Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Duke, Lynda M., Ed
• Asher, Andrew D., Ed

Titel

College Libraries and Student Culture: What We Now Know

Ist Teil von

• ALA Editions, 2012

Ort / Verlag

ALA Editions

Erscheinungsjahr

2012

Quelle

ERIC

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• How do college students "really" conduct research for classroom assignments? In 2008, five large Illinois universities were awarded a Library Services and Technology Act Grant to try to answer that question. The resulting ongoing study has already yielded some eye-opening results. The findings suggest changes ranging from simple adjustments in service and resources to modifying the physical layout of the library. In this book Duke and Asher, two anthropological researchers involved with the project since its beginning, summarize the study's history, including its goals, parameters, and methodology. They offer a comprehensive discussion of the research findings, touching on issues such as website design, library instruction for faculty, and meeting the needs of commuter and minority students. They also detail a number of service reforms which have already been implemented at the participating institutions. This important book deepens the understanding of how academic libraries can better serve students' needs, and also serves as a model for other researchers interested in a user-centered approach to evaluating library services. Contents include: (1) Ethnographic Research in Illinois Academic Libraries: The ERIAL Project (Andrew D. Asher, Susan Miller, and David Green); (2) Pragmatism and Idealism in the Academic Library: An Analysis of Faculty and Librarian Expectations and Values (Mary Thill); (3) Marketing the Library's Instructional Services to Teaching Faculty: Learning from Teaching Faculty Interviews (Annie Armstrong); (4) Why Don't Students Ask Librarians for Help? Undergraduate Help-Seeking Behavior in Three Academic Libraries (Susan Miller and Nancy Murillo); (5) Searching for Answers: Student Research Behavior at Illinois Wesleyan University (Andrew D. Asher and Lynda M. Duke); (6) Supporting the Academic Success of Hispanic Students (David Green); (7) First-Generation College Students: A Sketch of Their Research Process (Firouzeh Logan and Elizabeth Pickard); (8) Seeing Ourselves As Others See Us: Library Spaces through Student Eyes (Jane Treadwell, Amanda Binder, and Natalie Tagge); (9) Transformative Changes in Thinking, Services, and Programs (Lynda M. Duke); and (10) Conclusions and Future Research (Andrew D. Asher and Lynda M. Duke). ERIAL Interview Guide Questions are appended. A bibliography and an index are included.