UMD Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/3
New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a given thesis/dissertation in DRUM.
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item "Children Selecting Books in a Library": Extending Models of Information Behavior to a Recreational Setting(2007-06-05) Reuter, Kara Anne; Neuman, Delia; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Literacy researchers suggest that book-selection strategies are part of successful literacy development, and in several research studies children reported that finding books they like is the biggest barrier they face to reading. Despite much attention to particular aspects of children's reading habits, few studies have examined the processes children use to select books. Against this backdrop, this study undertook a qualitative investigation of primary-school children's selection of books for recreational reading in a public library over the summer. Book selection was examined from the perspective of library and information science (LIS) models of information behavior and relevance assessment. To expand LIS research into the recreational realm, the study also drew upon reader-response theory in education and uses-and-gratifications theory in communications. Using a multiple-case study design, the study collected questionnaire, interview, and observation data from 20 7- to 9-year-old children and their parents during several sessions at their homes and at the public library. The data were analyzed with a grounded-theory approach. During the study, the children spoke in general of the gratifications--cognitive, emotional, and social--that reading provides. When embarking on book selection at the library, however, they did not mention specific needs they sought to fill. When browsing the library, the children exhibited successively more involvement with books, examining them externally and internally and focusing on a variety of elements. The central aspects influencing children's selection of books were contents and reading experience. Several differences emerged among the children: older children were more purposeful in their behaviors than younger children; girls were more independent than boys; some children had strong preferences that influenced their book-selection practices; and children exhibited distinct book-selection strategies. Finally, children rarely acknowledged receiving formal instruction in book selection and faced a number of obstacles related to library terminology and concepts. Within the LIS field, this research contributes to an expanded understanding of information behavior. The findings have implications for strategies to encourage effective book selection through library instruction and parental involvement as well as for approaches to improve library services and systems, such as readers' advisory, shelf arrangement, and digital libraries.Item To Gain Consensus on a Definition of Multicultural Children's Literature: A Delphi Study(2005-08-01) Levinson, Joan Marie; Hendricks, Susan M; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The purpose of this study was to gain consensus on a definition of multicultural children's literature. The study was conducted using the Delphi Method, a research questionnaire format. A pilot study was completed, followed by three rounds of questionnaires. The 25 participants were selected from a Children's Literature listserv, whose membership includes several hundred college professors, authors of children's books, university librarians, and education diversity specialists. Many Delphi doctoral dissertations and other research studies have examined multicultural literature for stereotyped portrayals of characters of color and ethnic origin. This researcher found none that included the literary integrity of the books as well as the multicultural content. This study sought a definition of multicultural children's literature that would include a literary standard for quality literature as well as multicultural elements. The study was organized into four literary categories: Plot, Characters, Setting, and Point of View. The questionnaire format was designed to gather information in each category on what elements would have to be present in order for a book to be identified as multicultural children's literature. Statements on which consensus was gained were combined to form a definition of multicultural children's literature. Many of the participants embarked on this study with the preconceived idea that all works of quality literature are innately multicultural. However, they concluded that, to be multicultural, quality literature should also demonstrate an awareness of multicultural elements. The resulting definition states that a work of quality literature can be labeled multicultural children's literature if the plot tells a fascinating story; the characters are believable and round; the setting enlarges the view of the reader; and the point of view reveals the inner world of each character; all the while demonstrating an awareness of multicultural elements such as age, class, disability, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation. This and a longer form of the definition could be distributed in the form of a handout to be placed in libraries, bookstores, and classrooms, where those involved with book selection for children could use it for a guide. It could be accompanied by a list of appropriate books, while those with stereotyped portrayals could be deleted.