The Power of Reading and Writing During the Northern Ireland Troubles: A Women's Perspective

From the late 1960s to the 1990s, Northern Ireland experienced turbulence and violence, as Unionist Protestants and Nationalist Catholics disagreed regarding the destiny of Northern Ireland and its ties to the United Kingdom. During this 30-year period, known as the “troubles,” Northern Ireland and its people found refuge in the written word, expressing their emotions and thoughts in diaries, and communicating with each other to build communities. This paper examines the role of reading and writing during this conflict, specifically from the women’s perspective. Diaries, personal narratives, memoirs, and fictionalized novels were analyzed, as well as information from two semi-structured interviews. These documents and interviews were used to determine the value of reading and writing for women during this time frame, who were trying to go about their daily lives in Northern Ireland. The documentary analysis revealed four themes for why women chose to read and write during this 30-year period: one, breaking the silence; two, as therapeutic and/or coping strategies; three, creating normalcy or control of the situation; and four, as a descriptive method to help compare their situation or emotions they were feeling, or “filling the void.”Master of Science in Library Scienc

Social Media Representations of Makerspaces

Libraries across the world have increasingly established makerspaces and incorporated making-related activities into their programming. Yet little is known about how this proliferation translates digitally. In response, this study uncovers how libraries construct virtual representations of makers and makerspaces through their social media content and the evolution of content across time. This research analyzed 36,756 social media posts created between 2012-2021 and identifies statistically significant changes in quantitative metrics, uncovers the themes present in posts, and describes the identities and topics featured. Revealing these digital representations of makers and making is important because this content can replicate oppressive structures by influencing who uses these spaces and what is created