Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS) Practices of Suburban Teens in A Highly Technological School Library: A Case Study

Abstract

This extended case study seeks to discover the everyday life information seeking (ELIS) practices of upper income suburban teens working in a highly technological Midwestern high school library. Such a study is significant and needed; pedagogical change is slow to advance even as information and technology communication (ICT) devices and tools, particularly mobile devices, are rapidly changing and pervasive in the lives of adolescents. Crafted within an interpretive paradigm and cast through the lens of constructivist metatheory, this dissertation examines suburban teens as they conduct ELIS practices while working in a school library setting. Library and information science (LIS) and school library research strands are critically examined, and provide the researcher baseline knowledge for building substantive theory based on the works of Savolainen (1995, 2008) and Agosto and Hughes-Hassell (2006a, 2006b). Data collection methods include nonparticipant observation, two school librarian interviews, four student focus group sessions, five online student surveys, and both print and virtual document analysis. Data analysis was conducted using an inductive, iterative method leading to creation of a coding scheme, category development, and theme explication. Findings indicate that suburban teens prefer to use personal mobile devices in lieu of school library computers for managing personal information needs; demand instructional models to enable their successful completion of assignments; actively manage their educational growth and assessment; and tend to first rely on mobile digital devices as primary information resources, and then approach friends and adults for help with ELIS queries. School-mandated filtering and monitoring are viewed as constraints, by both students and school librarians, and impact teen decisions to use mobile devices, such as mobile phones, in lieu of school-provided computers. School librarian roles, along with AASL (2007, 2009) guiding documents, are analyzed in light of findings. Findings point to a newly discovered playful self that modifies Agosto and Hughes-Hassell’s Theoretical Model of Urban Teen Development. Implications and recommendations are provided, with a focus on school librarian dispositions and delivery of best practices for working with 21st century students in a digital library context.