Corralling culture as a concept in LIS research

Individuals' cultural backgrounds influence their use of societal resources, including libraries. A literature search and review was completed on the treatment of culture in library and information science (LIS) in the body of work on information behaviour and use. While much of the literature reviewed cites culture as an important influence, few researchers define culture as a concept, nor do they explore in detail the factors that it comprises. In this body of work culture is primarily used in two ways: (a) to differentiate groups of library users; and (b) to draw attention to questions of integration.</p

Selected Poems

Published by Ahsahta in 1980, The Selected Poems of Hazel Hall originally appeared in three published volumes: Curtains (1921), Walkers (1923), and City of Time (1928). Hall had an exceptionally short period of productivity. Born in 1886, she published her first poem at the age of thirty. Her poetry appeared in Poetry, Dial, Harper’s, Yale Review, The Nation, Literary Review, Lyric, Contemporary Verse, and Bookman before her work slipped into obscurity. Harriet Monroe, editor of Poetry, awarded Hall the Young Poet’s Prize in 1921. Hall was confined to a wheelchair from the age of twelve after a bout of scarlet fever. Although her days were spent in an upstairs room of a large house in Portland, Oregon, her poetry has a vivid richness that extends outside her room and even her own time. Her sonnets are reminiscent of Edna St. Vincent Millay’s, although more gentle in their mental and emotional lacerations. Her world is absolutely feminine—achingly interior, forgotten, small and delicate—and absolutely razor sharp, clearly making her a modern poet

Project output versus influence in practice: impact as a dimension of research quality

In an environment where resources are few, research funders are expected to focus on projects that demonstrate value for money. Thus, in the context of service provision, proposed research projects should actively contribute to the building of an evidence base that both supports decision-making, and is actively deployed in practice. Based on Hall's keynote presentation at EBLIP6 in June 2011, this paper explores strategies for researchers to maximise the impact of librarianship research projects. It takes into account a range of factors, for example those related to: initial project conception and implementation; the nature of research output and its dissemination; researcher profiles; and target practitioner audiences. It draws on preliminary results from the Research into Librarianship Impact Evaluation Study (RiLIES), a study sponsored by the UK Library and Information Science Research Coalition. The associated PowerPoint slides can be found at http://www.dcs.napier.ac.uk/~hazelh/esis/Hall_EBLIP6_2011.pp

Borrowed theory: applying exchange theories in information science research.

This article discusses the applicability of “borrowing” theory originally developed in other disciplines to information science research, and, in particular, the analytical concepts and assumptions of social exchange theory as a framework for exploring motivational factors ofknowledge sharing in large, distributed, information-intensive organizations. Social exchange theory relates to sociology, psychology, and anthropology, and the article indicates the extentto which knowledge has been regarded as an “exchange resource”. This is followed by an analysis of previous work that has tied exchange theory to areas of interest to information scientists. An ongoing research project tests the analytical concepts and assumptions of social exchange theory in a knowledge market, and the potential for such work to generate further theory

Promoting the priorities of practitioner research engagement.

One of the aims of the Library and Information Science Research Coalition is to promote library and information science practitioner research. Successfully meeting this aim should result in greater use of the existing knowledge base and the creation of new knowledge on LIS practice. LIS practitioner engagement in research should also be channelled to build an evidence base that demonstrates the value and impact of LIS practice. Possible means of the LIS practitioner community meeting these goals is discussed with reference to the support offered by the Library and Information Science Research Coalition

UK library and information science research matters

The Library and Information Science (LIS) Research Coalition was established in 2009 to address UK LIS research matters. This description of the Coalition discusses its formation, goals, work to date, and future plans

A DREaM come true

No abstract available

Relationship and role transformations in social media environments.

Based on a keynote paper presented at Internet Librarian International 2010 this article argues that the way in which librarians conceive a number of relationships – between themselves, social media tools, and end-users – determines the boundaries of service innovation. The discussion is set against a context that considers how social media currently provide additional platforms for traditional information services delivery, the characteristics that social media share with other technological implementations, and the corresponding challenges that these present. It is argued that the sophisticated deployment of social media exhibited by librarians in their personal professional use of tools is yet to be extended into mainstream services to end-users. Moreover, the potential of social media as a platform for collaborative working where end-users and librarians develop services together remains to be exploited. This work draws on recent research on collaboration in online environments completed at Edinburgh Napier University. The perspective is that of a researcher with a background in information services provision, who is also a regular consumer of information delivered over social media platforms. The social media implementation at the UK Library and Information Science Research Coalition (http://lisresearch.org) is deployed to illustrate points made in the discussion

Capturing career information use in everyday life: introducing the CIEL conceptual framework

Everyday career information use is not fully addressed by extant theories, models and frameworks. In this paper, a conceptual framework of career information behaviour and career information literacy in everyday life is presented. Over the course of 2021, a literature review of everyday life career information use was completed. As part of this review, a search for boundary objects was performed, and thematically similar conceptual contributions were mapped. An analysis of the integral components of ten theories, models and frameworks relating to information behaviour, information literacy, information practice and career development was performed with a view towards the development of a conceptual framework.Results. A conceptual framework consisting of two key components – topography and way of life – was devised following analysis. The framework provides insight into the means by which individuals experience career information in everyday life, and the means by which they navigate career information environments. The conceptual framework presented in this paper is applicable to the development of novel career information literacy theories, models or frameworks, or the modification of extant conceptualisations.Peer Reviewe

A sequential explanatory methodology for the study of young people’s career information literacy and career information behaviours

Young people’s career success is predicated on the extent to which they can apply career information to their career decision-making and career development learning processes. Taking heed of the critical importance of career information in career decision-making, the focus of the doctoral work presented in this poster is the identification of means of enhancing young people’s career information literacy competencies. To this end, a mixed methods, sequential explanatory research design is employed in the research. The programme of research consists of two phases: a quantitative phase and a qualitative phase. In the quantitative phase, knowledge of the everyday career information behaviours of Scottish adolescents will be generated. In the qualitative phase, the career information literacy practices and current levels of career agency of young people will be explored. Once obtained, research findings can inform the development of career information literacy support mechanisms