FINAL REPORT 1

Emily Skunda

LIS 60030 People in the Information Ecology

Kent State University

FINAL REPORT 2

1. Definition of your user group

My user group for this assignment is the Hispanic/Latino user group; especially adults

and their families with limited English proficiency that use the public library.

2. The real-life contexts of the users

The users in these studies are primarily first-generation immigrants who came to the

United States for work, hoping for a better life for themselves and their family. With such a large

percentage of the user group speaking only Spanish, or very little English, they tend to live

insularly among other Spanish-speaking members of the community. Some of them are

undocumented but have children who were born in the United States. The children of these

individuals often speak both Spanish and English, where Spanish is spoken in the home and

English is spoken at school, sometimes with the help of a translator. Often times, the children act

as a translator between their parents and English-speaking people at school, the library, stores,

etc. Many of the articles pertaining to this user group deal with limited access to healthcare and

healthcare information seeking issues. Education, literacy, and language proficiency are also key

elements of the contexts of this user group.

3. Related theories, models, and approaches applied in related research about this user

group

Approaches to the research in many studies are based on the current Hispanic population

in certain areas and what is predicted to be the percentage of the Hispanic population in the

future based on growth statistics. Some studies examine the services currently offered in libraries
FINAL REPORT 3

and health care institutions, as well as online, while others predicted what would be of use and

what would not.

The objective of Eun-Young’s study is to examine online health-seeking information

behaviors of Hispanics and how they used their public library as a health information service or

source. This goal is based on the rapid growth and expansion of the Hispanic population within

the United States, and the basis that socioeconomic factors, literacy, and language proficiency

often indicate low knowledge of health information (2016). According to Gonzalez’s article,

Latinos are less likely to use online health information resources than other groups. She notes

that while more materials are translated to Spanish than before, and English proficiency is

trending higher among Latinos, health literacy and knowledge of health-related terms is still at a

low among the user group (2016). Lee’s article and study supports these findings, stating that

Hispanic lag behind in health information-seeking behaviors, especially when current health

status and education level are taken into consideration (2014). In the study of young educated

Hispanic Women conducted by Suggs, it is suggested that cultural factors heavily influence

health communication and information seeking among the user group. Some of the women said

that they do not seek information regarding health because personal health is not something

widely discussed with their family in their culture, and it could be culturally offensive to

question cooking methods and their health implications (2010). In Sherrill’s article, he writes

that the majority of the Hispanic population in Walhalla, South Carolina, have no health

insurance and have very little access to health services. There are many obstacles to health care

for Latinos in the United States, such as language, cultural variations, and socioeconomic factors

limiting health insurance. Sherrill’s article explains that these obstacles are made more difficult

in rural communities such as Walhalla. Thus, a mobile clinic was born (2005). Rather
FINAL REPORT 4

than strictly health information-seeking, Haras’s article focuses more on the educational

information behaviors of millennial Latinos in Los Angeles. Her article aims to find out if they

are sufficiently prepared in high school with information-seeking for the necessary research for

college and work. She bases this approach largely on library use and perception of public

libraries (2010). Bala and Adkins write about the Spanish-speaking population in Dunklin

County, Missouri, a rural community. From the years 1990-2000, the small area saw a 92%

increase in their Hispanic population. Their article aims to recognize the obstacles for that

community and adopt successful practices in libraries for meeting the needs of the Hispanic

Community in Dunklin County (2004). Burke’s study gathers information from research, books,

and other scholarly articles about the largest unmet needs of Latino Americans. She highly

recommends using Library Services for Immigrants: A Report on Current Practices, a booklet

from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (2008).

Cramer’s study is interesting in the fact that the public libraries she is studying already

have Hispanic services librarians on staff in North Carolina libraries. North Carolina saw a 394%

increase in the Hispanic population between 1990-2000, and their libraries are still trying to meet

the needs of the Spanish speaking patrons (2008). Gross’s article parallels these findings through

services and collections offered in Spanish at different branches of the Denver Public Library

(DPL). She explains that Hispanics make up about 60% of the 47 million non-English

households in the United States. As of 2006, Latinos made up almost 20% of Colorado’s

population, which was up from 17.6% in 2001. DPL increased their Spanish language collection

and programs based on usage patterns of the Hispanic community in their city. Using the

statistics from the success of their programs, the DPL seeks additional funding to continue

providing necessary resources for the Hispanic population (2006).

FINAL REPORT 5

Bollin’s article focuses on reaching Hispanic elementary school children and their

families early on, so that the students can experience the most success possible in school and in

their formative years. To do this, college students enrolled in education programs participate in a

service-learning course called “Self and Group Processes in a Diverse Classroom”. The

preservice teachers tutor elementary students from recent immigrant Hispanic families. These

families are from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and usually speak little English. The tutoring

sessions occur in the elementary students’ homes. The hope is that with this intervention, the

elementary school students will succeed in school and not be held back academically. Another

goal of this course is for the college students to experience and respect another culture (2007).

4. Methodologies and techniques used in research for determining users’ information needs

and behaviors

A multitude of different methods and techniques were used in these studies. These

methods include surveys to define and understand information-seeking behavior, both health

related and general. For surveys, the Comparative Method was widely used to process the

results. Focus groups were a popular choice among many of the studies. The data from the focus

groups was analyzed using the constant comparative method, which breaks down data and

theorizes it into basic premises (Suggs, p. 188, 2010). Questionnaires were given to Hispanic

users, most often in Spanish. In Bollin’s study, the college students were required to keep

detailed journals of their sessions with the elementary children and their families. A content

analysis was conducted on the students’ final reflections on tutoring. This method was used to

summarize the data quantitatively (Bollin, 2007). Some studies utilized the Statistical Package

for Social Sciences which is a statistical software that enables researchers to get great insights
FINAL REPORT 6

into their data and make predictions for what is likely to happen next (IBM, 2017). Population

survey data, random samplings, interviews, and patient satisfaction surveys were also used in the

studies to gather data on the user group.

5. The information sources and services provided to and used by this user group

While we undoubtedly have more work to do, libraries that have made great strides in

offering services and materials in Spanish to Hispanic patrons. These include website and sign

information in Spanish, training bilingual staff, and computer labs in Spanish. ESL classes are

offered, and book groups and poetry readings are conducted in Spanish. Offerings of social

services, especially for immigrants, such as study materials for citizenship tests, contact

information for agencies to find health care, housing, and jobs, are pivotal for the Hispanic

community. Spanish language collections offer fiction and nonfiction books for both adults and

children, DVDs, CDs, and magazines in Spanish. Some libraries offer GED classes, bilingual

storytimes for children, and arts and crafts classes. Communities such as Walhalla, South

Carolina, are reaching beyond the library and using mobile health clinics. These clinics help

Hispanic patients, as well as offering employment for those in the Hispanic community.

Libraries and the ecologies within them have a long-standing position of accepting all

people and providing access of information to everyone. As Nardi and O’Day write, “Diversity is

necessary for the health of the ecology itself, to permit the system to survive continual and

perhaps chaotic change” (p.3, 1999). The American Library Association has key action areas

consisting of “Equitable Access to Information and Library Services.” Librarians helped

developed toolkits such as the “Librarian’s Toolkit for Responding Effectively to Anti-
FINAL REPORT 7

Immigrant Sentiment”, “How to Serve the World @ Your Library”, and “The American Dream

Starts @ Your Library”. These toolkits contain resources, ideas, and tips to help solve

community problems (Adkins, 2013). My library currently has a grant through the American

Dreams program which we are using for our Hispanic patrons to use iPods with language apps,

as well as offering ESL classes.

6. Related issues and considerations to better serve the users

Language barriers, child care, access to health care, and program times/library hours are

issues for this user group. Hiring bilingual staff, or even a part-time translator, could go a long

way toward better serving these users. Lack of dependable transportation is a common issue for

this user group as well. Either they don’t have access to a vehicle, or they work too late to use

public transportation, so getting to the library or other places such as a doctor’s office is difficult

or impossible. While not always feasible, keeping the library open a bit later every so often could

ensure that these users are able to attend programs after work. Offering child care during these

programs would give parents the ability to attend and learn. An issue regarding these ideas,

though, is how to be equitable for all patrons. Would everyone want childcare during programs?

Would it be discriminatory or unfair to not offer the same services to each user group?

The article by Adkins demonstrates that libraries and their staff are sometimes required to

be more political than most people realize (2013). I have learned this even at my little rural

library. While we want to be inclusive for all thoughts and beliefs, some issues arise that force us

to take a certain stance. Immigration is surely one of those issues, and it can be hard for

information professionals to support one side without making the other feel isolated or

unsupported.
FINAL REPORT 8

7. Your major takeaways from the studies, along with practical applications and

implications in providing suitable sources and services to users within an information

ecology context

As we learned in the Pew Research article from Horrigan, Hispanics view libraries as

helping a lot in communities through communicating information about volunteer opportunities,

community events, and aiding in job searches and teaching workforce skills (2015). With

successful programs comes the need for more staffing, more hours, and more resources, all of

which require the need for more funding. Grants and forms of public funding can only do so

much, so where do we go from here as information professionals?

8. Contribute your own recommendations

As some of the articles have already mentioned, hiring bilingual staff can greatly help in

meeting the user needs of the Hispanic community. Encouraging members of the Hispanic

community to volunteer at the library is a great way to encourage involvement in the library

ecology. The volunteers can be involved in working directly with the Hispanic community to

discuss their needs and help the library to make sure those needs are met. This could empower

not only the volunteer, but the community as well, because they are directly contributing to the

solutions for their own issues.

Our job as information professionals is to change and grow as necessary to meet the

needs of our community. As Morris said, “We do not just adapt to a static world but create a

reality that changes with us” (p. 21, 1994). We need to be up to date with information, current

affairs, and legislation, so that we can inform our communities as needed. Each library and its
FINAL REPORT 9

staff have the important task of knowing its community and shaping their services through the

ecology’s specific user needs.

FINAL REPORT 10

References

Adkins, D., & Burns, C. S. (2013). Arizona Public Libraries Serving the Spanish-Speaking.

Reference & User Services Quarterly, 53(1), 60-70. Retrieved from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=10&si

d=f691305d-5730-4e83-9574-bd3745a9f055%40sessionmgr4006

Bala, B., & Adkins, D. (2004). Library and Information Needs of Latinos in Dunklin County,

Missouri. Public Libraries, 43(2), 119-122. Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=c44935

3d-cd51-4c3d-a766

84a82e386114%40sessionmgr120&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=

502924140&db=llf

Bollin, G. G. (2007). Preparing Teachers for Hispanic Immigrant Children: A Service Learning

Approach. Journal Of Latinos & Education, 6(2), 177-189.

doi:10.1080/15348430701305028 Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid

=58f08 313-a2c4-4925-8b47-675f16767827%40sessionmgr101

Burke, S. K. (2008). Use of Public Libraries by Immigrants. Reference & User Services

Quarterly, 48(2), 164-174. Retrieved from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=165ad6

ac-eef2-4eee-b540-

09f07998e094%40sessionmgr4009&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN

=35665050&db=a9h
FINAL REPORT 11

Cramer, E. (2008). Servicios para la Comunidad: Sharing the Experiences of Three Hispanic

Services Librarians in North Carolina. North Carolina Libraries (Online), 66(3/4), 53-57.

Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid

=b0662911-6498-433a-af94-15ddf1410f46%40sessionmgr101

EunYoung Yoo-Lee, Tamara Rhodes, Gabriel M. Peterson. (2016) "Hispanics and public

libraries: Assessing their health information seeking behaviors in the e-health

environment", Reference Services Review, Vol. 44 Issue: 2, pp.85-99, https://doi-

org.proxy.library.kent.edu/10.1108/RSR-02-2016-0015

Gonzalez M, Sanders-Jackson A, Emory J. Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior and

Confidence in Filling Out Online Forms Among Latinos: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of

the California Health Interview Survey, 2011-2012 J Med Internet Res 2016;18(7): e184.

DOI: 10.2196/jmir.5065 Retrieved from jmir.org.

Gross, B., Rea, J., & Castro-Reino, P. (2006). A Library for All: Denver Public Library Designs

Services to Meet the Needs of the Hispanic Community. Colorado Libraries, 32(4), 32-

36. Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid

=a2710fb4-4dd0-4d5f-96b5-38ff1f05579a%40sessionmgr103

Haras, C. (2011). Information behaviors of Latinos attending high school in East Los Angeles.

Library & Information Science Research (07408188) , 33 (1), 34-40.

doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2010.05.001 Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=4&sid=760133

2a-acec-4b25-96 f4
FINAL REPORT 12

222fca305dca%40sessionmgr101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=

57511835&db =a9h

Horrigan, J.B. (2015). Chapter 1: Who uses libraries and what they do at their libraries.

IBM SPSS Software. (2016, March 17). Retrieved August 13, 2017, from

https://www.ibm.com/analytics/us/en/technology/spss/

Lee, Y., & Bakken, S. (2014). ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIORS

AMONG HISPANICS. Amia Annual Symposium , 2 854. Retrieved from

http://gateway.proquest.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-

2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/f

mt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqm&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3591307

Morris, R. (1994). Toward a user centered information service. Journal of the American Society

for Information Science, 45(1), 20-30

Nardi & O'Day (1999a). Chapter 4: Information Ecologies. Information ecologies. Using

technology with heart.

Sherrill, W. W., Crew, L., Mayo, R. M., Mayo, W. F., Rogers, B. L., & Haynes, D. F. (2005).

Educational and health services innovation to improve care for rural Hispanic

Communities in the US. Education For Health: Change In Learning & Practice (Taylor

& Francis Ltd), 18(3), 356-367. doi:10.1080/13576280500312850

Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=0&sid

=2466b365-fb66-4c43-b9d7-4aa572ec023b%40sessionmgr102
FINAL REPORT 13

Suggs, L. S., Cowdery, J. E., & Noll, D. (2010). HEALTH INFORMATION SEEKING

BEHAVIOR OF YOUNG EDUCATED HISPANIC WOMEN. American Journal Of

Health Studies , 25 (4), 186- 195. Retrieved from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com.proxy.library.kent.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=c9d447

8d-511c-4584-b d04

ed9df58059d8%40sessionmgr4008&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN

=67311167 &db=a9h