Hanna Carlsson

Working with Facebook in Public Libraries: A Backstage Glimpse into the Library 2.0 Rhetoric

Ideals and visions of a Library 2.0 have in recent years been widely discussed in public library research and practice. Influenced by the Web 2.0 discourse, the Library 2.0 rhetoric has to a large extent been coloured by utopian and revolutionary overtones, identifying social media as key to transforming the public library institution. While previous research has primarily addressed this development conceptually, this paper explores how the visions of Library 2.0 are put to work in everyday practices. Drawing on ethnographic data, this paper critically examines the micro-level interplay between the social networking site Facebook and librarianship in the setting of a Swedish public library. The study reveals that the labour required to realize the visions of Library 2.0 is characterized by a constant flux between self-determination and precarity (i.e. existence without predictability or security). While the librarians participating in the study creatively construct new routines and strategies for doing work, they are always at the beck and call of Facebook and have only marginal opportunities of influencing the technology they use. Still, this everyday and situated use gives them a possibility of interpreting the purpose of Facebook differently. The paper suggests that by articulating such alternative understandings of technology more clearly public libraries could reject a position of being merely victims of technological change and make a difference in ICT-development. (Less)

Outsourcing trust to the information infrastructure in schools : how search engines order knowledge in education practices

Purpose This paper investigates the experiences of school teachers of supporting pupils and their apprehensions of how pupils search and assess information when search engines have become a technology of literacy in schools. By situating technologies of literacy as sociomaterial the purpose of this paper is to analyse and discuss these experiences and understandings in order to challenge dominant views of search in information literacy research. Design/methodology/approach Six focus group interviews with in total 39 teachers working at four different elementary and secondary schools were conducted in the autumn of 2014. Analysis was done using a sociomaterial perspective, which provides tools for understanding how pupils and teachers interact with and are demanded to translate their interest to technologies of literacy, in this case search engines, such as Google. Findings The teachers expressed difficulties of conceptualizing search as something they could teach. When they did, search was most often identified as a practical skill. A critical perspective on search, recognizing the role of Google as a dominant part of the information infrastructure and a co-constructor of what there is to know was largely lacking. As a consequence of this neglected responsibility of teaching search, critical assessment of online information was conflated with Google’s relevance ranking. Originality/value The study develops a critical understanding of the role of searching and search engines as technologies of literacy in relation to critical assessment in schools. This is of value for information literacy training.

The search-ification of everyday life and the mundane-ification of search

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand how meaning is assigned to online searching by viewing it as a mundane, yet often invisible, activity of everyday life and an integrated part of ...

Public library Facebook use: established positions renegotiated?

In this research project public library Facebook use is explored and analyzed in relation to Henry Jenkinss work on participatory cultures and literacy.

Consumer Credit Behavior in the Digital Context: A Bibliometric Analysis and Literature Review

This literature review seeks to map the state of research on the effects of digitization on personal financial behavior and management through a bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review. The findings indicate that current knowledge is primarily based on perspectives of actors in commerce and systems development. More research is needed on how personal financial behavior change in relation to digital technology, the vulnerability of children and adolescents, and the links between changes in credit behavior and indebtedness. Financial counseling could benefit from an awareness of young adults vulnerability as digital consumers and an extended perception of financial literacy that encompasses requirements of digital society. Policymakers need to be aware of the consequences of digital measurability.

Researching Public Libraries and the Social Web, 2006-2012

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to sketch out the general tendencies, gaps and opportunities within the body of research studying the social web as a new facet of public librarianship in order to delineate the findings so far and suggest directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach – Literature searches were conducted through the Library, Information Science and Technology Abstract database, The ISI Web of Science database and the Directory of Open Access Journals. A selection process in two steps resulted in 44 articles that were subjected to a two-stage analysis and coding process: a coding analysis based on the stated aims or research questions of each article and analysis of the articles as clusters around a shared theme. Findings – The articles, exhibiting a richness and diversity in research directions, are dispersed in a wide range of journals and the topics addressed cover a variety of segments within Library and Information Science. Despite this diversity, research exploring...