Criminology & Criminal Justice Research Guides in Academic Libraries: A Qualitative Analysis

• In Event: Using Theory, Methods, and Other Resources to Enhance Teaching and Learning Practices

Abstract

With a focus on student academic success and a growing awareness of the value and importance of student-centered and discipline-specific resources to that success, research and academic libraries are increasingly employing strategies to customize the students’ library experience by assisting them in finding, assessing, and accessing appropriate resource material for their academic work. LibGuides, a commercial product which offers librarians a template-driven process to create a student-focused website, which gathers, organizes, describes, and provides access to numerous curated discipline-specific resources, is one example of these efforts. This exploratory study utilizes a qualitative content analysis to examine the design, content, and ease of use of Criminal Justice and Criminology LibGuides at academic and research libraries at higher education institutions across the United States and Canada. Findings will include core themes found in LibGuides, an assessment of the utility of LibGuides for Criminal Justice and Criminology students, design improvement recommendations, a comparison of Canadian and American LibGuides, and suggestions for future research.

Authors

• Marwin Britto, University of Saskatchewan

• Sarah Britto, University of Regina