Reframing Reference for Marginalized Students: A Participatory Visual Study

Abstract

How can academic librarians improve reference services for marginalized students? How can research into such questions center students’ ideas and experiences? This study uses Photovoice, a participatory method that combines photography, interviews, and group discussion to create change regarding an issue. Eleven university students from historically marginalized backgrounds were asked to document how they seek information in their everyday activities, and the resulting themes and recommendations were considered in light of potential implications for the design of reference services. Notable findings include participants’ preference for in-person support regarding questions about their academic work, the use of visual information such as pictures and screenshots to aid information seeking, and a desire for the library to improve the ease of accessing articles. Many additional ideas for improving various aspects of the library were shared by participants. The study’s process and findings underscored the uniqueness of participants’ experiences and information practices, suggesting that universal models concerning different user populations can overly simplify experiences and are less useful than a contextual approach to working with learners.