Copyright (c) 2013 University of Iowa All rights reserved. http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs Recent documents in School of Library and Information Science Publications en-us Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:54:02 PDT 3600 http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/6 http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/6 Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:39:53 PDT Much has been written recently about the “library as place.” This essay approaches the question of library space philosophically, arguing that developing commercial attitudes toward space leads us away from more productive ways of conceiving libraries. A concept called Third Space is introduced, and its relevance to libraries and librarianship is explored. Third Space is defined and applied to various library concepts, especially information literacy. The article contends that thinking about Third Space can help libraries and librarians develop ways of working with increasingly diverse populations in increasingly dynamic contexts.

]]> James Elmborg http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/5 http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/5 Tue, 19 Jan 2010 10:01:51 PST James Elmborg http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/4 http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/4 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:25:33 PST Research and practitioner publications offer indications of the importance of nonfiction materials to young adult information needs. The present study attempts to discern patterns of adolescent information seeking by analyzing reports of unused and underused materials in the young adult collections of an individual library system. Such an approach contributes to a fuller picture of adolescent information seeking behaviors by complementing existing survey or interview-based research. The analysis shows high use of materials in areas that are nonetheless flagged by computer analysis as non-circulating. Collection analysis indicates that there is evidence that high-use items disappear from the collection at significant rates, that these items have monetary value, and that they cover topics ranging from sex and drugs to rock stars.

]]> Jennifer Burek Pierce http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/3 http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/3 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:25:19 PST This paper uses qualitative, textual analysis of selected prominent contemporary young adult fantasy stories. These books – Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Artemis Fowl, and Garth Nix's Lirael – in addition to creating captivating magical worlds, also depict a part of our every day world in their use of libraries as settings (in the case of Harry Potter and Lirael) and the use of computers for information seeking (as seen in Artemis Fowl). These images are examined for their portrayal of library use and other information seeking behaviors.

]]> Jennifer Burek Pierce http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/2 http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/2 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:17:53 PDT The “contact zone” has emerged as an important concept for understanding cultural difference in educational institutions. This article explores the usefulness of the contact zone as a guiding principle for academic librarianship. It suggests that by using contact-zone theory, librarians can develop a more reflective educational practice. Contact-zone theory is described and its implications for librarianship are explored.

]]> James Elmborg http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/1 http://ir.uiowa.edu/slis_pubs/1 Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:17:52 PDT Information Literacy has been an important movement in academic libraries for at least the past decade. Still, no consensus has emerged about how to define information literacy or how broadly or narrowly to apply literacy theory to the work of librarians. In fact, the historical definitions of librarianship have tended to work against the integration of literacy theory into the daily practices of librarianship. These definitions have emphasized protecting the library as warehouse of externalized knowledge and the librarian as mediator between that knowledge and the students and faculty who need to use it in the educational process. The end result has been that information literacy’s power to transform libraries has been neutralized and contained. This paper explores the ways that traditional librarianship is constructed in the discourse of professional training and the ways that critical literacy theory might transform the practice of libraries and librarians in colleges and universities.

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