INFORMATION STUDIES

INFORMATION STUDIES

INSTRUCTIONS

Several libraries hear that you have almost completed Dominican
University’s School of Information Studies Evidence-Based Planning, Management,
and Decision Making course. The libraries offer you a consulting position to
develop an action research study that builds on the information presented in
their annual report. You take some time to review each of the annual reports
before deciding which library’s offer to accept.

 You make your decision. Select one of the libraries listed
below and reply to this prompt, creating a subject line that includes the name
of the library you chose, for example, Subject: Charleston County Library.

 Next, articulate an action research inquiry question
informed by the annual report of the library you’ve chosen to work with. Be
sure that you can identify an explicit or implicit desired outcome of the
service, program, collection, or practice that your inquiry question will
investigate.

 Use the template that Dr. Brown describes when constructing
your inquiry question:

 How do/does [the library service, program, collection, or
practice you’ve chosen from the annual report] impact [a desired outcome of the
service, program, collection, or practice].

Remember, the aim of action research is to gather data that will
inform planning, management, and decision-making, so provide a brief
explanation of what you found in the annual report that inspired your inquiry
question and how this research would benefit the library’s ability to plan,
manage, and/or make decisions (3 sentences).

Finally, propose a research method based on a suggested approach
from one of the Matthews’ chapters for this module. Include a brief (3–4
sentence) rationale for this choice, referencing the Matthews’ chapter where
the research method is discussed.

You’re feeling pretty confident about your action research
competencies so you decide to contribute your knowledge to the consulting work
of two of your classmates. Post responses to two classmates, at least one of
whom has chosen a different library than you have, expanding and enriching the
conversation about the research approaches your classmates recommended.

 Libraries and Annual Reports

Public Libraries:

• Charleston County Library

o    Charleston County Library (SC) Annual Report,
2019 (Links to an external site.)

o    Charleston County Library (Links to an external site.)

• San Francisco Public Library
  (CA)

o    San Francisco Public Library Annual
Report, 2019 (Links to an external site.)

o     (Links to an external site.)San Francisco
Public Library website (Links to an external site.)

• Warwick Public Library

o    Warwick Public Library (RI) Annual
Report, 2019 (Links to an external site.)

o    Warwick Public Library website (Links to an external
site.)

Academic Libraries:

Washtenaw Community College Seed Library

o    Washtenaw Community College Seed
Library, Annual Report, 2019 (Links to an external site.)

o    Washtenaw Community College website

• Western Michigan University
  Library

o    Western Michigan University Library Annual Report,
2018-19 (Links to an external site.)

o    Western Michigan University website (Links to an
external site.)

Special Collections and Archives:

University of Massachusetts Special
Collections and University Archives Annual Report, 2019 (Links to an
external site.) (Links to an external site.)

o    University of Massachusetts Special Collections and
University Archives website

Notice:

 You’ll need to post to this discussion before you can see
your classmates’ posts.

You will need to include full citations for information you
reference from these reports and websites. You will not need to include a full reference for the
Matthews text, but page numbers for specific information are necessary.

Your response posts should range from one to two paragraphs.

For the content of your responses, try one or more of the following:

Point out a similarity that struck you or a glaring difference you
see in your classmate’s initial post and yours.

Ask your classmate to clarify a specific point that confused you
or that you were unsure about.

Ask for your classmate to expand on a particular passage that
piqued your interest.

Link a classmate’s post to a passage from our required readings or
from another source that addresses something relevant in his or her post,
explaining the connection you see.

SOLUTIONS

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