Your Name and Title: Joy Rodriguez, Graduate MLIS student

Library, School, or Organization Name: San Jose State University School of Library & Information Science

Co-Presenter Name(s): Collin Rickman, Jonathan Pacheco Bell and Julie Whitehead.

Area of the World from Which You Will Present: West Coast of the United States (California and Washington State)

Language in Which You Will Present:  English

Target Audience(s):  People interested in direct public service in public libraries, e.g., Young Adult librarians, MLIS Graduate students, and Library Administrators.

Short Session Description (one line): What does current Young Adult (YA) space practice teach us about YA spaces in public libraries?

Full Session Description (as long as you would like):  What does current Young Adult (YA) space practice teach us about YA spaces in public libraries? Four current MLIS graduate student Research Assistants will present current findings of the IMLS grant “Making Space for Young Adults in Public Libraries: Establishing a Research Foundation." The three-year study includes three different and interconnected approaches to data collection and analysis of current YA space practices: surveys, ethnographic content analysis of library YA space video footage, and the replication and analysis of actual physical YA spaces in the immersive 3D world of Second Life. The ultimate goal of this study is to help public libraries and design professionals improve YA library utilization by creating equitable and engaging YA spatial resources. Joy Rodriguez will serve as moderator and discuss her experience working remotely as the grant’s project manager. Collin Rickman will discuss his experience working on the quantitative portion of the grant and present selected current findings from two fielded surveys, one to young adult library patrons and the other to adult library staff. Jonathan Pacheco Bell will discuss his experience working on the qualitative portion of the grant and present some of the findings from the ethnographic analysis including some common themes that are emerging from the video clips. Julie Whitehead will discuss the challenges in reproducing young adult spaces in the virtual world of Second Life and exhibit some of the physical YA spaces she has recreated in Second Life.
Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session: