Children as information seekers: what researchers tell us

Large, Andrew; Nesset, Valerie; Beheshti, Jamshid

doi:10.1080/13614540902812631

Cited by 31 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The lack of catalogue search and the predominance of visual browsing as well as decision making based on cover images and illustrations, suggest that a digital library that caters for families needs to have very strong visual references to support decision making by young and old family members. We agree with the suggestion by Large et al [2] that searches in digital libraries for children should not rely on linguistic methods but rather use visual indicators such as cover images. We would suggest designers of digital libraries for inter-generational use to go further and include other visual cues.…”

Section: Conclusion: Implications For Digital Librariessupporting

confidence: 77%

“…Large et al [2] observe that the childhood years have a strong impact on both the reading levels of children and their ability to navigate a library. As children mature they form strategies for selecting books collaboratively and individually.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Large et al [2] suggested that in a family situation either the 'sequential access' of flipping through the pages to find information or the 'selective access' of using the content or the index of a book to look for information are most commonly used to determine if a book will be good to read. In our observations both of these methods were used, however, 'sequential access' was predominant.…”

Section: Interactions With Booksmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Books of interest are then usually identified based on the cover, genre, author, series, print size, number of pictures and pages, and colourful cover illustrations. Information seeking in printed resources typically follows the two stages of selecting an appropriate source and finding the information within it [2]. Children were observed to follow two methods to evaluate a non-fiction book: the 'sequential access' of flipping through the pages to find information and 'selective access' using the content page or the index [7].…”

Section: Book Search and Selection Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As children mature they form strategies for selecting books collaboratively and individually. Family information needs can broadly be divided into two categories: education books and leisure books [2,3]. Search for and selection of education books is usually initiated by a third party such as a teacher wanting students to respond to an assignment [4].…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Family Visits to Libraries and Bookshops: Observations and Implications for Digital Libraries

Vanderschantz

Timpany

Hinze

et al. 2014

The Emergence of Digital Libraries – Research and Practices

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. This paper explores how families select books for leisure reading. We recruited 17 families (adults and children) for this study, and spent time with each in both bookshops and public libraries. Our research aims to add to understanding of how families interact with books and bookshelves in these places, and how digital libraries might best support the shared needs of these inter-generational users. Much of our understanding of how an eBook should look and feel comes from generalizations about books and assumptions about the needs of those individuals who read them. We explore how children and adults search and browse for books together, with specific focus on the type of information seeking tasks that families undertake and on the families' shared search and browsing strategies. We further explore the implications of this study for the development of digital libraries for children and families.Keywords: participant observation, social space, collaborative information behaviour, families. IntroductionWe report here on an observational study exploring how family groups interacted with books in both library and bookshop environments. We aim for an added understanding of families' book selection strategies in these places, to provide insight into how digital libraries could be designed to support the collaborative family behaviour observed in physical environments. We conducted interviews and observations with 17 family groups who each visitied both a public library and a bookshop. Previous investigations of children's information behaviour have rarely focussed on recreational reading and family groups. Similarly, most digital libraries for children focus on supporting the needs of an individual child searching for a book on their own. We see in this present study and in an earlier study [1] that for children, the practice of searching for a book is often far more social than individual. The process of search, interaction and decision making is often completed in collaboration with, or, alongside a parent or sibling.The remainder of the paper is structured as follows: Section 2 discusses related work on children and book/ebook selection in physical and digital libraries. Section 3

show abstract

Section: Conclusion: Implications For Digital Librariessupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Interactions With Booksmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Book Search and Selection Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Family Visits to Libraries and Bookshops: Observations and Implications for Digital Libraries

Vanderschantz

Timpany

Hinze

et al. 2014

The Emergence of Digital Libraries – Research and Practices

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Growing up with Google: How children's understanding and use of internet‐based devices relates to cognitive development

Danovitch

2019

Human Behav and Emerg Tech

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Children are increasingly exposed to devices that can access the internet, such as computers, smartphones, and tablets, beginning early in life. This review summarizes current evidence regarding the understanding and use of internet‐based devices among children from birth through age 8, while highlighting gaps in the literature and opportunities for future research. The first section describes children's access to internet‐based devices, and discusses the role that parents play in mediating children's access to internet‐based devices. The second section describes children's developing understanding of how internet‐based devices work and what they can do, and how capable children are of accessing information from the internet using these devices. The third section discusses potential implications of children's use of internet‐based devices for children's cognitive development, with an emphasis on the development of memory, metacognition, and exploration.

show abstract

Testing children's information retrieval systems: Challenges in a new era

Beheshti

Bilal

Druin

et al. 2010

Proc. Am. Soc. Info. Sci. Tech.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PURPOSEThe purpose of this Panel is to discuss and elaborate on testing and evaluation challenges facing the designers of new and novel information systems for children. Since 2002, ASIST has hosted 16 papers, panels, and posters on information retrieval systems, digital libraries, and user interfaces for children * Traditionally, much of the research on IRS has been experimental, where researchers strive to control as many variables as possible in a carefully regulated environment to , but very little discussion has been devoted to methodological challenges.Many new systems are designed for today's children, the "Digital Natives" (those born after 1989), who may process information differently from their predecessors. Digital natives often are well versed in using computer games, such as those designed for the X-Box 360 and the Nintendo Wii. However, a panel of experts, meeting recently to discuss the information behavior and needs of the new generation of users, concluded that a research agenda is urgently required to investigate the "characteristics and preferences of this tech savvy group that surprisingly lacks basic skills in information evaluation and retrieval" (Radford et al, 2008, p. 2). Developing new and novel information retrieval mechanism for these digital natives, however, require new ways of testing and evaluation of the system. BACKGROUND

show abstract

Children as information seekers: what researchers tell us

Cited by 31 publications

References 30 publications

Family Visits to Libraries and Bookshops: Observations and Implications for Digital Libraries

Family Visits to Libraries and Bookshops: Observations and Implications for Digital Libraries

Growing up with Google: How children's understanding and use of internet‐based devices relates to cognitive development

Testing children's information retrieval systems: Challenges in a new era

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About