models are used to describe the way in which people search for information across a range of settings, for various purposes and are used primary within the Library and Information Science domain. The aim of this study was to understand the usage of information behaviour models by primary school librarians in library instruction, and to identify what level of understanding they had of the way learners from different cultures perceive and interact with information, and if this had any impact on how library instruction was conducted. The extent to which this occurred or did not occur was not indicated in the existing literature and so a gap was identified within the research corpus. The mixed method approach of the study incorporated desk research with a survey of primary school librarians that featured a questionnaire and semi-structured interview to collect the required data. The data collected was then compared and contrasted with the findings of the literature review; the key finding being that there is a disconnect between theoretical principals of information behaviour and the practices of LIS professionals. In addition, there are gaps in LIS training with respect to information behaviour and cultural competence which further negatively impacts the level of understanding and implementation of best practice underpinned with IB research. This highlights a serious concern for LIS professionals, particularly in schools, in developing culturally sensitive practices to promote positive information behaviours and literacies that empower and enable learners.

The influence of culture on perceived use of public libraries by forced migrants in Scotland and England

The work reported in this thesis is concerned with public library use in Scotland and England by forced migrants. The findings extend knowledge of the information practices of forced migrants in the context of public libraries. These are derived from the analysis of empirical data collected from (1) formal Scottish local authority documentation on the integration of forced migrants, (2) interviews with service providers who act as integration intermediaries for forced migrant communities in the UK, and (3) community validation through interviews with forced migrants in Scotland and England.There are five contributions of the research:1. An understanding of the relationship between cultural factors and use of public library resources by forced migrants;2. The need to consider the culture of service providers in explorations of culture;3. Further understanding of the role motivational theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs has on information practices of specific communities;4. Demonstration of a novel method of validation conducted when working with participants other than that of the target population.5. An extension of work by Appleton et al. (2018), Appleton (2020), and Appleton and Hall (2022) on the epistemic role of public libraries.The specific cultural factors of social norms and information value are identified as determinants of information practices of forced migrants in public libraries. This contribution on the role of culture in the information practices of forced migrants is significant in the context of prior work with its focus on public library use by forced migrants and best practices for library staff to support them. In addition, the role of service provider culture was distinguished as an important explanatory factor alongside the culture of forced migrants. Here the detailed treatment of explanatory factors of information practices generates both theoretical and practical value for library and information science research