Exploring the role of public libraries in supporting intergenerational literacies through ICTs

Research has shown the important benefits of early childhood education to individuals and society. This paper provides the rationale for a study aiming to explore the role of public libraries in supporting efforts to develop intergenerational learning through ICT in Taiwan. Substantial research has evidenced the benefits of integrating ICT into young children’s daily learning environment when used carefully and appropriately. Indeed, family interventions and high quality educational provisions in the nursery have been shown to have a big impact on compensating for early disadvantage. However, limited research has investigated the role of public libraries in supporting efforts to develop intergenerational learning through ICT. In order to fill the gap, this is an exploratory, qualitative study of interventions (involving e.g. storytimes and shared reading with ICT) developed by the National Library of Public Information in Taiwan in collaboration with the research team. The study will gather data from online materials (through blogging), semi-structured interviews and direct observations. Additionally, social media (e.g. Wordpress, Facebook and Twitter) are used to help develop the home learning environment and support a community of practice in intergenerational learning both in the library and at home. The rationale behind the choice of the National Library is that it aims for promoting lifelong learning and reading through virtual and physical resources, thus helping bridge the digital divide. The viewpoints of young children, parents, caregivers and librarians will be captured. The data collected will be qualitatively analysed, using the thematic analysis procedure. Triangulation of the data sources will be employed to enhance the reliability and validity of research findings. This research draws upon studies and methods from library science and early childhood education. It is intended that this interdisciplinary study will provide the foundations for further research. The findings of this study are intended to provide a model for implementation in the 520 public libraries in Taiwan, to promote intergenerational learning through ICT. The findings are intended to advance our knowledge of young children’s interaction with adults as they engage with ICT in the library and at home, and should be of value to policy makers, parents, professional educators and librarians in these areas.