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Purpose: This paper aims to discuss the concept of "literacy" within the new literacy, new literacies and library and information science (LIS) discourses. It proposes widening the prevailing LIS conceptualization of adolescent literacy, which focuses largely on information literacy in academic settings, to a broader, information practice-based, sociocultural framing that encompasses the full range of adolescents' everyday life contexts. Design/methodology/approach: The author presents a literature review and personal reflection on a series of adolescent information activities to show the value of framing the LIS discourse on adolescent literacy within a broader sociocultural perspective. Findings: Based on the discussion, the author proposes a framework for future investigations of adolescents' literacy practices that views adolescent literacy as fundamentally social and communicative; multiformat; multicontextual; multigenerational; and culturally situated. Originality/value: A broader sociocultural approach to the LIS information literacy discourse can lead to deeper understanding of the co-constructed and collaborative nature of adolescents' new literacies practices. It can also enable stronger recognition of the impact of power and privilege on adolescent literacy practices. Finally, this essay shows the value of reflecting on adolescent information activities for challenging narrow views of literacy and highlights the social embeddedness of new literacies activities in adolescents' everyday lives.

In thinking about teens and online risks, school librarians need to know researchers generally agree that, despite the popular image of pedophiles and criminals lurking online waiting to harm innocent young people, in reality social media use is only about as risky as most everyday social interactions in the offline world (Agosto and Abbas 2013). Funded by a 2014 ALISE/OCLC Library and Information Science Research Grant, the authors worked with 98 seniors in 2 high schools to find out more about their social media use. Participants in the study completed questionnaires about their digital device ownership, Internet/Web access, and social media use and took part in hour-long focus group interviews. The findings showed that this was a highly connected group of students with high social media participation. Based on these results and guided by suggestions from the teens themselves, the authors created two sets of guidelines, that are shared herein, for helping librarians, teachers, and other concerned adults teach students how to become safer social media users. The first set of guidelines is called "Best Practices for Teaching Teens to Become Safer, Smarter Social Media Users." It presents eight educational strategies that school librarians, classroom teachers, and other educators can use to increase the effectiveness of online safety education. In the second set of guidelines, "10 Simple Tips for Safer Social Media Use," the authors offer easy recommendations for teens themselves to follow online.

Library websites are potentially important resources for parents and caregivers seeking guidance information regarding children's screen media use. This article analyzes a representative sample of 500 US public library websites to determine the discursive construction of children's use of screen media and the role of public libraries in providing guidance information. Descriptive analysis determined the presence of guidance information, qualitative thematic analysis examined the text identified as mediated information, and multimodal theory explored the communicative functions of the information. Forty-four sites (8.8%) contained guidance information, whereas 11 sites (2.2%) provided mediated information. Sites with mediated information position library staff as content curators as opposed to active media mentors. The information provided discursively constructs all media as internet-connected and risky while also positioning children as naive and unskilled. These connected constructions underestimate children's capacities, ignore beneficial and nuanced uses of screen media, and reinforce existing biases and hierarchies about "good parenting." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Library programming is one of the most important elements through which public libraries offer support for parents and families. Well-designed programming focused on implementing research findings can provide structured opportunities for socialization, education, and emotional support within families and among communities. Although family storytimes and book programs are fairly common in U.S. public libraries, fewer libraries offer programming to assist families in navigating the changing landscapes of digital media. In this article, we connect a research-based framework to the development of library programming based on projected social and learning outcomes. We recommend several types of programming models based on the framework for the development of a more intentional design of libraries and programming to support families and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public library programs and services offer opportunities to help immigrants navigate daily life in unfamiliar surroundings and a new language. For example, language classes address the social determinants of health as they encourage social participation and community ties and help develop friendships. The purpose of this research was to conduct a narrative literature review to understand how immigrants use public libraries and how public library services influence the social determinants of health for immigrant populations. Keyword searches were conducted on five databases to identify research papers that met the inclusion criteria: empirical studies published in English between 2000 and 2020 related to immigrants' use of public libraries. Thirty-one articles were included in the analysis. Thematic coding identified cross-cutting themes within the sample using the framework of the social-ecological model. Immigrants commonly use public libraries for programs (e.g., language learning), collections (e.g., borrowing books), and services (e.g., asking librarians questions). Immigrant patrons often reported satisfaction with library programs, services, and collections in the language of the host country. A frequent criticism was the relevance and accessibility of collections in their heritage language. In addition, library staff demographics often did not reflect those of immigrant patrons. Health-enhancing benefits associated with library use included increased confidence and self-esteem, cultural integration and preservation, trust and relationships (e.g., making friends), community awareness and engagement, and political integration. Future research and practice areas include collaboration between public health and library professionals to develop library programming that maximizes health and well-being among immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses work of librarians as media advocates to find the media that satisfies their information needs, regardless of format. Topics discussed include importance of maintaining open dialogues in the media mentorship process; information on stratified random sampling, which works to identify a representative set of public library websites; and role of the librarian as mentor for parents and children.

Introduction. This exploratory study investigates the phenomenon of mobile information overload. We present a multi-faceted picture of smartphone users’ information tasks in relation to their experience of mobile information overload. Method. We used qualitative interviewing methods, incorporating a modified critical incident technique and elements of contextual inquiry, to collect data from nine smartphone users. Analysis. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, and notes from the contextual inquiry were added to the transcription. We used thematic analysis to identify significant themes in the data. Results. This study presents findings on the types, contexts and preferences of mobile information tasks reported by participants; their experiences of mobile information overload, including symptoms and causes; and their mobile information overload coping strategies. The findings indicate that: (1) mobile information tasks are closely related to the experience of mobile information overload; (2) mobile information overload is a prevalent phenomenon among smartphone users; (3) mitigating interventions for mobile information overload should aim at designing for personal boundaries and removing technological constraints. Conclusion. This study is an initial examination of smartphone users’ mobile information tasks and experiences of mobile information overload. We present implications for future mobile technologies to mitigate the negatives of mobile information overload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information regarding the growing number of fake news occurring around the world. Topics include the approach of the Libraries Transform initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) to fight fake news through promoting information literacy skills, the threat provided by fake news among adults and youth who commonly used the Internet for news, and the need for libraries to promote actions against fake news.

Popular media often characterize youths’ use of social media as overwhelmingly negative, reporting that teens engage in reckless, unsafe behaviors with little thought to their online privacy or safety. Typically, these popular media accounts are based on adults’ prescriptive views of youths’ attitudes and behaviors. Using qualitative methods including background questionnaires and focus groups, we gathered older teens’ attitudes about online privacy and safety to provide a more complete narrative from a teen perspective. Findings suggest that older teens are concerned with their online privacy and feel discomfort with unintended audiences seeing their personal information, yet most feel tension to share personal information with friends. They are less concerned about safety, tending to feel safe online and to employ protective measures, but viewing older and younger generations as less knowledgeable about online safety. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for teaching teens about online privacy and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]