Information Needs and Search Plan for LibGuide: Cultural Literacy & Library Marketing (LIS 620)
Information Needs
This LibGuide’s focus will be on the role of cultural literacy in library marketing, specifically, using it as a standard when planning out displays and exhibits for the library. Displays offer libraries unique opportunities to educate and encourage conversations within their communities. Because libraries are open, free, and common shared spaces, their displays and exhibits are the chance to broaden cultural literacy by offering patrons a glimpse at other cultures, ideas, and experiences than they would normally seek out on their own.
My audience is librarians in academic and public libraries. In many libraries, particularly public, there is no one designated staff member assigned to do displays. Some take turns, others have committees, and still others use volunteers. They may be experts in their fields, but not necessarily in the art of curating displays that reach a diverse audience. This may be helpful to school libraries and museums as well.
Therefore, the LibGuide’s readers would be educators who areseeking to educate others. They need accurate, reliable, relevant information. They will be looking for trusted and credible sources and some will be familiar with how to find and usethem. They would recognize the need for guidance in making their message reachable to a wider audience within the community without having to start from the bottom.
They will need to be aware of cultural literacy and exactly what it pertains to in the scope of reaching the public. It should be clear how cultural literacy is important to all community members, not just those in the student category. There is also a need in knowing how to put together displays and exhibits that are modern, visually pleasing, easily accessible, and age appropriate.
There is a lack of information dealing with both cultural literacy and displays/exhibits together, especially in a library setting. If someone is interested in applying cultural literacy to their displays, they would have to do all the research and connect all the dots themselves. This would require they have access to databases, journals, periodicals, and other information sources. They would also have to have the time to research, means to acquire the information, and ideas to implement them.
Ideally, this LibGuide would offer them a place to find information and a look at what others in the field are doing. It would be a one-stop for information on expanding cultural literacy within the library, in an area that is often overlooked in terms of this topic.
The Search Plan
This LibGuide’s focus will be on the role of cultural literacy in library marketing, specifically, using it as a standard when planning out displays and exhibits for the library.
The first search tried was “cultural literacy in library displays.” This was explored within the Kimbel Library and Jackson Library databases and a Google search. The parameters were much too narrow and it became obvious that little to nothing has been written on the specific subject. As the goal is to encourage a mix of cultures, the search was adjusted to “multicultural literacy” within the scope of libraries. In both libraries’databases, an advanced search was done of “multicultural literacy” and “libraries or library or librarian or librarianship.” This search turned up more relevant information, however, it still did not deliver exactly what was needed. The search was changed again to “multiculturalism” and “libraries or library or librarian or librarianship.” Adding “displays or exhibits” was also tried in conjunction with the previous searches. Here, more material was found, though still not in direct relation to library displays and exhibits.
The initial plan was to use LIS academic journal and periodical articles on how this has been handled in other libraries, whether academic, public, or school. Research and case studies in the area would help immensely in setting up new guidelines for displays and exhibits. It would also offer a look at problems faced and ideas for solutions.
Most published LIS information on the topic, however, deals with cultural literacy in the terms of creating a diverse book collection, offering service to diverse populations, and diverse information literacy. There is other information outside of LIS that deals more directly with cultural literacy itself. The aim of this LibGuide, though, is to offer ideas on using cultural literacy goals in planning out displays in a manner that all patrons utilizing the facilities feel represented more often and that groups do not become marginalized by only appearing during certain “special” events, such as Black History Month or Women’s History Month or Pride Week.
YouTube also offers a variety of videos on the two topics. While most display videos are focused on museums, they are still informative. Information can be garnered and focused on library settings. Most videos under “library display” specifically are usually geared toward elementary schools. Videos are also available on cultural literacy in libraries in general. These are primarily lectures and talks on the subject, without information on how to implement ideas.
To ensure the topic and information are relevant, experts in the field will be contacted as well. The plan is to reach out to librarians, campus diversity and inclusion specialists, and/or the Center for Global Engagement and get feedback on what they view as important to include and any recommendations they have to offer.
Moving forward, the LibGuide will be adjusted to offer sources and information on cultural literacy, multiculturalism, and diversity within libraries and information on creating library displays and exhibits. The two will then be connected by showing how to apply the former in creating the latter.
The full LibGuide can be viewed here.
Current Sources List:
Academic Journals:
1. D'Aniello, C. (1989). Cultural Literacy and Reference Service. RQ,28(3), 370-380. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25828312
2. McNair, J. C. (2016). pass:[#]WeNeedMirrorsAndWindows: Diverse Classroom Libraries for K-6 Students. Reading Teacher, 70(3), 375–381. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1516
3. Spina, Carli. (2018). Developing an Accessible and Inclusive Social Media Presence. Marketing Libraries Journal, Vol 2, Iss 1, Pp 53-60 (2018), (1), 53. Retrieved from http://login.library.coastal.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsdoj&AN=edsdoj.660785d2bfbf400994339adc78960405&site=eds-live
4. Payne, D. (2008). Exhibiting information literacy: site-specific art and design interventions at the Ontario College of Art & Design. Art Libraries Journal, 33(1), 35–41. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0307472200015200
Periodical:
5. Duffus, Orlando. (2016). The library as an incubator for multicultural awareness and engagement Cultivating shared experiences. College & Research Libraries News, 77(9), 435–438. https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.77.9.9551
Blogs:
6. Machado, Emily. (2017). Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in the Literacy Classroom. Literacy World Wide. Retrieved from https://www.literacyworldwide.org/blog/literacy-daily/2017/05/31/culturally-sustaining-pedagogy-in-the-literacy-classroom
Videos:
7. Meeting the Modern Marketing Challenge in Libraries by The Charleston Library Conference, 2018, http://www.charlestonlibraryconference.com/video/webinars/library-marketing/
8. Creating Engaging Book Displays by Susan Brown, Nancy Dowd, and Novelist, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkstm3G7XZQ
9. Marginalizing Multicultural Books by Nikki Grimes and Reading Rockets, 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM3awAsAp0o
10. MAS Presents the Art Forum: Libraries as Cultural
Hubs by The Municipal Art Society of NY, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgzzYm7eITw
11. Cultural Literacy Programs in Your Library by Jamie Naidoo and Infopeople, 2016,https://vimeo.com/178264964
Abstracts for the Journals and Periodicals:
1. Individuals communicate through a shared body of cultural knowledge or a common vocabulary. The cultural literacy of American students has recently come under intense scrutiny. The extent and depth of cultural literacy possessed by reference librarians are a major determinant in the quality of patron-librarian interaction. Further, reference sources can play an important role in the acquisition and enhancement of the cultural literacy of both librarians and patrons.
2. Children's literature plays an essential role in the literacy development of children. This department column focuses on the teaching and use of children's literature and provides educators with information about a wide range of books across multiple genres that are representative of the diverse world in which we live. A strong emphasis is placed on the importance of having diverse library collections that take into accountnumerous factors, such as race, class, disability, and religion. This column also offers innovative approaches for bringing children and books together, as well as content analyses and rich descriptions of titles that share common features (e.g., endpapers, the blending of poetry and nonfiction).
3. For many libraries, social media is a key part of an effective marketing strategy. However, the outreach materials shared on social media sites can be inaccessible to patrons with disabilities if accessibility is not a part of the content creation workflow. This excludes an important segment of the library’s community from a major avenue of communication. This article considers best practices and tools for designing content that will be accessible across social media sites. It also explains key accessibility features and considerations for specific popular social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and more.
4. The Ontario College of Art & Design is a university that provides undergraduate education to a markedly diverse student body. Although the Dorothy H. Hoover Library offers proactive information literacy programming targeting academic research needs, only peripheral support was traditionally given to studio practice. To rectify this gap the reference librarians, in dialogue with selected design and art faculty, endorsed a Library exhibition program using the Library as both case study and exhibition site. An analysis of several works featured in a recent exhibition demonstrates how art can establish an eloquent dialogue with a visually-oriented learning community and lead to the examination of key philosophical and ethical issues in librarianship.
5. As libraries across the globe are making a firm commitment to support diversity, librarians are adopting and supporting new services and programs that attract diverse users. Since the appointment of a permanent library diversity committee in 2007, the University Libraries at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro (UNCG) have been reemphasizing a commitment to diversity. This led to several new programs and initiatives, such as the Post MLIS Diversity Resident Librarian.
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