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Dissertation Update. Jeff Ginger May 2012. Altered Study Design. Visiting 18 sites in person via GSLIS research funds for observation and librarian interviews Will stick with 3 sites for sustained study after they have been identified, this will be where I interview patrons
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Dissertation Update Jeff GingerMay 2012
Altered Study Design • Visiting 18 sites in person via GSLIS research funds for observation and librarian interviews • Will stick with 3 sites for sustained study after they have been identified, this will be where I interview patrons • I will focus on one or two aspects of my previous study design, examples to follow • Affirmation of inductive/qualitative focus
Preliminary Findings • Douglass Branch assistance experience • The “Why are you here” question • More than a security guard • Race, representation and librarianship • Grants: Project Next Generation, LSTA, literacy? • The internet is outdated (Washington Park) • State policy compared to national • Inconsistent and limited web services and social media • Transfer to Heartland and Reaching Across Illinois • Bilingual computing habits amongst kids
21st Century Skills… • National: “The Institute's Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills initiative underscores the critical role our nation’s museums and libraries play in helping citizens build such 21st century skills as information, communications and technology literacy, critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, civic literacy, and global awareness.” • State: “The Illinois State Library and Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White are committed to providing adult literacy program services that will enable Illinois citizens to fully participate in their family, work and community roles. To this end, the State Library's Literacy Office administers the Adult Literacy grant programs that provide basic adult literacy instruction to enhance reading, writing, math or English proficiency for the targeted program participants.”
State Strategic Plan • “A common thread throughout this plan is how technology is viewed as a means to enhance information access by the state’s libraries and their users, not the end. A clear, shared vision for effective use of technology is essential in order to make best use of our collective resources. “ • “Libraries are caught between conflicting demands of the traditional roles of libraries and escalating demands for immediate access to informationwhile facing less buying power for their dollars.”
Phase 2 Directions • Project Next Generation (kids) • Larger towns will have more compelling stories, but the differing perspectives from rural areas will be valuable • Angles for investigation: • Goal: Understanding activities, people, policies and infrastructure – the why’s behind the relationships • Angle:how to teach technology use (frame: cultural adoption and construction of meaning) to patrons/staff; use of librarian as an access avatar • Angle:the library through points of access and usability (frame: experience and hidden barriers to information access) • Angle:Varied understanding of what it means to be [digitally] literate: policy, librarians, patrons; (frame: discourse analysis; see 21st skills matrix) • Tactic:Have community people interview me (questions I should have asked, questions for me)