Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
April 2014
Publication Title
Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy
Volume
84
Issue Number
2
First Page
165
Last Page
182
DOI
10.1086/675330
Disciplines
Library and Information Science
Abstract
This article advances the first attempt to collect and examine empirical data on young adult (YA) spaces in public libraries from institutions across the United States by surveying current practices in new and renovated buildings. Analysis of an online survey of 257 library and information science (LIS) professionals produced an innovative Youth Participation Index (YPI) used to document the relative intensities of youth involvement in the design and execution of YA spaces. Libraries claiming higher levels of youth participation reported significant quality service improvements across a wide range of outcomes. However, after several decades of advocating for youth involvement in the delivery of library services from many LIS sources, only a minority of the libraries surveyed reported high YPI scores, and the specific mechanisms for enacting youth involvement require further investigation.
Recommended Citation
Anthony Bernier, Mike Males, and Collin Rickman. "“It Is Silly to Hide Your Most Active Patrons”: Exploring User Participation of Library Space Designs for Young Adults in the United States" Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy (2014): 165-182. https://doi.org/10.1086/675330
Comments
The article was originally published in The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy Vol. 84, Iss. 2 by the University of Chicago Press, April 2014. This article can also be found online at this link.