School libraries, teacher-librarians and literacy at Gold Coast schools : research findings

This paper reports research about school libraries, teacher-librarians and their contribution to literacy development. It presents an evidenced based snapshot, from the principals’ perspective, of 27 school libraries in the Gold Coast area of Australia. These new Australian findings show: • an evidenced based snapshot of school libraries and teacher-librarians, from the principals’ perspective • indications that school NAPLAN scores for reading and writing were generally higher when (a) student to library staff ratios were lower (i.e. better) and (b) the school had a teacher-librarian. The research responds to the Australian Government inquiry into school libraries and teacher-librarians (2010-11) which identified an urgent need for current data about provision and staffing of school libraries and their influence on student literacy and learning. In light of the National plan for school improvement (Australian Government, 2013), the findings are of potential interest to education authorities, school leadership teams, teacher-librarians, teachers and researchers. They offer evidence to inform policy development, strategic planning and advocacy about school libraries and teacher-librarians in supporting the reading, literacy and learning needs of 21st century learners.

School libraries and teacher-librarians : evidence of their contribution to student literacy and learning

International research provides compelling evidence that school libraries and teacher-librarians make a significant contribution to student literacy and learning outcomes. After summarising previous research, this article presents recent research focused on Gold Coast schools. These new Australian findings present an evidenced based snapshot of school libraries and teacher-librarians, from the principals’ perspective. They indicate that school NAPLAN scores for reading and writing were generally higher when student-to-library staff ratios were lower (i.e. better) and when the school employed a teacher-librarian. In light of the National Plan for School Improvement, the findings are of potential interest to education authorities, policy makers, school leadership teams, teacher-librarians, teachers, parents and researchers. They offer evidence to inform policy development and strategic planning for school libraries and professional staffing.

A vibrational spectroscopic study of the arsenate mineral bayldonite (Cu,Zn)3Pb(AsO3OH)2(OH)2 : a comparison with other basic arsenates

We have studied the vibrational spectra of the mineral bayldonite, a hydroxy arsenate of copper and lead of formula Cu3Pb(AsO3OH)2(OH)2 from the type locality, the Penberthy Croft Mine, St Hilary, Mount's Bay District, Cornwall, England.and relate the spectra to the mineral structure. Raman bands at 896 and 838 cm-1are assigned to the (AsO4)3- ν1 symmetric stretching mode and the second to the (AsO4)3- ν3 antisymmetric stretching mode. It is noted that the position of the symmetric stretching mode is at a higher position than the antisymmetric stretching mode. It is proposed that the Raman bands at 889 and 845 cm-1 are symmetric and antisymmetric stretching modes of the (HOAsO3)2- units. Raman bands of bayldonite at 490 and 500 cm-1 are assigned to the (AsO4)3- ν4 bending modes. Raman bands for bayldonite are noted at 396, 408 and 429 cm-1 and are assigned to the (AsO4)3- ν2 bending modes. A comparison is made with spectra of the other basic copper arsenate minerals, namely cornubite, olivenite, cornwallite.

Researching information experience : object and domain

Information experience has emerged as a new and dynamic field of information research in recent years. This chapter will discuss and explore information experience in two distinct ways: (a) as a research object, and; (b) as a research domain. Two recent studies will provide the context for this exploration. The first study investigated the information experiences of people using social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) during natural disasters. Data was gathered by in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 participants, from two areas affected by natural disasters (i.e., Brisbane and Townsville). The second study investigated the qualitatively different ways in which people experienced information literacy during a natural disaster. Using phenomenography, data was collected via semi-structured interviews with 7 participants. These studies represent two related yet different investigations. Taken together the studies provide a means to critically debate and reflect upon our evolving understandings of information experience, both as a research object and as a research domain. This chapter presents our preliminary reflections and concludes that further research is needed to develop and strengthen our conceptualisation of this emerging area.

Exploring information literacy during a natural disaster: The 2011 Brisbane Flood

This chapter presents the preliminary results of a phenomenographic study aimed at exploring people’s experience of information literacy during the 2011 flood in Brisbane, Queensland. Phenomenography is a qualitative, interpretive and descriptive approach to research that explores the different ways in which people experience various phenomena and situations in the world around them. In this study, semi-structured interviews with seven adult residents of Brisbane suggested six categories that depicted different ways people experienced information literacy during this natural disaster. Access to timely, accurate and credible information during a natural disaster can save lives, safeguard property, and reduce fear and anxiety, however very little is currently known about citizens’ information literacy during times of natural disaster. Understanding how people use information to learn during times of crisis is a new terrain for community information literacy research, and one that warrants further attention by the information research community and the emergency management sector.

Reimagining school libraries : children's perspectives and new opportunities

The Federal Government’s recent Building the Education Revolution program resulted in, among other features, the creation of over 600 new school libraries in Queensland alone. This paper reports on a component of a research project carried out with students in six primary schools and one secondary school that benefitted from the program, investigating the influences of these new physical environments on learning and teaching. In particular, this paper discusses one missing voice from the design process - that of the students who would be key users of the newly-created spaces in those schools. While opportunities for real involvement in design were minimal for most potential users of the new spaces, students’ imagined possibilities for school libraries, as submitted to the research project, suggest that students could have contributed different perspectives to enhance learning engagement through imaginative design elements. The findings of the project have relevance for teachers and teacher librarians in reconsidering the ways in which the new learning spaces are used as well as informing school designers in planning engaging school facilities. The findings may be extrapolated to the design and planning of general classrooms and other learning environments.

Reimagining school libraries : emerging teacher pedagogic practices

Agile learning spaces have the potential to afford flexible and innovative pedagogic practice. However there is little known about the experiences of teachers and learners in newly designed learning spaces, and whether the potential for reimagined pedagogies is being realised. This paper uses data from a recent study into the experiences of teacher-librarians, teachers, students and leaders of seven Queensland school libraries built with Building the Education Revolution (BER) funding, to explore the question, “how does the physical environment of school libraries influence pedagogic practices?” This paper proposes that teachers explored new pedagogies within the spaces when there was opportunity for flexibility and experimentation and the spaces sufficiently supported their beliefs about student learning. The perspectives of a range of library users were gathered through an innovative research design incorporating student drawings, videoed library tours and reflections, and interviews. The research team collected qualitative data from school libraries throughout 2012. The libraries represented a variety of geographic locations, socioeconomic conditions and both primary and secondary campuses. The use of multiple data sources, and also the perspectives of the multiple researchers who visited the sites and then coded the data, enabled complementary insights and synergies to emerge. Principles of effective teacher learning that can underpin school wide learning about the potential for agile learning spaces to enhance student learning, are identified. The paper concludes that widespread innovative use of the new library spaces was significantly enhanced when the school leadership fostered whole school discussions about the type of learning the spaces might provoke. This research has the potential to inform school designers, teachers and teacher-librarians to make the most of the transformative potential of next generation learning spaces.

Information Experience : Approaches to Theory and Practice

"The German word for experience - Erlebnis - the experience of the life, to live through something - underpins this book: making visible scholarly opportunities for richer and deeper contextualizations and examinations of the lived-world experiences of people in everyday contexts as they be, do and become." (Ross Todd, Preface). Information experience is a burgeoning area of research and still unfolding as an explicit research and practice theme. This book is therefore very timely as it distils the reflections of researchers and practitioners from various disciplines, with interests ranging across information, knowledge, user experience, design and education. They cast a fresh analytical eye on information experience, whilst approaching the idea from diverse perspectives. Information Experience brings together current thinking about the idea of information experience to help form discourse around it and establish a conceptual foundation for taking the idea forward. It therefore "provides a number of theoretical lenses for examining people's information worlds in more holistic and dynamic ways." (Todd, Preface)

Homemade cookbooks : a recipe for sharing

In this paper we contribute to the growing body of research into the use and design of technology in the kitchen. This research aims to identify opportunities for designing technologies that may augment existing cooking traditions and in particular familial recipe sharing practices. Using ethnographic techniques, we identify the homemade cookbook as a significant material and cultural artifact in the family kitchen. We report on findings from our study by providing descriptive accounts of various homemade cookbooks, and offer design considerations for digitally augmenting homemade cookbooks.

Understanding the information literacy experiences of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students

Purpose – This paper outlines research that explores the information literacy experiences of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students. The question explored in this research was: how do EFL students experience information literacy. Design/Methodology/Approach – This study used phenomenography, a relational approach to explore the information literacy experiences of EFL students. Phenomenography studies the qualitatively different ways a phenomenon is experienced in the world around us. Findings – This research revealed that EFL students experienced information literacy in four qualitatively different ways. The four categories revealed through the data were: process, quality, language and knowledge. This research found that language impacted on EFL students’ experiences of information literacy and revealed that EFL students applied various techniques and strategies when they read, understood, organised and translated information. Research limitations/implications – This research was conducted in a specific cultural and educational context, therefore the results might not reflect the experiences of EFL students in other cultural or educational contexts. Practical implications – The findings from this research offer an important contribution to information literacy practice by providing important insights about EFL students’ experiences and perceptions of information and learning that can be used to inform curriculum development in second language learning contexts. Originality/Value - There is currently a lack of research using a relational approach to investigate EFL students’ experiences of information literacy. There is also limited research that explores the impact language has on information literary and learning in English as a foreign or second language contexts.

Information Experience : New Perspectives and Research Directions

In this closing chapter the editors review key themes that have emerged through the book. We recognize the varied and dynamic nature of information experience across multiple contexts, and present our own conceptualization of information experience. Finally, we consider possible future directions for information experience research.

School libraries, teacher-librarians and student outcomes : presenting and using the evidence

Evidence is required to ensure the future viability of school libraries and teacher-librarians. Education policy makers and school principals need detailed, reliable evidence to support informed decision-making about school library resourcing and staffing. Teacher-librarians need evidence to guide their professional practice and demonstrate their contribution to student learning outcomes. This review, which arises from recent Australian research (Hughes, 2013), collates international and Australian research about the impacts of school libraries and teacher librarians. It strengthens the evidence base, and recommends how this evidence can be best used to advance school libraries and teacher-librarians and enhance student learning.

Information Experience : Contemporary Perspectives

The purpose of this book is to open a conversation on the idea of information experience, which we understand to be a complex, multidimensional engagement with information. In developing the book we invited colleagues to propose a chapter on any aspect of information experience, for example conceptual, methodological or empirical. We invited them to express their interpretation of information experience, to contribute to the development of this concept. The book has thus become a vehicle for interested researchers and practitioners to explore their thinking around information experience, including relationships between information experience, learning experience, user experience and similar constructs. It represents a collective awareness of information experience in contemporary research and practice. Through this sharing of multiple perspectives, our insights into possible ways of interpreting information experience, and its relationship to other concepts in information research and practice, is enhanced. In this chapter, we introduce the idea of information experience. We also outline the book and its chapters, and bring together some emerging alternative views and approaches to this important idea.

Diversifying Information Literacy Research : An Informed Learning Perspective

This article uses the idea of informed learning, an interpretation of information literacy that focuses on people’s information experiences rather than their skills or attributes, to analyse the character of using information to learn in diverse communities and settings, including digital, faith, indigenous and ethnic communities. While researchers of information behaviour or information seeking and use have investigated people’s information worlds in diverse contexts, this work is still at its earliest stages in the information literacy domain. To date, information literacy research has largely occurred in what might be considered mainstream educational and workplace contexts, with some emerging work in community settings. These have been mostly in academic libraries, schools and government workplaces. What does information literacy look like beyond these environments? How might we understand the experience of effective information use in a range of community settings, from the perspective of empirical research and other sources? The article concludes by commenting on the significance of diversifying the range of information experience contexts, for information literacy research and professional practice.

Experiences of informed learning in the undergraduate classroom

This chapter discusses using phenomenography to study information experience. Phenomenographers aim to investigate people’s experiences of the world around them, which is comprised of the interrelationship between an individual and a phenomenon they are focusing on. Phenomenography has been identified as a research approach suited to the study of information experience. Phenomenographic research investigating experiences of using information in different contexts has led to the development of informed learning, which is an approach to information literacy that emphasizes learning as an outcome of using information. Recent research focusing on information experience has been referred to as informed learning research. The preliminary findings from a current informed learning study illustrate the educative benefits of researching information experience. This study investigates a classroom lesson, in which a teacher outlines an assignment that requires the students to understand a language and gender topic by investigating the evolution of research on the topic. The lesson is experienced in multiple ways by the students and the analysis suggests a way of enhancing the lesson to enable more students to experience it in the way intended by the teacher.