C. Demographics
C. recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use.
Introduction
Much of human society seeks information through a variety of sources including libraries. “Libraries are reflections of the societies in which they are embedded” (Haycock and Sheldon, 2008, p. 4). It is therefore, important to understand how the demographics of an area shape the library. It is also important to understand the social, cultural, and economic components of how people acquire information.
I understand and define this competency to mean that I know and understand the social aspects of how people use information. Due to the growth of the internet and social networking the usage of information has changed. Knowing how that change has occurred and what mediums people are using to gather information is extremely important to the profession. I understand and define this competency to mean that I know and understand how different cultures use information. A person’s life experiences shape the way that they use information. An information professional should be able to effectively help different populations and cultures. Finally, I understand and define this competency to mean that I know and understand how a person’s financial system affects how they use information, especially in the current economy.
Due to the fact that many different people use information in a variety of ways, libraries can bring together people from different backgrounds. This is especially true in the age of the internet. Having access to the internet in the home is a luxury that many people cannot afford and so “public libraries have taken on the role as the provider of free public access to the internet and computers” (Becker et all, 2010, p. 6). Having free access to not only the internet, but also to books, magazines, and music is a great equalizer.
As I enter the world of an information professional, knowing how different types of people use information is important. I need to be able to relate to a variety of people, whether they come from a similar or different background other than my own. I must understand that those in lower socio-economic backgrounds will have had different experiences than I and therefore will use in a different way, the information that my institution has available. As an information professional I need to be able to understand how to change things within the institution or organization for in order to meet the needs of the community. For example, I need to know how my community is changing with the economy. Are more people moving in or out? Are the populations within different groups changing? It is also important for me to understand how to reach those in the community who do not use the library regularly. If I can increase the use of the organization by understanding this, it can lead to other things that will benefit the organization such as increased funding. Understanding these dynamics is therefore important to me as an information professional.
I have had several experiences that will help me in performing this competency. The first is that as an undergraduate, one of my majors was anthropology with one of the focuses being cultural anthropology. In these classes I learned about different peoples and their views on society. With this information and background I will further be able to help and understand how different people use information. While at SJSU I have taken several classes that have prepared me for understanding this competency. These included LIBR 256, Archives; LIBR 246, Web 2.0; LIBR 200, Information and Society; and LIBR 210, Reference Services. In addition to course work, I have had experience working with different populations while working at Washington State University’s Manuscripts, Archives, Special Collections (MASC) department. At MASC, one of my duties is to help out at the reference desk where I interact with a variety of different age, gender, ethnic, and educated populations.
The following paragraphs will provide three pieces of evidence to prove my competency in recognizing how different populations use information. These pieces come from two places, LIBR 204, Management for Information Professionals and LIBR 246, Web 2.0.
Evidence
The first piece of evidence for competency in understanding demographics is a paper I wrote for LIBR 204, Management for Information Professionals. For this paper, I was required to visit a library where I observed and wrote about several different things, one of which was demographics. I wrote about my local public library which serves the city of Pullman, WA, a city with a population of about 27,600 people. Many of the people in this population are students and families of faculty from Washington State University. I wrote about how the environment and mission of the library is shaped by the demographics of Pullman. Thorough these observations, I am able to understand how the diverse population affects the programing at the public library and therefore how different people access and use information.
The second piece of evidence for competency in demographic knowledge my participation in a group project in LIBR 204. This project was to create a strategic plan. Each group had the option of revising a previously written strategic plan for a real-life library inventing a library with a strategic plan. My group chose to invent a library with a strategic plan.. Our public library was located in Southern California and we gathered demographics for the area, using data from such sources as the Census. I helped compile these statistics to use for our library. By completing this assignment and gathering this type of data, I now feel competent to gather and assist demographic information to assist libraries or similar organizations in strategic planning.
The final piece of evidence for competency for competency C is a group project for LIBR 246, Web 2.0. For this project we were required to create 2.0 tools for a specific type of library. As the leader of the group I chose to do our project for a museum library. In deciding what 2.0 technologies we wanted to implement, our group had to determine what type of users would be accessing our library. We decided to use some of the more popular web 2.0 technologies. We used and implemented a wiki so that our patrons could access more information than what was provided on just a single webpage. In addition to a wiki, we chose to develop a Facebook page because we found out that 42% of the US population had a personal Facebook page (King, 2011). Lastly, the two other 2.0 tools we decided to use were Twitter and a blog because we felt that these tools would reach more patrons. In researching the type of tools we should use, I became knowledgeable in using current and future demographics. I learned how important they are in assessing how people will use the provided information.
Conclusion
The above pieces of evidence demonstrate my competency in the use of gathering demographics and using that information to target different populations. Knowing the social, cultural, and economic characteristics of users will help me understand how they might use information to the best of their ability.
Reference
Becker, S., Crandall, M.D., Fisher, K.E., Kinney, B., Landry, C., Rocha, A. (2010). Opportunity for all: How the American public
benefits from internet access at U.S. libraries. Institute of Museum and Library Services: Washington, D.C. Retrieved online from
http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/OpportunityForAll.pdf.
Haycock, K. and B. Sheldon. (2008). The portable MLIS: insights from the experts. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.
King, D. (2011). Facebook in libraries. American Libraries 27 May, 2011 [electronic resource] retrieved 7/21/11 from
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/05272011/Facebooklibraries.
Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of library and information science. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
Introduction
Much of human society seeks information through a variety of sources including libraries. “Libraries are reflections of the societies in which they are embedded” (Haycock and Sheldon, 2008, p. 4). It is therefore, important to understand how the demographics of an area shape the library. It is also important to understand the social, cultural, and economic components of how people acquire information.
I understand and define this competency to mean that I know and understand the social aspects of how people use information. Due to the growth of the internet and social networking the usage of information has changed. Knowing how that change has occurred and what mediums people are using to gather information is extremely important to the profession. I understand and define this competency to mean that I know and understand how different cultures use information. A person’s life experiences shape the way that they use information. An information professional should be able to effectively help different populations and cultures. Finally, I understand and define this competency to mean that I know and understand how a person’s financial system affects how they use information, especially in the current economy.
Due to the fact that many different people use information in a variety of ways, libraries can bring together people from different backgrounds. This is especially true in the age of the internet. Having access to the internet in the home is a luxury that many people cannot afford and so “public libraries have taken on the role as the provider of free public access to the internet and computers” (Becker et all, 2010, p. 6). Having free access to not only the internet, but also to books, magazines, and music is a great equalizer.
As I enter the world of an information professional, knowing how different types of people use information is important. I need to be able to relate to a variety of people, whether they come from a similar or different background other than my own. I must understand that those in lower socio-economic backgrounds will have had different experiences than I and therefore will use in a different way, the information that my institution has available. As an information professional I need to be able to understand how to change things within the institution or organization for in order to meet the needs of the community. For example, I need to know how my community is changing with the economy. Are more people moving in or out? Are the populations within different groups changing? It is also important for me to understand how to reach those in the community who do not use the library regularly. If I can increase the use of the organization by understanding this, it can lead to other things that will benefit the organization such as increased funding. Understanding these dynamics is therefore important to me as an information professional.
I have had several experiences that will help me in performing this competency. The first is that as an undergraduate, one of my majors was anthropology with one of the focuses being cultural anthropology. In these classes I learned about different peoples and their views on society. With this information and background I will further be able to help and understand how different people use information. While at SJSU I have taken several classes that have prepared me for understanding this competency. These included LIBR 256, Archives; LIBR 246, Web 2.0; LIBR 200, Information and Society; and LIBR 210, Reference Services. In addition to course work, I have had experience working with different populations while working at Washington State University’s Manuscripts, Archives, Special Collections (MASC) department. At MASC, one of my duties is to help out at the reference desk where I interact with a variety of different age, gender, ethnic, and educated populations.
The following paragraphs will provide three pieces of evidence to prove my competency in recognizing how different populations use information. These pieces come from two places, LIBR 204, Management for Information Professionals and LIBR 246, Web 2.0.
Evidence
The first piece of evidence for competency in understanding demographics is a paper I wrote for LIBR 204, Management for Information Professionals. For this paper, I was required to visit a library where I observed and wrote about several different things, one of which was demographics. I wrote about my local public library which serves the city of Pullman, WA, a city with a population of about 27,600 people. Many of the people in this population are students and families of faculty from Washington State University. I wrote about how the environment and mission of the library is shaped by the demographics of Pullman. Thorough these observations, I am able to understand how the diverse population affects the programing at the public library and therefore how different people access and use information.
The second piece of evidence for competency in demographic knowledge my participation in a group project in LIBR 204. This project was to create a strategic plan. Each group had the option of revising a previously written strategic plan for a real-life library inventing a library with a strategic plan. My group chose to invent a library with a strategic plan.. Our public library was located in Southern California and we gathered demographics for the area, using data from such sources as the Census. I helped compile these statistics to use for our library. By completing this assignment and gathering this type of data, I now feel competent to gather and assist demographic information to assist libraries or similar organizations in strategic planning.
The final piece of evidence for competency for competency C is a group project for LIBR 246, Web 2.0. For this project we were required to create 2.0 tools for a specific type of library. As the leader of the group I chose to do our project for a museum library. In deciding what 2.0 technologies we wanted to implement, our group had to determine what type of users would be accessing our library. We decided to use some of the more popular web 2.0 technologies. We used and implemented a wiki so that our patrons could access more information than what was provided on just a single webpage. In addition to a wiki, we chose to develop a Facebook page because we found out that 42% of the US population had a personal Facebook page (King, 2011). Lastly, the two other 2.0 tools we decided to use were Twitter and a blog because we felt that these tools would reach more patrons. In researching the type of tools we should use, I became knowledgeable in using current and future demographics. I learned how important they are in assessing how people will use the provided information.
Conclusion
The above pieces of evidence demonstrate my competency in the use of gathering demographics and using that information to target different populations. Knowing the social, cultural, and economic characteristics of users will help me understand how they might use information to the best of their ability.
Reference
Becker, S., Crandall, M.D., Fisher, K.E., Kinney, B., Landry, C., Rocha, A. (2010). Opportunity for all: How the American public
benefits from internet access at U.S. libraries. Institute of Museum and Library Services: Washington, D.C. Retrieved online from
http://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/OpportunityForAll.pdf.
Haycock, K. and B. Sheldon. (2008). The portable MLIS: insights from the experts. Westport: Libraries Unlimited.
King, D. (2011). Facebook in libraries. American Libraries 27 May, 2011 [electronic resource] retrieved 7/21/11 from
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/features/05272011/Facebooklibraries.
Rubin, R. E. (2004). Foundations of library and information science. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc.
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