Blog Article #2<\/p>\n
In our class discussions, I often wonder about the under-represented groups of people who are not able to access the technologies on which we focus.\u00a0 This could be because of physical restraints, mental restraints (not having the knowledge or skills necessary to access information), geographical restraints (not living near a library or having access to internet at home), or a variety of other hindrances that I sometimes feel are swept aside in order to narrow the discussion into a workable framework.\u00a0\u00a0 For the sake of narrowing it down and to talk about a group with which I have personal experience working with, I\u2019m going to try to focus on those with special needs, that is, those with developmental disabilities and physical impairments.<\/p>\n
In class we have looked heavily at the user experience within the library system.\u00a0 While we have touched on those lesser represented in the studies and research we\u2019ve looked at, I would like to flip the lens and see how little those studies would apply to those with special needs.\u00a0 I was reminded of Wilson\u2019s article \u201cHuman Information Behavior\u201d and wondered how well his definitions would apply to certain minorities.\u00a0 Wilson defines information seeking behavior as the \u201cpurposive seeking for information as a consequence of a need to satisfy some goal. In the course of seeking, the individual may interact with manual information systems (such as a newspaper or a library), or with computer-based systems (such as the World Wide Web).\u201d\u00a0 I like this definition when I apply it to myself.\u00a0 However, I have huge issues with this definition when I try to apply it to individuals with whom I have worked with developmental disabilities.\u00a0 One is a young woman who is my age and would be a fully functional individual had she not been, at four years old, plagued with a sickness that resulted in the non-verbal, non-ambulatory life she now lives.<\/p>\n
Even though this young woman is unable to speak or get around on her own, she is still able to make herself known and heard.\u00a0 She is able to communicate her wants and needs to those she works with.\u00a0 Now, according to Wilson\u2019s definition, she would only portray information seeking behavior if she were to actively seek that information and interact with information systems.\u00a0 So say she wanted to have the opportunity to listen to a book on tape.\u00a0 She wouldn\u2019t be able to go to the computer room and look up the books on tape available at her local library.\u00a0 She wouldn\u2019t be able to drive to that library and ask questions of the librarian.\u00a0 She wouldn\u2019t be able to check the item out on her own, nor would she be able to return it on her own.\u00a0 So what are her options according to Wilson to demonstrate information seeking behavior?\u00a0 As far as I can tell, she has none.<\/p>\n
Would it be beneficial to alter Wilson\u2019s definition of information seeking behavior in order to make it more widely applicable?\u00a0 Should there be a completely separate definition based on various groups of people?\u00a0 I would argue that there should be a broader definition to determine intent of the user as opposed to simply actions of the user in order to include those that may not be able to act on their intent.\u00a0 I\u2019m concerned that if there is a separate definition created for those groups of people that are already marginalized, it will further the perception of their being placed on the outskirts of the community.\u00a0 Although this doesn\u2019t happen in all cases, and in many cases there are communities within communities made up of these particular underrepresented groups which make a lot of headway in making sure there is equality across the board.\u00a0 I am speaking of general societal perception and stereotypes that go along with these groups.\u00a0 I have found that there is a distinct discomfort in talking about such things in the company of those who have not have personal experience working with people with developmental disabilities.\u00a0 I think an open dialogue is a necessity for considering the creation of new, broader, more-inclusive terms of the \u201cuser\u201d and \u201cbehavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
The assumed notion of health, accessibility, and skill is what bothers me primarily when I am looking at research and studies about user friendliness and something as narrowing as \u201cexperience.\u201d\u00a0 It trims the fat and focuses on the meaty majority that has the resources and skills available to them.\u00a0 I am not saying that there are not resources available for people with special needs, I am simply arguing that there is not much, if any, recognition of this group in studies or research.\u00a0 I feel that this pushes us to look further into underrepresented or misrepresented groups like prisons, halfway houses, psychiatric hospitals, the VA, rural schools, immigrant populations, visually and auditory impaired persons, this list could go on forever.\u00a0 In a world that is increasingly focused on the individual can\u2019t afford not<\/em> to include such groups of people when looking at the future of information and librarianship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Blog Article #2 In our class discussions, I often wonder about the under-represented groups of people who are not able to access the technologies on which we focus.\u00a0 This could be because of physical restraints, mental restraints (not having the knowledge or skills necessary to access information), geographical restraints (not living near a library or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":321,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1696"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1696\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentwork.prattsi.org\/foundations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}