Mary M. Somerville

Library space planning: a participatory action research approach

Purpose Libraries required to accommodate new services within existing facilities can benefit from an inclusive planning approach which produces a design concept and project phases for repurposing space. In the process, organizational decision making can move from print‐centered to program‐driven through intention use of information to learn. This paper seeks to explore this issue. Design/methodology/approach Participatory action research (PAR) offers an action‐oriented and learning‐centered approach to (re)design of library facilities through an iterative plan‐act‐observe‐reflect cycle. Auraria Librarys culminating charette illustrates the efficacy of PAR principles and practices for repurposing library facilities in response to changing user demands. Findings Over an 18‐month period, participatory action research activities fostered data collection and interpretation activities, preparatory to a two‐day design charette conducted with and for members of campus constituencies. In addition to clarifying design elements for project phases with estimated budgets, the inclusive inquiry processes initiated campus relationships essential to successful project implementation. Research limitations/implications This research study reports the latest findings in a series of North American implementation projects begun in 2003. The most ambitious to date, it involves library staff and campus stakeholders in inclusive library redesign processes. Practical implications Amidst dynamically changing internal and external circumstances, libraries can employ participatory action research principles and practices to use information to learn. The Auraria Library example illustrates the transferability of using inclusive information‐centered and learning‐focused approaches for organizational direction setting. Social implications The purpose of the action‐oriented and learning‐focused approach is to engage participants in using information to learn. Participatory action research is therefore intrinsically emancipatory. Originality/value A paucity of professional literature on participatory action research exists in the library and information science field. Therefore, this contribution both offers a promising approach for collaborative decision making and fills a gap in the professional knowledge base.

Rethinking what we do and how we do it: Systems thinking strategies for library leadership

ABSTRACTLibrary leaders promote reconsideration of organisational purposes, processes, and relationships at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, California, USA. Systems thinking, fortified by information literacy, informs workplace changes that provide learning experiences transferable to better alignment of library outcomes with changing campus priorities. Grounded in Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) enriched by the Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy (ANZIIL) framework, this ‘thought leadership’ approach depends on data-driven, boundary-crossing dialogue and reflection. Ongoing practice ‘rethinking what we do and how we do it’ produces improved ways of working, communicating, cooperating and interacting within the library organisation and across the university community, as expressed in an emerging ‘learning commons’ initiative.

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 investi- AU :2 gated 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.

Systems Thinking and Information Literacy: Elements of a Knowledge Enabling Workplace Environment

Dynamic technology-driven circumstances fortify academic librarians’ reconsideration of their professional purposes, processes and relationships. In response, California Polytechnic State University librarians in San Luis Obispo, California use Soft Systems Methodology tools and information literacy principles and practices. These processes advance data - driven dialogue on design and development of enhanced information and knowledge management tools. This action research approach produces new conversations that heighten information exchange and knowledge flow among librarians and with faculty and student constituencies. Reflective physical and virtual knowledge flow now supports work-in-progress that focuses on co-creation of a technology-enabled ‘learning commons’ involving an expanded set of campus stakeholders. Library practitioners’ increased confidence and capability predict productivity enhancement and continuous learning as they assume new roles as architects of digital information and knowledge learning spaces.

Systems thinking: an approach for advancing workplace information literacy

As the importance of information literacy has gained increased recognition, so too have academic library professionals intensified their efforts to champion, activate, and advance these capabilities in others. To date, however, little attention has focused on advancing these essential competencies amongst practitioner advocates. This paper helps redress the paucity of professional literature on the topic of workplace information literacy among library professionals.

Collaborative Design : An SSM-Enabled Organizational Learning Approach

Within the context of a three year applied research project conducted from 2003-2006 in a North American university library, staff were encouraged to reconsider organizational assumptions and design processes. The project involved an organizational leader and an external consultant who introduced and collaboratively applied Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) practice. Project results suggest the efficacy of using ‘soft’ systems thinking to guide interaction (re)design of technology-enabled environments, systems, and tools. In addition, participants attained insights into their new roles and responsibilities within a dynamically changing higher education environment. Project participants also applied SSM to redesign ‘in house’ information systems. The process of employing systems thinking practices to activate and advance organizational (re)learning, and initiating and elaborating user-centered interaction (re)design practices, culminated in a collaborative design (co-design) approach that readied participants for nimble responsiveness to continuous changes in the dynamic external environment.

From information to learning commons: campus planning highlights

Purpose This paper seeks to highlight elements of and assumptions for an inclusive planning process which guided the transformation of an information commons into a learning commons over a six‐year period. It aims to present case study within the context of the North American higher education environment, in which this example illustrates the shift from a teaching to a learning orientation. Design/methodology/approach The report illustrates the efficacy of a highly participatory and inclusive planning process which integrates ideas generated by campus stakeholders and beneficiaries – students, professors, and administrators – to redirect campus library activities from service to learning outcomes. The culminating Science Cafe example suggests the potential of repurposing space, revitalizing relationships, and re‐energizing programming within an academic library. Findings The case study illustrates the impact of participatory (re)design of library priorities. It demonstrates the new insights produced through expanded campus decision‐making processes. Conference paper and journal article references provide detailed descriptions of consultation and research elements of this six‐year initiative. Originality/value The paper provides a campus planning framework for an inclusive learning commons initiative. References to detailed reports in conference presentations, book chapters, and journal papers published in Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America offer transferable guidance for convening campus conversations to repurpose library facilities. This topic is timely, as information and learning commons – originating over 15 years ago in North America – are of growing interest internationally.

1 – From Information Commons to Learning Commons and learning spaces: an evolutionary context

Since 1994, when the University of Southern California opened an Information Commons (Holmes-Wong et al., 1997), college and university libraries across the globe have adapted the generic ‘Commons’ concept to their particular circumstances. Often, this has involved ‘replacing books with bytes’ (Swarz, 2006) in a computer lab that provides access to electronic resources and productivity software. The enhanced Information Commons model offers integrated services (Crockett et al., 2002). Some Information Commons even provide a ‘continuum of service from resource identification and retrieval on through data processing and format conversion to the desired end state of preservation, packaging, or publication’ (Beagle, 2004). The University of Michigan’s Media Union, for instance, brings together information resources, information technology, and media production (Miller, 1988)...

A comparative study of two design charrettes: implications for codesign and participatory action research

The purpose of this paper is to explore how participatory prototyping, through the use of design charrettes, can advance participatory action research (PAR) approaches and contribute to codesign practices in organisational settings. This will be achieved through the comparison of two varying design charrette experiences from a PAR initiative to redesign spaces in the Auraria Library in Denver, Colorado. Each design charrette followed a three-stage sequence of information sharing, idea generation and prototyping, and prioritisation with each stage building upon the former, both in terms of design concepts and in building up elements of ‘making’. While both charrette structures were similar, leadership and execution varied considerably. Lessons learned from the two design charrette experiences are presented, including the value of participatory prototyping within PAR to support ‘research through design’ activities. In addition, it highlights the value of authentic design participation of ‘designing with’ rather than ‘designing for’ to encourage optimal design outcomes.

Information experiences in the workplace : Foundations for an Informed Systems Approach

Informed learning can be enlivened through explicit and persistent attention to using information to learn during collaborative design activities. The resulting information experiences and accompan ...