Reading Summary - Herring & Stoerger (2014)

Herring, S. C., & Stoerger, S. (In press, 2014). Gender and (a)nonymity in computer-mediated communication. In S. Ehrlich, M. Meyerhoff, & J. Holmes (Eds.), The handbook of language, gender, and sexuality, 2nd edition. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. http://ella.slis.indiana.edu/~herring/herring.stoerger.pdf

This article pertains to teen services in that ensuring equal opportunities for male and female library users is important in a teen center. It is also important to understand the difference between numerical parity and actual equality so that I don't make the mistake of assuming that because a teen program contains equal numbers of girls and boys that everything is equal.

Herring and Stoerger (2014) take the concept of the perceived anonymity of the Internet environment and seek to discover if this leads to more level ground for males and females to interact. What they discover is that often women and those perceived to be women are subject to the same kinds of sexism and harassment they face in face-to-face interactions. Social media can become a mirror of the types of interaction that are stereotypically male and female in daily life. Some social media sites such as Facebook seem to cater more toward the idea of reinforcing relationships, a typically “female” outlook, whereas some places such as Reddit attract more male users and can become misogynistic at times. So, rather than the Internet eradicating gender inequalities, it seems to often become a reflection of existing gender paradigms.

The example of the LambdaMOO environment online revealed that while it is possible that some players engage in gender switching and go undetected, that the majority of participants in that community simply played as themselves. Some attempts to switch gender were thwarted by unconscious cues that revealed their actual gender. This caused the researchers to assert that gender differences are more apparent in CMC than was previously thought. The old cartoon with the caption, “On the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog!” has been at least somewhat disproven. If a dog did indeed use the Internet, his/her “dogness” might come through in unexpected ways – perhaps in an inordinate number of references to car chasing and barking at the mailman.

Multimodal CMC, the addition of video, imagery, etc. to what was previously a text-based environment, was responsible for bringing women to the Internet in larger numbers starting in the 1990’s. The previously male-dominated Internet of the early days of CMC was gone. However, the idea that “numerical parity” (p. 6.) does not necessarily equate to true gender equality is also addressed. According to research done by CyberAtlas (2000), there is now numerical parity, that is, that equal numbers of men and women are using the Internet. This does not mean that the interactions are without gender-bias and discrimination. An example is given involving Twitter use – men’s tweets are retweeted more frequently, but more women than men are using Twitter. Such examples illustrate effectively the concept of difference vs. disparity.

While Herring and Stoerger do point out that numbers do not necessarily mean equality, they do point out that it is a good starting place and indicative of how far we have come in terms of equality, as well as a good indicator of positive changes to come. There may not be gender equality yet, but progress toward that end continues to move forward.

Reading Summary - Livingstone (2008)

Livingstone, S. (2008) Taking risky opportunities in youthful content creation: Teenagers’ use of social networking sites for intimacy, privacy and self-expression. New Media & Society, 10(3), 39

Teenagers crafting identities for themselves is not a new concept; however, the rapid development of social media networks such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, and others provides a new platform for self-exploration and identity building. Social media spaces provide teens with a “place” where supervision is minimal and freedom for interactions is, if not unlimited, then much less so.

Livingstone (2008) used qualitative methods, interviewing 16 teens with access to the Internet in their homes, who had an account on MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, or Piczo. The teens ranged in age from 13-16 and were asked questions pertaining to the choices made regarding their own profiles, social reading of the profiles of others, and the social and personal meanings of online contacts.

It is hard to remember when MySpace was a viable social media tool, as it has been out of the public eye for some years now, but in 2008 at the time of this article’s publication MySpace was favored by the younger teens for its easy customization. One older teen who was interviewed asserted that it made sense to her that the younger girls would prefer MySpace to Facebook because MySpace could be made purple, sparkly, or any other kind of personalization, whereas Facebook’s plainer design appealed more to her because she mainly used it to communicate with a few friends. This distinction in user habits could coincide with differing needs based on age and preference. Livingstone states that “social networking sites frame, but do not determine (p. 9). This statement casts the teenager as the focal point with social networking around the periphery.

Privacy and intimacy are presented as two sides of the same coin, with Livingstone using Stein and Sinha’s (2002) definition of privacy as an individual’s right to “enjoy autonomy, be left alone, and to determine whether and how information about one’s self is revealed to others (p.10).  This definition leaves room for controlled sharing. The teens interviewed want to put information out there – they just want to have control over how much and what information. If the younger generations ideas of what constitutes appropriate levels of sharing themselves, that does not necessarily constitute higher levels of narcissicm, merely differences in what is considered appropriate disclosure. That said, teens are still minors and must be monitored for their own safety to some degree. The possibility for naïve choices is there due to youth and inexperience. The way social media provides a strangely binary “friend/not friend” method to contact organization could lead to unintentional disclosures.
 

Reading Summary - Walther (1996)

I've been keeping a written journal of notes for readings and now is the time to get them all into the blog. :-)

- This one is an older article from 1996, the beginning of pervasive computing. To work effectively with young adult readers, I need to understand how we got where we are. This article is a good building block for that.

Walther, J. (1996). Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 23(1), 3-43.

Walther (1996) reviews some previous literature on the subject of CMC, some of which describes CMC as inappropriate for task-related communication, and some of which describes it as a poor choice for interpersonal communication. This dichotomy of differing opinions on CMC inspired Walther to investigate why, if CMC is apparently good for nothing, so many people continue to use if for those very purposes. He proposes integrating the conflicting theories by considering them to be conditional – that certain theories apply in certain situations and not in others. The author predicts that it is possible that CMC might, given the right sets of circumstances, surpass FTF (face-to-face) communication in some settings.

Even though American culture places high value on friendliness and intimate interactions, there is a time and a place for those things, and professional communications are generally an area where the ability to reduce emotional content and individual flavor might be more appropriate. Some research suggests that using CMC in a work environment can act as an equalizer, allowing those who would tend to be more passive to participate on more equal footing with those who might dominate in FTF conversation. Walther acknowledges that some of this research has been heavily questioned, but maintains his position that in some circumstances, CMC can have a beneficial democratizing effect.
Walther’s position seems to be to take in a broad spectrum of previous research and instead of making sweeping statements about which ones are right and which ones are wrong, finding situations in which various parts of the body of research in this area apply. This inclusive approach makes more sense given that even in 1996, CMC was fairly integrated into both professional and personal levels.
The issue of whether CMC is impersonal at its very core due to the absence of the kinds of cues found in FTF interactions is pervasive. Numerous articles cited address the absence of “social cues,” and the Social Presence Theory (Short, Williams, and Christie, 1976) asserts that the fewer cues there are, the more impersonal the interaction will be. Walther rejects the notion that CMC is an inherently impersonal mode of communication.

As useful as Walther’s integration of different theories is, he acknowledges that this approach makes it more difficult to come to a consensus; however, this is only a problem if consensus is the goal. If it is more appropriate to point out that CMC spawns new kinds of situations which must be examined individually, then that is a type of consensus – kind of like agreeing to disagree. Some studies revealed that the nature of CMC conversations became more personal than was expected, with the sender presenting a “best-of” of themselves, the receiver maintaining idealized versions of the sender. Walther concludes that CMC is neither impersonal nor hyperpersonal by nature, rather, that the nature of interactions involving CMC is a means to an end – a tool that can, depending upon the levels of investment and purpose of the user, be one, both, or a combination.

Reading summary - Agosto (2005)

Agosto, D., & Hughes-Hassell, S. (2005). People, places, and questions: An investigation of the everyday life information-seeking behaviors of urban young adults. Library & Information Science Research, 27(2).


This article describes the Everyday Lives Information Seeking (ELIS) behaviors of urban young adults.The following three research questions are asked in this article:

1. What types of information do urban young adults seek in their everyday lives? 
2. What information media do urban youth favor? 
3. What people sources do urban young adults favor when seeking everyday life information?

 Knowing how young people look for information is important for a library. As libraries move from physical book warehouses to information access providers and facilitators, having a working knowledge of how a key demographic prefers to access information becomes more and more significant. 

I really like that the teens surveyed for this project were mainly non-white. 27 teens participated, and 25 were African-American, 1 was Asian-American, and 1 was Caucasian. It's important to be mindful of the potentially diverse public a library serves, and collect appropriately. If a library doesn't serve the people in its area, it isn't doing it's job.

The Free Library of Philadelphia actually does make a concerted effort to collect teen materials featuring urban teens, but because of the disconnect between how teens are using the library and how the library is set up, many of the interviewed teens had no idea what was available. It is up to the libraries to understand a demographic and present to them in ways that are meaningful. Options considered are creating a more visible section of urban teen literature, creating visual displays featuring the literature, and practicing different shelving techniques.

The teens were relatively unlikely to consider asking librarians questions, considering them "ignorant," along with school teachers. The teens were not implying that the librarians and teachers were stupid, just that they lacked the information teens wanted most to get. They were ignorant of the fact that when teens ask about a book or topic, there is a whole unasked, and often unaddressed set of questions behind it. Even Boys and Girls Club employees are above librarians in the asking hierarchy. Ouch. And this is for a public library that sincerely makes an effort to be culturally sensitive and inclusive.

If a teen has a school project due about leaves, they don't just want a book about leaves. They want to be shown a host of resources. Perhaps a leaf-id phone app to use when they're out and about, or a computer program that gives video tutorials on leaves and leaf identification. Perhaps they want to be directed to a nature program where they work hands-on with trees. Cut and dried answers are the way of the past, and librarians need to be on the cusp of available resources and willing to take the time to instruct and share.

Other concerns about library use addressed by the teens had to do with environment. Waiting 20 minutes for a computer and having to sign in and only be able to use it for 10 minutes made them feel like they were "in jail." I can see that. I'd leave too. the teens also said that the library was too loud and too dirty. Libraries need to have more computers, better, more comfortable areas to use them in, and need to leave the policing of who is on what machine for how long alone. Libraries also need to present a better face to the community. I realize that many are dingy because of lack of funding. This is tough to combat. And I also realize that the day of the silent library is long over, but perhaps there could be dedicated comfortable quiet reading areas?

It does baffle me a bit to think that so many libraries seem to be designed for in and out, no lingering batches of patrons, when what we need are butts in seats, hands on books and resources. Community members are more likely to care about a service they actually find welcoming and useful.

Reading summary - Frew (2008)

Frew, J., & Haver, L. (2008). OPENING YOUR DOORS TO TEENS: CREATING SUSTAINABLE YOUNG ADULT PROGRAMS. Indiana Libraries, 27(1), 38-41.

Frew and Haver cover the practical basics of starting a teen program in a public library. The points they cover are:

1. Cost
2. Advertising
3. Partnerships
4. Preparation
5. You are Ready
6. Evaluate

 This article is aimed at librarians. It begins with asking the question of why an already overworked librarian would consider adding teen programming when time and resources are already stretched. The six points are real concerns that need to be addressed by the library before a program should be implemented. 

Cost must be considered because no one is going to work for free (except interns and students, desperate for work experience ...) and because "money follows priorities." (p.38)  I would argue that if, in this day and age of "why do we still have libraries when everything is online" talk, if your priorities don't include doing things that cause people to use the library, your priorities could use a upgrade. Teens are one of the best target groups for library use. They're still dependent (until they're 16) on parents to take them places. Libraries are a place parents trust. So ... let's exploit this relationship (not in a bad way) to maximize library use and prove our usefulness!

Advertising is hugely important. I hate finding out that something happened that I would have liked to have gone to, if only I'd known about it. I think one of the most effective advertising techniques might be to work closely with local schools and co-sponsor events. That leads to the partnerships. Teaming up with local professionals (artists, programmers, teachers, tutors, etc.) to create programming can help minimize costs, promote local businesses and individuals, and provide needed foot traffic in our libraries!

Once the program has been launched, it is important to make sure that fresh, new, and interesting content is generated, that library staff remains invested and attentive, and that methods and programs are regularly evaluated for effectiveness. The Friday night panel on The Fault in Our Stars ended in a mass sobfest? Try something more cheerful next time and see how that goes!

Reading Summary - Zickuhr (2013)

Zickuhr, K., Rainie, L., & Purcell, K. (2013). Library Services in the Digital Age. Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project. Retrieved July 28, 2014.

This article is part of the Pew Internet and American Life project. Libraries are charged with keeping up with the future while also taking care of the past. A majority of polled patrons still view traditional library services as very important, but also embrace the importance of Internet access, use, and new ways to make library use easier via technology. 

I believe that expanding the role of the public library in the community is key in keeping libraries relevant. This study found encouraging trends that strengthen my hypothesis. For example: 

•  Coordinating more closely with local schools: 85% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely” do this.

•  Offering free literacy programs to help young children: 82% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.

•  Having more comfortable spaces for reading, working, and relaxing: 59% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.

• Offering a broader selection of e-books: 53% of Americans ages 16 and older say libraries should “definitely do” this.

 Coordinating more closely with local schools would entail making sure that the library kept inventory of the relevant textbooks and supplemental materials for the curriculum. This would require a collections development librarian to work with the schools to keep abreast of current curriculum topics and collect to support the students. This would ensure that the public library is a place students and parents turn to when it comes time to write papers and reports, or when a student misplaces important materials and needs to complete an assignment. Just making parents aware that the public library has the materials in case of academic emergency would elevate the status of the public library in the eyes of the public.

Offering free literacy programs would foster community involvement, as most such programs are staffed by volunteers. This could be seen as the library investing in its literate future. Without readers, no one needs a library. Increasing the numbers of young people who receive literacy intervention at a young age benefits the library in the future, when those kids become full-service library patrons with a deep-seated sense of gratitude and familiarity when it comes to library use.

Having more comfortable spaces for reading and working is a no-brainer. Many current libraries' furniture does not encourage lingering. There may be actual reasons for that, but I think that this is a practice that needs to be changed. Public libraries need to become that non-commercial "third place." They need patrons to come in, invest, run group meetings, and stay. The space is there to be used, and we need to encourage the public to use the spaces we provide. Uncomfortable chairs are why I don't study more often at the IU library.

Offering a broader selection of e-books is important as well. As the norms for how people read change, the library needs to adapt. The "one book, one reader" policy that is even now extending to libraries, handed down from publishing companies who want less sharing and more revenue, needs to be combated. This is a practical format for physical books, but does not make sense when it comes to e-books. Instead of charging the library for an individual book, e-book publishers need to find a way to charge a library a fee for an e-book service, or to acknowledge the importance of libraries in gaining new readership for their books and agree that an e-book can be checked out by more than one person at a time.

Another idea that stuck out for me in this article is this quote: "Others felt that interactive exhibits were the province of museums, not libraries." This kind of irks me. Do libraries WANT to go extinct? If not, prepare for change and expansion. Goodness. I kind of want to reply to this statement with, "Your feelings on this issue are not relevant. I feel that libraries should be adapting to save our asses for the future." :-)

Reading summary - Howard (2011)

1Howard, V. (2011).What do young teens think about the public library? The Library Quarterly, 81(3).

This article reports on the findings of a large research project aimed at discovering what 12-15 year old teens think about the public library. The project involved both qualitative and quantitative research methodology. In the literature review, several points from other studies are raised about what teens would prefer in libraries are mentioned:  

- comfortable places to sit and read
- longer checkout periods
- arranging the books by genre rather than alphabetically
- more computers
- a place to socialize and do homework


- In Phase 1 of the study, students in grades 7-9 were surveyed, and the results were that a relatively low number of students were using the library - only 13% used it weekly. However, 83% of those surveyed had used the library in the past year, so it's not all bad news. The surveyed teens also indicated that they were mostly satisfied with their libraries, so this could be seen to indicate that positive occasional uses are better than frequent unsatisfying ones.

The study found that teens would like a more social area, not next to the children's section, with an acceptable noise level. Working together on school projects and helping each other with homework is going to make some noise, and it would be beneficial to have that kind of space where speaking and interacting is not going to cause problems. Teens want a brightly colored, interesting area, not white walls and uncomfortable chairs.


Barriers to public library use for teens range from lack of programming, lack of necessary technology, lack of a bond between teen patrons and library staff , and lack of an appealing environment in which to hang out and do homework.



The good news? All of these things are fixable and can be a part of an over-arching plan to save public libraries in this digital age. Well-advertised programming for diverse interests, a dedicated library staff member for the teen population (preferably a teen services librarian) who is knowledgeable about current media for teens. Libraries are facing change as physical objects like books, cds, and dvds become legacy technology. One way libraries can keep relevant is to become a Third Place (Oldenberg) for teens. Teens in particular are important in this equation, because adults have agency and money to go to other third places, such as bookstores and coffee shops. Teens need a parent-approved safe place to hang out, and the library could be that place. We just need to be interesting. That's not so hard, right? :-)

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