Jennifer L Holmes. (2008). Patrons with developmental disabilities: a needs assessment survey. New Library World, 109(11/12), 533-545. Retrieved January 18, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global http://proquest.umi.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/pqdweb?index=6&did=1598527731&SrchMode=1&sid=3&Fmt=6&VInst=PROD&VType=PQD&RQT=309&VName=PQD&TS=1263861638&clientId=13225 The article provides data which indicates that patrons with disabilities do use library services. Two surveys were taken and results showed that patrons were unaware of all library options available to them. The authors argue that because patrons with disabilities use library resources, they are entitled to the same rights as other patrons. The information is relevant to another study of school libraries and what services they offer to patrons or students with disabilities. Patrons with disabilities visit both school and public libraries. Research indicates that school and public libraries must offer the same or more services to patrons with special needs.

Arns, Jennifer. (2007). Challenges in Governance: The Leadership Characteristics and Behaviors Valued by Public Library Trustees in Times of Conflict and Contention. The Library Quarterly 77(3), 287-310. Retrieved January 19, 2010 from http://bert.lib.indiana.edu:2132/doi/pdf/10.1086/519415. This article researches the leadership characteristics and behaviors of public library board members that are considered important to service in the library and if these highly-valued characteristics change in controversial environments (i.e., the library is under attack for providing unfiltered access to the Internet). An example of data: 15 participants attributed "great importance" to integrity, while only one participant indicated that legal expertise was of "great importance" prior to the controversial situation. The argument that Arns makes based on this data is that "personal traits related to good character tended to be regarded as particularly important," while legal expertise, a "skill that typif[ies] the high-powered analyst" were less important (p.297). I think that this study also might be relevant to determining ideal leadership characteristics and behaviors for those in the private sector; for example, what qualities are important for CEOs and business managers to possess. Literature review sentence: Analysis of twenty-three leadership characteristics and behaviors indicates an increase in those highly-valued during controversial situations.

Buhi, Eric R. and others. (2009). An Observational Study of How Young People Search for Online Sexual Health Information. Journal of American College Health 58(2), 101-111. Retrieved January 20, 2010 from http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=4&hid=113&sid=a1703412-62cf-48ce-9aea-151f8061b5d7%40sessionmgr104. The data in this article was collected to find out how the young gather and evaluate data from online sources. An example of the data collected in this article is that only 50% of the sample group were able to find information about where to get an anonymous HIV test in the local metropolitan area. The data also show that it took a mean of 141.7 seconds and 6.2 clicks to get to the information gathered. This along with the other data collected from the sample the authors concluded that there was still great need for educating users one finding and evaluating information through the internet. This article is helpful to any study that deals with seeking information on the internet. The use of computers to find information is becoming more common. This article indicated that college students are frequent internet users, but that they still have a great deal to learn about using search engines and websites to find reliable and accurate information.

Oguya, Vivienne. 2006. Bridging Africa's digital divide: A case for CD-ROM technology. Quarterly Bulletin of the International Association of Agricultural Information Specialists. 51, no.3/4: 159-165. (Wilson Web) African countries lack the funds and resources to maintain up-to-date digital technology such as computers and internet access. This lack of resources is known as the digital divide. The article uncovers data that supports the use of CD-ROM technology and says it is "the most appropriate technology for developing countries." (p.161) The data was collected from a survey in which 526 questionnaires were sent to different agricultural institutions. One hundred and seventy-five were returned and roughly 48% said they preferred CD-ROM technology. The conclusion was that CD-ROM technology is the most effective for developing countries because of its low cost and easy use. This study may be relevant to other studies that examine internet access and technology in countries, such as Russia or China. Literature review sentence: The digital divide in African countries can be bridged by the use and reliability of CD-ROM technology.

Research articles one and all! Your posts are all on track. Can't wait to see your responses to each other.

Hey all! I'm glad I finally realized that I have to click on our group. I kept thinking that I was the only one who had posted. I enjoyed reading all of your postings. I think we have a variety of topics to learn about this semester. Lauren, I thought that your article and topic on the integrity of library board members was interesting. The only other way I could think that the data might be relevant to another topic would be to add politicians to your list of CEO's and businessmen. When I questioned whether your article was qualitative or quantitative, I have to say that based on the textbooks definition, I think that your data was more qualitative because it asked participants to put an emphasis on words rather than numbers. Hmyers, I am sorry but I'm not sure of your first name! I thought that your data was more quantitative because the survey and data sought specific numerical data. That being said, I was surprised at the length of time it took to find information on sexual information. Is your topic on Internet sources in general or is it more specific? I think your article sounded interesting as well. Eve, I think your topic and article might have had both qualitative and quantitative data, but I could be wrong. Your data might be relevant to find out what type of materials would be useful in more developed countries as well as in Africa and the others you listed. I also thought you could investigate what the best resources are in the U.S. Hopefully, I covered all that I was supposed to. Thanks for sharing, Leah Dresser

Also, sorry I didn't do the line breaks!

Lauren’s response to Idresser: I think this article made a lot of interesting points about how people with developmental disabilities use the library. Your idea that this study also could be used to determine how to cater their services to those with disabilities is a good one, I think. The article also could be used for a narrower purpose, such as: how do individuals with developmental disabilities use public library computers, and is there anything public librarians can do to increase this usage? According to the study, 96 percent of those surveyed said they did not use library computers (p. 538). Do library patrons with developmental disabilities really believe that the computers are not available for their use (p. 538)? Other data that would be relevant for this topic would be: are computers in libraries accessible to those with disabilities, and do libraries purchase adaptive technologies that are necessary for individuals with disabilities to use the computers?

Lauren’s response to hmyers: This article was really interesting. I think it is understandable why young people would go to the Internet first to find information on sexual health. However, as a wanna-be librarian, I kept wondering if there was anyway to train young people to try to use library web sites and databases to find information. This is probably part of teaching students how to evaluate information found on the Internet. So, a narrower topic that this article could relate to would be: what are the best ways to teach students to seek digital information from their libraries first? (Or a better question may be: Is there any way to do this?)

Lauren’s response to evegrant: This article made me feel bad at how much I take for granted! This article also could be used to examine the digital divide that exists in our own country. Would CD-ROM technology be as effective in communities in this country that do not have equitable access to computers and the Internet? Would it be a good idea for librarians to reassess the viability of CD-ROMs in the library? The article made a good point that once new technology is introduced it is easy to forget about the older, and maybe better, technology (p. 161). Maybe librarians were too quick to give up on CD-ROMs, especially in areas that do not have easy access to the Internet.

Response to Leah: A very interesting study. I see that the results yielded qualitative data conducted through a couple surveys. This study could possibly be utilized in private or special libraries, as well. Response to Lauren: This article appears to have collected qualitative data from a survey, and may also be related to other articles that study leadership behaviors in libraries as a whole. Response to Heather: This article uses quantitative data to understand students' internet searching patterns. I think it is an excellent source that could be related to other studies that deal with high school students' internet searching habits and how they can improve on internet searching before they enter into college.

Eve's response to Lauren's response to my article: Lauren, it is true that, living in the US, we are surrounded by technology. It is easy to forget how far other countries are behind us. We also forget that many communities in the US are overlooked and they, too, lack the technology sources that most of our American Universities utilize. Thank you for reminding me of this as your suggestion stated. I think it would be interesting to investigate the usage of CD-ROM technology in the US just to understand its importance and where it is used most.

I’ll try and keep these short and sweet. Leah – The issue of accessibility is always on the minds of librarians. The qualitative data gathered in this type of survey is helpful in an institution. The data can suggest unknown problems and solutions for the library in question. This should be an interesting topic. Lauren – This could be a very interesting topic. I wonder if there is any data on the characteristics that leaders in the library community have, as opposed to what characteristics people think are important. Could there be discrepancies between what people think is needed and what is actually successful? Eve – I really like your thought about comparing the situation in Africa to that in other countries that have had issues in developing their technology infrastructure. I would also be curious how these feelings compare within Africa between different segments of the community. The article here was focused on the agricultural community, but what about the business community? Leah – My name is Heather, don’t worry if you don’t remember. There are a lot of names in the class. To all – I think you all got the same basic impressions from my article. My overall topic is actually how to verify that internet sources are trustworthy and legitimate. For example, if you are looking to donate to a charity or sponsor a child. I am starting out by looking into information seeking behaviors. I hope to come up with an idea of how we search and move that towards how we should search for good information.

As an aside, I tried the line break thing and it doesn't seem to have worked. Not sure what happened.

Heather, that is a good point about how the article could be used. I am actually looking at the article more from the censorship side--how do libraries and library leaders handle being in the middle of a controversy (specifically by placing internet filters on their computers). But, if I run into a wall with this research topic, maybe I will switch to researching skills library managers need to succeed!