Internetowe bazy danych i doświadczenie badawcze dla studentów z zaburzeniami odczytu druku

The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a study which examined the searching experience of university students with a print disability and their use of screen reading software to navigate three proprietary databases. Participants completed a series of tasks in three different online databases using their screen-reading software. Screen-recording software provided video and audio documentation of the process. Survey data were collected pre- and post-study as well as after each database search session. The paper provides insights on the information-seeking behavior of students with print disabilities as well as the barriers encountered while navigating online databases using screen-reading software. The study focuses only on a small sample of university students with print disabilities and therefore lacks a control group of non-print-disabled students against which the results could be measured. Database vendors are aware of the barriers their databases pose for users of screen readers. It is in the best interest of vendors to assist libraries in promoting the accessible features that already exist in their databases. Libraries can assist students by providing database instruction tailored to users of screen readers and by assisting database vendors in usability feedback and in marketing options. Participants consisted of students with learning, visual and mobility disabilities and who were native users of screen-reading software. There is a lack of research on the intersection of databases design and its impacts on the information literacy skills of students with print disabilities. This paper provides some insights on the first step in the information-seeking process (gathering information) by students with a print disability and the barriers encountered.W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań wpływu struktury i szaty graficznej baz danych na umiejętność gromadzenia informacji przez studentów używających czytników ekranu. W szczególności autorki skupiają się na zdefiniowaniu, jakie bariery nie pozwalają studentom z zaburzeniami odczytu druku zlokalizować i wyselekcjonować odpowiednich artykułów i jakie ma to dla nich konsekwencje. Badanie przeprowadzono na grupie dziesięciu kanadyjskich studentów

Black Studies Center

Critical review of Black Studies Center (BSC), an electronic collection of primary and secondary sources pertaining to Black Studies (African-American, Africa, and the African diaspora)

Talking pieces: Political buttons and narratives of equal rights activism in Canada

Archives are not neutral spaces; the memories and stories of minority communities are often overlooked and underrepresented. Narratives are symbolic representations of the past, and it is vital that a diversity of stories and memories is represented. Likewise, ephemeral artifacts, such as political buttons, are largely marginalized as objects of study because researchers tend to favor evidence found through written, textual documents. However, political buttons are significant because of their role as political memorabilia, marking a nation’s socio-political past, and their role as a narrative tool. Behind every political button, there is a potential narrative or story that is not often told. This article will attempt to address the lack of literature on political buttons in a Canadian context as well as give voice to counter- memory of the women’s movement in Canada and the experience of Blacks organizing for racial equality. Using a case study of selected political buttons from the archival collection of Jean Augustine, the first Black female Member of Parliament in Canada, stories of gender and racial equality rights activism in Canada, told by Jean Augustine, will be examined and contextualized. In particular, buttons representing stories about the National Black Coalition of Canada, the Congress of Black Women of Canada, and the anti-apartheid movement will be exploredYork University Librarie

"In Our Own Words": Creating Videos as Teaching and Learning Tools

Online videos, particularly those on YouTube, have proliferated on the internet; watching them has become part of our everyday activity. While libraries have often harnessed the power of videos to create their own promotional and informational videos, few have created their own teaching and learning tools beyond screencasting videos. In the summer of 2010, the authors, two librarians at York University, decided to work on a video project which culminated in a series of instructional videos entitled “Learning: In Our Own Words.” The purpose of the video project was twofold: to trace the “real” experience of incoming students and their development of academic literacies skills (research, writing and learning) throughout their first year, and to create videos that librarians and other instructors could use as instructional tools to engage students in critical thinking and discussion. This paper outlines the authors’ experience filming the videos, creating a teaching guide, and screening the videos in the classroom. Lessons learned during this initiative are discussed in the hope that more libraries will develop videos as teaching and learning tools

On-line databases and the research experience for university students with print disabilities

The paper provides insights on the information seeking behaviour of students with print disabilities as well as the barriers encountered while navigating online databases using screen reading software.The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a study which examined the searching experience of university students with a print disability and their use of screen reading software to navigate three proprietary databases.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC