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Article
Publication date: 4 October 2011

Mary M. Somerville and Margaret Brown‐Sica

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…

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Abstract

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 Library's 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.

Details

The Electronic Library, vol. 29 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0264-0473

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Article
Publication date: 20 July 2010

Margaret Brown‐Sica, Karen Sobel and Erika Rogers

The purpose of this paper is to document the process the Auraria Library went through to plan research methods to produce information for their learning commons project.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to document the process the Auraria Library went through to plan research methods to produce information for their learning commons project.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper provides an overview and the results of one library's planning methods using user‐centered and participatory action research (PAR) principles. It includes a literature review and data gathered from several information gathering sessions. It also discusses useful resources and ideologies found outside the field of library science, such as “placemaking” and the concept of “third place.”

Findings

Adopting values that honor user‐centered, evidence‐based decision making is a change that must include the whole library, as well as its users. When enough time is spent to include a broad spectrum of feedback you can get a lot of valuable evidence, even during a planning period.

Originality/value

The paper could be useful to libraries who are examining their services, environment, and technology. It is of interest to libraries that want to use user‐centered design and PAR in their work.

Details

New Library World, vol. 111 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Keywords

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 23 January 2009

477

Abstract

Details

Library Hi Tech News, vol. 26 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0741-9058

Available. Content available
Article
Publication date: 20 July 2010

Linda Ashcroft

514

Abstract

Details

New Library World, vol. 111 no. 7/8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

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