The Information Needs of Mothers within the UW Women's Center Re-Entry Program

Principal Investigators: Roberta Munoz, Sheri Skuja, Madolyn Nichols

ABSTRACT:

Our paper examines the information needs of women with dependent children who have used the advising services at the University of Washington Women’s Center. Women who are parents face unique obstacles in planning for, and pursuing, educational and career goals in institutions of higher education.  Our paper examines some of these obstacles and investigates the relationship of these women to the University of Washington Women's Center. Preliminary research suggests that women who access the Women's Center for advising—even those who have significant childcare issues—tend to seek information more closely related to their personal goals instead of family-related goals.  Due to its proximity to a college campus, women may be likely to perceive the Women's Center as offering services relating to professional or educational advising rather than family or childcare counseling.  Furthermore, the women who access the Women's Center have diverse information needs, each relating to a specific set of circumstances involving family, financial, and personal factors.  More research is needed to facilitate information provision to this population and to better understand the role and functioning of centers such as this as providers of information, and as information grounds, in the lives of these women.

Awareness of Public Library Services among Adult Nonusers

Principal Investigators: Jen Reichert, Carol Edlefsen, Kathleen Crosman, Heidi Andress

ABSTRACT:

This study investigates awareness levels of Seattle Public Library services among adult resident nonusers and examines whether an increase in awareness levels may lead to public library use. Recommendations are made for increasing awareness levels of Seattle Public Library services among adult nonusers. Methodologies are a focus group and a non-randomly distributed survey instrument. This research can be used in attracting potential new users to the library thereby keeping public libraries viable in today’s competitive market.

The Library and Information Experiences of Interdisciplinary Researchers

Principal Investigators: Leah Cushman, Amy Snidarich, Justin Wadland

ABSTRACT:

Researchers in interdisciplinary (ID) fields encounter a unique set of problems when accessing information sources: print and electronic reference tools rarely cover ID topics and library services, collections and classification systems generally follow the traditional distinctions between single disciplines.  This study seeks to illuminate the unique set of information needs of Ph.D. students in the field Environmental Anthropology (EA), a discipline that uses the methodology of Anthropology but incorporates terminology and research from the disciplines of Biology, Botany, Ecology, Forestry and Geography, among others.  Through a Web questionnaire, followed by a focus group, the Ph.D. students identified frequently used information and reference sources, strategies for finding relevant materials and problems encountered when searching outside the discipline of Anthropology.  Also, the Ph.D. students explained some aspects of the affective side of their research process and described types of reference tools that could be designed to aid their research in the future.