This week will be used to prepare for the exam.
A study guide will be distributed later this week, and your online blogging assignment this week is to choose one part of it and answer a question for your peers. As others fulfill this assignment, try to choose something someone else hasn't answered. The test preparation will be much more effective if it covers a broader set of questions.
Cite page numbers, too! Part of good scholarship is allowing others to check your work. Be kind, and be as specific as you can about how and where you are getting your answers.
To keep this all organized, please respond in the comments to this post.
Video Reflection
14 years ago
Week 2
ReplyDeletePutnam Article
Social Capital refers to connections among individuals specifically the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from these connections (p.19)
An example of Social Capital is how lots of people get jobs because of whom we know, not necessarily what we know (p.20)
Bridging vs. Bonding
Bridging Social Capital works outward and encompasses people across diverse social cleavages. An example of this is the Civil Rights Movement, which could be considered glue that binds people of different backgrounds. (p.22)
Bonding Social Capital is inward looking and reinforces exclusive identities of homogeneous groups. An example of this would be an exclusive Country Club which would be the "WD-40" because lots of people are left out because of race, ethnicity, income, etc. (p.22)
Week 2
ReplyDeleteNeighborhood Analysis Public Lib Use NYC
• Trying to answer the question of how library users in a cosmopolitan area like NYC compare to users in traditional library settings (447)
• GIS is a geographical information system that presents data that is linked to a location. This system allows for a user to obtain demographic information about a special region that can tell the political affiliation, race composition, age, gender, etc. of the region. (451)
• Central place theory describes the accessibility of a library based on distance, size of the library, travel time, etc. that make the library a central place and this defines the hexagonal region that encompasses its users. (448)
• Neighborhoods in this study are defined based on market areas of the libraries and study only those attributes expected to influence the public library use in the neighborhoods such as social and spatial attributes. (449)
• This study found that educated individuals are more likely to use libraries because they are taught to do so thorough the education process. Further, libraries in disadvantaged neighborhoods can improve the use of their branches by targeting residents with high school diplomas, by reflecting neighborhood characteristics in appearance and in materials, by being a public place for social interaction of the community, and by getting more funding than are proportional to circulation
• With regards to the last one, and to circulation in general, the study found a correlation between low circulation and low income, this would be fixed with higher funding for these branches that can be used for outreach programs and for the purchase of library materials that could help to increase circulation. This would bring social justice to disadvantaged neighborhoods even if it doesn’t bring as high of circulation as the increased funding would elsewhere. (461)
Week 3-Hall, Tracie D. (2007). Race and place: A personal account of unequal access.
ReplyDelete•Describe Hall’s childhood local library, the “yellow palace.” What were its features and/or barriers? Where was it located within her community?
The yellow palace had bars covering the windows, had only two small reading rooms-one for adults and one for children, had early closing hours and frustrated librarians, and was located across from the jail. (pg 31,32)
•Now describe the “white cathedral.”
The white cathedral had soft chairs and beanbags, no burglar bars on the windows, rows and rows of books, and a multiracial staff with quiet voices who liked children. It was a “sacred dimension” and taunted the less wealthy communities. (pg 31, 32)
•What social and community changes prompted Hall’s visit to the white cathedral?
Hall visited with the school as a pro-integration exercise. (pg 31)
•What were some barriers to Hall’s access to the white cathedral? How did this change her view of the yellow palace?
The white cathedral was across the tracks and Hall’s mother needed to drive her there. The inequities between the two libraries made her feel inferior. It discouraged her from attending the yellow palace, even when she was old enough to walk to it. (pg 32)
•For whom was Hall writing this article? Who was her audience?
I think her audience may have been people who work in libraries because she stresses that they have a large effect on the division between communities. Her message is applicable to everyone, though, because we should all strive to bridge these types of gaps.
•What might have been her goal or goals in writing this article?
Her goal may have been to argue that we create divides between communities. She states that “Yellow palaces and white cathedrals exist because we who work in libraries create them as well as the distances between them.” Libraries should be neutral, but in many cases are not and this impacts the entire community. (pg 33)
Week 3: Chapter 2-Branch Libraries: The heartbeat of the community
ReplyDeleteI'll answer the first four bullets...
--What are some special or innovative features of Chicago's Near North Branch Library?
-It had curb appeal, artwork of local artists
-A large parking lot, so those who felt unsafe in the community
could safely drive there.
-Many meeting rooms to incorporate community groups,
discussions
-An ever-changing collection to "reflect the needs and interests of
the community it serves."
-It also is not a stereotypical "quiet 24/7" library...it is also a
meeting place for activity and socialization. (Pg. 36-37)
--What were two goals local politicians and community leaders hoped to accomplish with its construction?
"Encourage other improvements in Cabrini and bring together residents of two neighborhoods who had virtually no contact with one another." (P. 38)
--How did location play a role in the creation of the library?
The library was chosen semi-equidistant to the three cities to "feel
accessible." The decision to locate it in Cabrini also slowly improved
the city, as the liquor store was turned into green space, a new park
was added, new high school, new police station, condominiums, a
new supermarket, and safe streets soon evolved. (P. 38)
--How did planners engage with schools in the area, and why?
Library staff made regular visits to the schools to spark interest in
the kids. The kids, as noted in the article, "were [the] inroad into
the Cabrini community." Children went home from school and
urged their parents to take them to the library. The kids were a
type of propaganda in the means of spreading the word of the
library to their parents, and so forth. Word of mouth multiplied.
(P. 40)
Week 4
ReplyDeleteKoontz, C. M., Jue, D. K., & Lance, K. C. (2004). Neighborhood-based in-library use performance measures for public libraries: A nationwide study of majority-minority and majority white/low income markets using personal digital data collectors.
•Circulation statistics, an easy measure to take, come back up in this article. Why are these problematic? What kinds of materials do they miss? What kinds of use and users do they miss?
(P. 29-30) Circulation data is supposes to provide information about the effectiveness and value of a library to the community. But, many communities have a lot of users with low circulation. This is a result of people who use the interne, read books within the library, or go to the library’s programs. These services are not counted in the circulation data. The statistics for these non traditional users, usually low income and minority users, are difficult to quantify. .
•What can the outcome be of low circulation statistics?
(p.30) Libraries are often funded proportionally to their circulation data. Libraries that have low circulation, regardless of high amounts of users for other services, do not receive as much funding. These libraries often have low income patrons who need libraries the most.
•How do libraries fulfill a role in the process of lifelong learning for low-income persons?
(p. 30) In low income neighborhoods the residents don’t have as much access to information. They often do not have computers at home or at work. The library is the only place they can go to get information. A library narrows the information gap by providing these services free of charge.
•What was the stated goal of this study?
P. (32) The goal of the project was to demonstrate the value of collecting alternative measures of library use and develop standardized methodologies for collecting such data at the outlet (branch or central library) level. (p. 38) the goal was not to measure why the information differs from community to community, but just the fact that the data does in fact differ.
•List some of the “alternative measures of library use” the researchers identified and collected usage statistics on.
(p. 36) There were three categories 1) in-library use of materials, including: material format, quantity, language of material, circulation, material type. 2) Library assistance data, including: transaction type, age of user, question type, time to answer question. And 3) observed library user data, such as: location of activity, activity, computer software used, number of users, age of users. l
•What can these alternative measures tell library management, administrators and others about a given branch library’s use? (Think “funding.”)
(p. 39) By looking at what certain age groups are browsing, the library can better allocate their funds to purchase books that patrons are interested in.
•What can the measures tell the librarians on-site about that library’s use by community members? (Think “services.”)
(p. 42) The data can be used to optimize library services to reflect the interests of the users. For example, if a library has low circulation (but a lot of students that come in for homework help) , the library can design a program to provide help.
Week 5 Community Informatics: Integrating Action, Research, and Learning.
ReplyDelete1.What is community informatics and what does it hope to accomplish?
A)Community informatics is an emerging field of interdisciplinary scholarship and practice devoted to enabling communities with information and communications technologies. It hopes to understand how knowledge is shaped and shared in communities to investigate the underlying information phenomena.pg6
2. Q) What is an ICT?
A) An ICT is the study of the technology used to handle information and aid communication.pg6
3. Q) Define Pragmatic technology
A) Pragmatic technology encompasses the common language notion of how to design tools to meet real human needs and accommodate users in their lived situations pg 8
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWeek 4,
ReplyDeletefirst part
first 3 questions
Sarling, J. H., & Van Tassel, D. S. (1999). Community analysis: Research that matters to a north-central Denver community.
•What is “community analysis”?
it is the analysis of set of people or community and enables librarians to know what their community or consumers needs and provide better service. (P.7)
•Define the “CARI model”? What are its four perspectives?
It is a Community Analysis Research Institute Model and people use it to collect, organize and analyze information.
the four perspectives are including individuals, groups, agencies, and lifestyles.(P.8)
•What are some of the data one might collect when using the CARI model? Are the data qualitative, quantitative or both?
Demographic characteristics, history of the community and topographical features these are collects data using CARI, and they are all quantitative and qualitative.(P.8)
Does anybody know the definition of "public computing"? I cannot seem to find the definition in Alkalimat and Williams' article. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHere are some of the questions answered from week 5...
ReplyDeleteAlkalimat, A., & Williams, Kate (2001). “Social capital and cyberpower in the African American community: A case study of a community technology centre in the dual city.”
Q: What do the authors mean by the term “racial ravine”?
A: Digital divide is a color divide; Certain groups had lesser capability, connectivity; Shows how different people have different ability to use info
Q: The authors invoke Castells’ “dual city”? What is it? Briefly identify.
A: “Dual city”: “an urban system socially and spatially polarized between high value-making groups and functions on the one hand and devalued social groups and downgraded spaces on the other hand; power of new information technologies enhances and deepens features present in the social structure and in power relationships”
Q: What is “cyberpower”? Define its three forms: individual, social and ideological.
A: Cyberpower: effects of online activity on power
• Individual: gaining skills and connections for onself
• Social: gaining skills for group
• Imaginary: to advance the imaginary: vision, movement, ideological purpose
Public computing is simply providing the public with access to computers. This access is provided most of the time by Community Technology Centers (CTCs) like libraries.
ReplyDeleteWeek 04
ReplyDeleteSarling, J.H., & Van Tassel, D.S. (1999). Community analysis: Research that matters to a north-central Denver community.
Q: List some of the many methodologies employed by the researches in the Denver neighborhoods.
A:They used the methods of CARI as well as historical research, statistical analysis, personal interviews, and structured observation. They also walked around/drove around the neighborhood. (pg. 11)
Q: Describe some of the tools and other data sources the researchers reviewed.
A: They ended up using video cameras to interview people instead of just photos. (pg. 23) Other tools included: local archives, newspaper articles, personal interviews with community leaders, public records, census, yellow pages, directories, personal referrals, and personal interviews with businesses, churches, political groups, government agencies, community agencies (ex: tv and radio). (pg. 11)
Q: Who made up the three neighborhoods in the studies? How did walk-and-drive-throughs illuminate information about the communities that could have been missed?
A: Globeville, Swansea and Elyria are the three neighborhoods. At first the communities appeared to be poverty stricken, heavy with truck traffic and industry. It's influences are Eastern European, but a lot of Hispanics live there. The walk/drive throughs provided information on the pride the people felt in the community and how people stayed in the community, and weren't really moving out like the census had stated. It gave a more in depth view of the people. (pgs. 12 - 15)
Week 5: Kvasny, L., & Kranich, N., & Schement, J. R. (2006). Communities, Learning and Democracy in the Digital Age.
ReplyDeleteContext: The authors describe the Internet as a “socio-technical network.” What does this mean?
In order for the internet to be successfully accessed, many social and technical factors must be taken into account. These include the assets of a community, the communities’ technical background and what kind of barriers this community might have that will prevent them from using the Internet. In other words, the context part of accessibility deals with where the Internet is being used and if any “community-level interventions” need to take place (2).
Connectivity: What are some of the nuances of connectivity the authors describe? Is it enough just to be plugged in?
Just having the ability to get online does not completely satisfy the connectivity part of access. Many applications that are commonly used and downloaded on the Internet require a very high speed internet connection. Other aspects of connectivity are how many points of access there are at different public places (such as schools and libraries) and the number of high speed internet providers there are in a certain community (2).
Capability: What is defined as “skill” in this article? Is it simply computer skills? Or are there more needs to be addressed?
The skill they talk about in this article does not just refer to computer skills, although having a high level of “technical sophistication” is a part of it. The authors also say that an internet user must have the skill to adapt and understand new technologies. Another useful skill is to understand the technology so much that you are able to teach it to people and encourage others to use it (2).
Content: What if they built an Internet and no one came? In other words, once we have the first three Cs, what else is necessary to get the groups the authors identified into a participatory mode in an increasingly Internet-dependent society?
The other three C’s do not matter if the content category of access is not satisfied. Content basically says that the Internet is useless if it doesn’t provide information that is sought after by the user. The Internet needs to be appealing, relevant and personable. Also, content also includes the information being understandable. For example, non-English speaking users won’t utilize all that the Internet has to offer if there aren’t websites in their language (3).
Week 3--Putnam
ReplyDeleteSpecial Features of Chicago's Near North Branch Library--
•located in a central location between 2 very different communities--The Gold Coast and Cabrini Green
•librarians from Near North travel to various school districts to promote the library
•large parking lot for people who feel unsafe walking to where Near North is located
(pages 36-37)
Goals that politicians and community leaders hoped to accomplish--
•bridging Cabrini Green and Gold Coast Communities
•Make educational tools easily accessible to under-privileged families
•encourage other improvements in Cabrini
(page 38)
Role of Location--
•had to be close enough to Cabrini to be accessible, but far enough away to attract Gold Coast community members as well
(page 38)
How Planners engaged with schools--
•librarians bet with principals and took pictures of their schools which were then incorporated into the opening day ceremonies of the libraries
•librarians also made regular visits to schools around the area to promote the library and encourage children to visit
(page 40)
Gentrification: the restoration of run-down urban areas by the middle class
•role of gentrification in library: planners from the middle-class introduced the Near North Branch to encourage improements in Cabrini Green
Humboldt Park Branch engagement with Latino patrons--
•maintains extensive Spanish collection
•combined all of non-fiction collection so adults could find easy to read books without being embarrassed about their literacy
Uptown's engagement with patrons of Asian descent--
•provides ESL classes
•Asian decor
•Asian collection
week 4
ReplyDeleteWhat did researchers discover when they talked to representatives from the local school district?
They discovered that there was a weird arrangement of busing for the kids who did not go to the community schools. Children in the same neighborhoods were not in school together in a consistent fashion. Also, older kids were not allowed to participate in after-school activities because there were no late buses. One other finding was that 60% of children 16 and older were already in the labor force. This shows that there is a large dropout rate.
List some recommendations made by the researchers upon completion of the study.
During the construction period, branch staff should become involved in the community by attending community meetings and social events, visiting the various community centers, and building positive relationships. The design of the building should have a permanent solid appearance that harmonized with the historical architecture. The interior should include several quiet spaces for children to do homework. The branch should have a common area and be open evenings and afternoons to serve the school-age children. Saturday hours were also recommended instead of Sunday.
With whom did they share their study, and who requested copies?
They really shared their study with anyone who was interested. They offered guided tours of the neighborhoods so people could see the areas, they created a video to capture the different atmospheres at different times of the day, and they also had a written report that was handed out to the city librarian, library commissioners, director of branches, director of marketing, branch manager and community leaders. The principal of the swansea elementary school requested a copy while trying to make an important board decision, along with teachers and board members writing a grant proposal for the community.
A Neighborhood Analysis of Public Library use in New York City
ReplyDeleteWhat is GIS, and how and why did the researchers use it in the context of this study? Why were notions of space important?
i)Graphical Information System
ii)Three purposes:
(1)Special units for the statistical analyses
(2)The size of the library service area is used to represent the spatial accessibility of the library branches in the statistical analyses
(3)Used to represent neighborhoods for the purpose of this study
By creating neighborhoods the researchers were able to describe neighborhood characteristics
(1)Examples of neighborhood characteristics: race, median, total population, median household income…
What is “central-place theory”?
i)Theory that a consumer will use the closest central place
How did the researchers define “neighborhoods”?
i)The researchers used it form library service areas which were polygons around each branch and any point inside of the polygons would be closest to the branch in that polygon and no other branch (they called these polygons neighborhoods)
What were the primary findings of the study? (Big picture rather than specific stats for this)
i)Neighborhood characteristics such as social and spatial interactions were found to be important in affecting public library use in the regression analysis (this adds a sociospatial dimension to the library use studies)
What did the researchers discover about circulation statistics? What main recommendations did the researchers make?
i)Circulation statistics
(1)Asians had strongest correlations between circulation and race
(2)Circulation rates are low between very poor and very wealthy (middle income use libraries the most)
(3)Strongest correlations between circulation and education were for high school graduates and some college
ii)Researchers suggested that race, income, and education correlated with circulations is not enough to judge library use, they think that their needs to by a multiple regressions analysis
Week 2
ReplyDeletePutnam: Bowling Alone
-Social Capital: What is it?
-Social Capital is the connections between people that create a benefit for the community. Examples are reciprocity and trustworthiness.
-The problem of Leisure started around the beginning of the 1980s when new members in all sorts of institutions went down. Americans were finding other ways to use their free time, thus reducing the amount of social capital.
-The first post here has bonding and bridging capital mixed up in his examples. Bonding social capital reinforces bonds between similar people. an example of this would be an African American pride and rights awareness group. however, bonding capital can be negative as well (ex: KKK, Nazi party). Bridging capital celebrates and encourages diversity among different levels of race, gender, and class.
Bonding social capital is the GLUE.
Bridging social capital is the WD-40. (pg. 23)
Alkalimat & Williams
ReplyDeleteSocial capital and cyberpower in the African American community: A case study of a community technology centre in the dual city.
How do CTCs/computing and internet access create, enable or enhance "cyberpower"?
CTCs enhance individual cyberpower by helping people gain computer-related jobs, as well as job hunting skills. They also enhance social cyberpower by creating advances in employment, learning, increased confidence and sense of community.
What partnerships were established between Murchison Center and other groups or community stakeholders? What worked? What did not?
The Murchison Center first partnered with St. James Church to provide drug prevention programs, such as counseling, job preparation and computer skill training. These programs greatly benefited the community, and the Center was able to host the programs in the basement of the church.
Second, the Murchison Center partnered with the Community Development Corporation in order to receive funding for their programs. However, within a couple months the two organizations split because the partnership took away from the Center's main fund raising focus.
Week 2
ReplyDeleteSocial Capitol: Based on the theory that Social networks have value. Social contact affect the productivity of individuals and groups. Can create reciprocity and trustworthiness.
Leisure: I had trouble identifying what this was exactly but Mason did a pretty good job of doing so. On page 16 Putnam quotes A study done at the University of Chicago, "the most dangerous threat hanging over American society is the threat of leisure"
Bridging and Bonding
Bridging:(inclusive) "Better for linkage to external assets and for information diffusion"(p22). Inclusive and external. It is the WD40, Civil rights movement.
Bonding:((exclusive) "Good for under girding specific reciprocity and mobilizing solidarity" p(22) Exclusive and internal. The Glue, ethnic fraternal organization.
Andrea C. Japzon and Hongmian Gong's Article
What man question did the researchers hope to answer with this research study?
"What is the relationship between public library use and neighborhood characteristics?"P447
GIS?
Geographical Information system, this calculated the service area for each library branch, based on closest location. P451
It served three purposes
1. "Service area became basic spacial units for statistical analysis."
2. "Size of library service area is used to represent the spacial accessibility of the library branches." (The smaller the area, the more accessible)
3. "Library service area represent neighborhoods for the purpose of the study"
P451-452
What is "central-place theory"?
it is based on the idea that a consumer patronizes the closest central place, or library branch in the case of the study. P 451
How did the researchers define "neighborhoods"?
Neighborhoods were based on the service area calculated by the GIS.
What were the primary finding of the study?
The findings of the study were that race, income, and education are the key factors in determining library use. Also, it was found that disadvantaged neighborhoods under use their library. It was also noted that their was a strong correlation of those with a high school diploma and higher library use.
What did the researchers discover about circulation statistics? What main recommendations did the researchers make?
The researchers compared circulation four different ways:
Racial variables,
household income variables,
education variables,
social/spacial variables
"The finding reveals that reducing the high school dropout rate...and increasing percentage of adult population with a high school diploma will increase the public library use in NYC". P458-459
In regards to "the problem of leisure", in week #2, the challenge of having free time emerged in 1958 when there was a study done at the University of Chicago. This issue involved the American public's new issue of having time to do activities that they desired. People were flocking to bowling leagues and other clubs to fill their time with leisure activities.
ReplyDelete"Bowling Alone" pg. 16-17
Week Four- Koontz, C. M., Jue, D. K., & Lance, K. C. (2004). Neighborhood-based in-library use performance measures for public libraries: A nationwide study of majority-minority and majority white/low income markets using personal digital data collectors.
ReplyDelete• Circulation statistics, an easy measure to take, come back up in this article. Why are these problematic? What kinds of materials do they miss? What kinds of use and users do they miss?
These statistics may miss the use of important library services, such as internet use or the attendance at various programs. Since circulation rates don't measure anything other than the material being checked out of the library, they are more likely to miss measuring the use of the library by low income individuals who don't usually check out books but use the library for its other services. Since, however, these rates are used to measure the "success" of a library, a library that is an important part of the community, but with low circulation rates, may lose its funding and even face closure as a result. (29-30)
• What can the outcome be of low circulation statistics?
As started previously, libraries may lose state and federal funding, and even close because of low circulation statistics. (30)
• How do libraries fulfill a role in the process of lifelong learning for low-income persons?
They can provide up to date technology training, as well as workshops for things. The library narrows the digital divide faced by low income individuals to don't have access to computers at home by providing them access to this important technology for free. (30)
I answered some questions on the Branch libraries: The heartbeat of the community article.
ReplyDeleteWhat were some special or innovative features of Chicago's Near North Branch library?
They have artwork from local artists, as well as meeting rooms for groups or agencies.
What were two goals local politicans and community leaders hoped to accomplish with its construction?
Bring about other improvements, and bring people from Gold Coast and Cabrini Green together.
How did planners engage with schools in the area, and why?
So that everyone felt included, and that children would want to go to learn more, and visit the librarians who had visited their schools.
Week 3:
ReplyDeleteI know this is getting a bit redundant so I'm only going to answer a few of the bullet points, and try to bring in some variety...
Race and Place: A personal account of unequal access
Q1&Q2: Describe the yellow palace and the white cathedral.
A: The yellow palace was the library that was located in Hall's disadvantaged California neighborhood. The library was an old, small building with separate children and adult sections located next to the police station and jail. Many residents of the neighborhood probably were similar to Hall's grandparents: very undereducated. The white cathedral was the library in a nearby wealthier neighborhood. The white cathedral was much larger, had much nicer furnishings and a helpful staff. (31-32)
Q4: What were some barriers to Hall's access of the white cathedral? How did these shape her feelings of the yellow palace.
A: Hall felt that she was inferior to the people who used the white cathedral and that it was too good for her. What started as feeling of amazement ended in a feeling of being humbled. She didn't check out any book when her mother drove her across town to the white cathedral. She felt so bad about the difference between the white cathedral and yellow palace that she stopped going to the yellow palace altogether, even though she had once enjoyed it so much. (32)
Chapter 2 - Branch Libraries: The heartbeat of the community
Q2: What were 2 goals local politicians and leaders hoped to accomplish with the Near North library's construction?
A: Two of the goals that were accomplished with the construction were the creation of a 3rd place for people to gather away from home and enjoy planned activities and services and the bridging on the Gold Coast and Cabrini Green neighborhoods of Chicago. The third place was definitely achieved, a quote from page 39, "There is a feeling of safety here." The two neighborhoods are very different, one wealthy and white, the other poor and black, so the bridging was a difficult task, but still accomplished, also from page 39 "...such a diverse group interacts positively."
Q3: How did location play a role?
A: The library was placed between the two neighborhoods, slightly more in the area of Cabrini Green. The leaders were wary of this decision but they thought it would be accessible enough for all residents and the space was available. Since both neighborhoods had been requesting a library, it was decided that they would share one, and it resulted in a success. (38)
week 5
ReplyDelete-Premise: “information networks” as glue (saw this notion elsewhere, in Putnam), with a long history in democratic America
-(1 of 3) “information networks contribute the glue that binds communities together economically, politically, and socially.” Information networks allow for people to acquire basic information along with other people. This is important because then people develop similar interests and needs and become more co-operative. The article states that “if persistent(lack of information networks), enforces isolation and its derivative alienation” and thus cutting off communities.
-The authors suggest that the digital divide may be anti-democratic. Why do you think this is so?
-I think that the digital divide may be anti democratic because it goes against the ideals of America which is equality. If one does not process the same resources as someone else then that person is given an unfair disadvantage. The author talks of “social inclusion” and that is important because then people have the opportunity for there voices to be heard which is the staple of democracy.
A NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS OF NEW YORK LIBRARIES (2000)
ReplyDelete1. Researchers chose the 200 NY libraries to study in order to see how demographic, economic, and cultural factors influenced library usage. They then used their findings to understand what correlations exist between social factors and usage of public libraries in order to increase libraries' effectiveness.
2. GIS stands for Geographical Information System Software, and it is a way of mapping out people for specific traits/behaviors (ie the article used it to form a Thiessen polygon around libraries to see how location effects library users).
3. Central-Place theory suggests that people use recources closest to where they live, or utilize services based on proximity and convenience.
4. "Neighborhoods" were defined as "a spacial or geographical entity with boundaries and attributes that work together to give a neighborhood an identity."
5. The study concluded that social and spacial interactions greatly affected library use, and more specifically that RACE had the biggest affect on library use (i.e. Whites and Asians use it more than African-Americans or Hispanics).
6. Circulation statistics and Recommendations: the primary, repeating suggestion was to target high school graduates as they were the most able to use the library and primary candidates for its content and programs. The researchers also suggested that funding be disproportional (HIGHER) than circulation numbers because libraries are now more service-based than purely book-and-check-out-materials based.