Student Research Presentations

At our Conference this year, we want to showcase some of the brilliant research being carried out by students. We have a number of speakers lined up to share their work with you during a ‘Lightning Session’. This research is an important contribution to the information and library field and covers a range of topics. Please read on for more information about the different projects.

• The Effect of Culture on Public Library Use Amongst New-Comer Populations – Rachel Salzano, current PhD Student at Edinburgh Napier University

Rachel’s doctoral study aims to determine the relationship between culture and public library use in new-comer populations. By understanding this relationship, library staff will be better able to serve new-comers. Specifically, the research aims to answer the following research questions

1. Which cultural factors influence public library use in new-comer populations?
2. How do cultural factors that influence public library use vary by geographical region of country of origin?
3. Which cultural factors exert the most influence on library use?

At the CILIPS Conference, Rachel will have completed 9 months of work on the project. She will give an overview of the literature review and of her preparations for empirical work.

• Developing a Digital Film Archive: Fraserburgh on Film – Andrew Davidson, recent graduate of MSc Information and Library Studies at Robert Gordon University

Andrew recently completed an MSc in Information of Library at Robert Gordon University. He will present on the dissertation project he did as part of this MSc. This involved Andrew creating a digital film archive to preserve the history of the North-East. Fraserburgh on Film showcases the Scottish town of Fraserburgh during the war, royal visits, and other historical moments from the last 100 years. His dissertation supervisor, Professor Peter Reid, described this as “the best film archive that any town in Scotland has”. Click here for more on Andrew and his project.

• The Social Media Use and Interactions of National Libraries – Jennifer Hamilton, PhD student at the University of Strathclyde

Jennifer’s doctoral work investigates how selected national libraries use Facebook and Twitter and how social media users respond to these posts. Using data gathered directly from Facebook and Twitter, posts are analysed to determine what content national libraries are posting with the comments analysed using a developed framework to investigate user interactions in a way beyond traditional metrics such as the number of likes. The finished project will provide an evidence base for national libraries to inform their social media practices.

This presentation will focus on the development of the framework to analyse user comments and show how this analysis is both more useful than traditional metrics and also flexible enough to apply to any social media post.