Hunter
College Kitengesa Library Literacy Study
Principal
Investigators : Professor Kate Parry, Lauren Yannotta &
Assistant Professor Valeda F. Dent
The
Hunter College Library research study, the first stage of
which was completed during the Summers of 2004 and 2005, conducted
an analysis of library useage by looking at circulation information,
observing users, conducting interviews and focus groups. The
researchers produced a detailed profile of library users,
as well as published two articles and presented their work
at the 24th Ethnography in Education Conference (Philadelphia,
February 2005) and the 4th Pan African Reading for All Conference
(Swaziland, August 2005). Lauren also presented
at the International Federation of Library Associations conference
in Seoul, South Korea, August, 2006.
One
of the objectives of the research project is to make a significant
contribution to the body of library literature which is lacking
in the area, and also add to the literature regarding the
ways in which "newly-literate" people are using
reading material. In addition, the research will allow other
libraries on the African continent to extrapolate the data
for use in their own communities, as well as provide a framework
for other rural libraries to conduct studies of their own
users.
Follow the link above to watch the "Study with
the Best" interview with Professor Kate Parry,
Valeda Dent and Lauren Yannotta, and take a visual
"journey" to Kitengesa! Click on Season
Four, #4. Courtesy of CUNY-TV.
|
The
researchers returned to Kitengesa during the Summer of 2005
to examine the impact of the library on teachers and teaching.
This phase included observation, focus groups and interviews
at Sseke Secondary School, Masaka High School and Kitengesa
Secondary School. Results of the research are detailed in
the two journal articles listed below.
Read
the original 2004
PSC-CUNY grant proposal.
Read
the 2005 PSC-CUNY grant proposal.
These
studies were made possible with grants from the
PSC-CUNY
Research Foundation.
In 2007 Kate Parry was invited to be a keynote speaker at the IFLA Satellite Conference organized by IFLA’s Sections on Library Services to Multicultural Populations, Libraries for Children and Young Adults Section, and Reading Section. She presented more recent reseach on library use, focusing on students preparing for their “A” (Advanced) level examinations. This paper was posted on the conference website (https://lib.tut.ac.za/ifla/) and will be printed in 2008 in The Languages of Africa and the Diaspora: Educating for Language Awareness, edited by JoAnne Kleifgen and George Bond and published by Multilingual Matters.
RELATED ARTICLES
Lauren
Yannotta and Valeda Dent (2005). "A Rural Community Library
in Uganda: A Study of its Use and Users." Libri, 55,
1:39-55. Click link to access article.
Valeda
Dent (2006). “Modelling the Rural Community Library:
Characteristics of the Kitengesa Library in Uganda”,
New Library World, 107 (1/2): 16-30. Click link to access article
Valeda
Dent (2006). “Observations of School Library Impact
at Two Rural Ugandan Schools”, New Library World, 107
(9/10), 403-421. Click link to access article
Valeda Dent (2007), "Local Economic Development in Uganda and the Connection to Rural Community Libraries and Literacy.” New Library World 108 (5/6): 203-217. Click link to access article
Rural Village Libraries Research Study
In 2007, Valeda Dent worked with Michael Kevane and the FAVLteam in Burkina Faso to conduct an impact study of the various FAVL libraries in the area. Initial findings were presented at the Comparative and International Education conference in March 2008. The study is ongoing and will eventually include a review of the FAVL libraries in Ghana.
Comparative and International Education Society Conference
Kate Parry, Michael Kevane, AB Kasozi and Valeda Dent presented a panel for the CIES 2008 conference, titled "Complementing formal education: Village libraries in Africa." The panel included discussion of the Uganda higher education system and the lack of a reading culture, the promotion of reading in rural African populations, libraries in village communities, and reading and schooling attitudes in Burkina Faso.
