Social Innovations in Public Libraries: Types and Challenges

Winberry, Joseph; Potnis, Devendra

doi:10.1086/714315

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…This suggests that the future of social justice in LIS research and practice is at a crossroads. Will researchers and practitioners innovate in order to ensure that social justice continues to pervade the field and continue to mature or will social justice prove to be the buzz term or fad when no longer in vogue as some feared it was rather than a vehicle of real and sustainable change (Gibson et al , 2020; Winberry and Potnis, 2021)?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documenting social justice in library and information science research: a literature review

Winberry

Bishop

2021

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PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide an overview of social justice research in library and information science (LIS) literature in order to identify the research quantity, what populations or settings were included and future directions for this area of the discipline through examination of when related research was published, what contexts it covered and what contributions LIS researchers have made in this research area.Design/methodology/approachThis study reviews results from two LIS literature databases—Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA) and Library and Information Science Source (LISS)—that use the term “social justice” in title, abstract or full text to explicitly or implicitly describe their research.FindingsThis review of the literature using the term social justice to describe LIS research recognizes the significant increase in quantities of related research over the first two decades of the 21st century as well as the emergence of numerous contexts in which that research is situated. The social justice research identified in the literature review is further classified into two primary contribution categories: indirect action (i.e. steps necessary for making change possible) or direct action (i.e. specific steps, procedures and policies to implement change).Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study provide a stronger conceptualization of the contributions of existing social justice research through examination of past work and guides next steps for the discipline.Practical implicationsThe conceptualizations and related details provided in this study help identify gaps that could be filled by future scholarship.Originality/valueWhile social justice research in LIS has increased in recent years, few studies have explored the landscape of existing research in this area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documenting social justice in library and information science research: a literature review

Winberry

Bishop

2021

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“…As other research has shown, most of the librarian respondents (n = 9) identified gaps in their academic and professional training to work with multicultural communities, including foreign language proficiency and knowledge of other cultures (Caidi and Allard, 2005;Dowling, 2017;Dutch and Muddiman, 2001;Flinner et al, 2019;Goulding, 2016;Leeper, 2017;Le Louvier, 2019;Lison, 2016;Togores, 2014;Vincent, 2018;Winberry and Potnis, 2021;Wojciechowska and Topolska, 2021). Likewise, the respondents mentioned the need for a more focused approach to social librarianship and to increase the educational offer (in academia, municipalities, and professional associations) about the reality of forced migrations and cultural diversity (American Library Association Council, 2019; Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (ALA), 2020;IFLA, 2018IFLA, , 2020IFLA/ UNESCO, 2001.…”

Section: Training and Inclusive Personal Strategies Of Public Librariansmentioning

confidence: 91%

Social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers: The role of public libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

Serra

Revez

2023

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science

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Social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers includes addressing their information needs. This research seeks to examine the role of public libraries in this process through the analysis of public librarians’ perceptions. Based on the constructivist paradigm, the case study method, and the semi-directive interview survey technique, 16 public municipal libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (Portugal) are studied. The results highlight that these libraries do not identify forced migrants as their users. Still, they consider that the information needs and behaviors and the use of libraries by these communities are similar to those of economic migrants, with emphasis on the relevance of free access to the internet, foreign language resources, Portuguese language and digital literacy courses, and help to interact with online platforms. The gaps include the existence of few Portuguese courses for foreigners, a limited practice in assisting with job and housing searches, promoting health literacy, and inclusive collaboration with schools, as well as space, financial, and human resources constraints. To overcome these difficulties, librarians emphasize the motivation to fulfill the inclusive social mission of the public library, the universal accessibility and informal environment of the library, and its action to promote social cohesion and social capital. The respondents consider that the mission of public libraries is adjusted to the goal of social inclusion of forced migrants, but that there is room for improvement in the training of librarians. This research points to the need for more initiative-taking public library collaboration with existing inclusion networks. In conclusion, we seek to alert to the urgency of the involvement of Portuguese public libraries in the social inclusion of forced migrants, which will also contribute to their institutional legitimization.

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“…Research on library services (Gross et al. , 2016; Kowalsky and Woodruff, 2017; Kulikauskienė and Liukinevičienė, 2020; Winberry and Potnis, 2021) informed questions that explored how library staff used knowledge about disabilities while doing their jobs. The validity of the questionnaire was established through expert review, where three experts in the fields of libraries and disability services reviewed the questionnaires to provide feedback and identify potential issues (Blake, 2015).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Library staff's understanding of attitudinal barriers experienced by individuals with disabilities in libraries

Ferrara

2023

RSR

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PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate how library staff understand disability and attitudinal barriers and how they use their knowledge of attitudinal barriers when planning programs and services for individuals with disabilities.Design/methodology/approachThis study took a generic qualitative approach to examining how library staff understand disability and attitudinal barriers. Participants were recruited through emails to professional library associations throughout the United States of America. Emails directed participants to a screening questionnaire, and 15 respondents were selected to participate in semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe results of the study showed that participants were aware of attitudinal barriers, but attitudinal barriers were not often considered during the planning and implementation of library programs and services.Originality/valueThis study is one of a limited body of work examining library staff's understanding of attitudinal barriers to library services for individuals with disabilities.

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Social Innovations in Public Libraries: Types and Challenges

Cited by 17 publications

References 54 publications

Documenting social justice in library and information science research: a literature review

Documenting social justice in library and information science research: a literature review

Social inclusion of refugees and asylum seekers: The role of public libraries in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

Library staff's understanding of attitudinal barriers experienced by individuals with disabilities in libraries

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