Ethnography in Action: Active Learning in Academic Library Outreach to Middle School Students

Authors

Samantha Godbey, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Nancy Fawley, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Xan Goodman, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Susan Wainscott, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Publication Title

Journal of Library Administration

Volume

55

Issue

5

First page number:

362

Last page number:

375

Abstract

This article describes an outreach activity developed and coordinated by academic librarians as part of a state program for low-income middle school students. Rather than offering a traditional library tour, the library organizers wanted to provide the middle school students with a meaningful experience that would encourage active participation, critical thinking, and alleviate library anxiety. As a spin on the traditional tour, students applied an ethnographic approach to learning about the library. The authors describe the development and implementation of the activity and provide recommendations for other librarians involved in outreach to K-12 students.

Keywords

Academic libraries; Active learning; Early recruitment; Ethnography; Ethnology; Library anxiety; Library outreach programs; Low-income students; Middle school students; Outreach; STEM

Disciplines

Information Literacy | Library and Information Science

Language

English

Permissions

Copyright Taylor & Francis. Preprint used with permission.

Repository Citation

Godbey, S., Fawley, N., Goodman, X., Wainscott, S. (2015). Ethnography in Action: Active Learning in Academic Library Outreach to Middle School Students. Journal of Library Administration, 55(5), 362-375.
https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/lib_articles/480