My project centres on biodiversity learning among laypeople. I was interested in the topic because of my own experiences: while I am as far as it gets from having a biology background, having studied in English literature, I am increasingly interested in the topic because it is one of the ways in which I can build a positive relationship with my environment while living in a rural region. As someone interested in the topic but without an extensive background in its study, however, I have been at times surprisingly frustrated by how hard it can be to find applicable information about local biodiversity. I also believe this research topic could be generally useful for librarians that are invested in combating environmental devastation, and the growing number of green libraries around the world suggests that there are indeed information professionals that share these concerns. Awareness of local biodiversity is an especially important skill for people living in rural regions, and can help them apply practices that are more beneficial to species around them and less destructive to their environment. Research on how laypeople can acquire this knowledge could help democratize these skills, and make beneficial knowledge more accessible. My initial, loose idea was to focus on how public libraries could serve as biodiversity learning tools for amateurs such as gardeners and hikers, which is to say, to focus on how they could implement programs and services that could be useful for developing and applied, non-expert knowledge base.
The publicly accessible Vancouver Public Library rooftop garden is an example of green library design that integrates a focus on local biodiversity: “There are 52 solar panels installed along the outside of the roof. The garden is planted with drought-resistant, hardy local greenery. There is a mix of arbutus hedge, honeysuckle, white roses, lavender and coral bark maple trees.“
Literature Review
My literature review initially focused on seed catalogs, biodiversity databases, namely the Biodiversity Heritage Database, and on green libraries. I could not find research directly relating to the loose ideas I had in mind: for example, articles on green libraries tended to focus on how libraries could improve internal practices to reduce pollution, and articles on biodiversity databases tended to be very technical, and geared towards metadata specialists and researchers. When I did find articles on seed catalogs, they tended not to involve structured research so much as opinions, guidelines, and experiences.
I have been since expanding and changing my research topic to focus more on biodiversity learning, rather than on measures taken within libraries and on online databases. I believe that to answer my question more thoughtfully, I may need to focus on online biodiversity learning in general to provide a background on useful exercises and tools, and then make the jump from this information to concentrate on tools that could be used within a library context. I am also widening my search to include natural history museums and similar institutions within the scope of my review, since the educational strategies that they employ are likely to have some bearing on public libraries.
While I am still developing this new review, my initial searches have yielded results that mainly focus on classroom biodiversity learning for children. I will be interested to find out if more research has been done on general public education.
Research Questions and Objectives
While I am still in the process of refining my topic, the general question that I am looking to answer remains the same: what tools can public libraries use to foster biodiversity learning? The question itself is not specific enough to prescribe a clear methodology. I have since then gone through a few iterations, in which I have tried to refine by geographical location (the Outaouais, or rural public libraries), or by type of tool (software), but rejected the latter modification. I have also refined the question by specifically addressing the needs of laypeople, and by focusing on local biodiversity learning.
Methodology
My proposed model for answering this question is to create a comparison between different tools, and survey participants and users to better understand which tools were most effective, enjoyable, and what aspects of these tools in particular they found useful. I would also question them on what they thought were barriers to their ability to gain and apply this kind of knowledge, and their likelihood to use or re-use tools and resources. I also want to survey participants to understand which other tools and resources they have used in the past, both to gauge their level of awareness about different resources, and to mark their preferences. I would use a Likert scale to rate likeliness of use, a checkbox formulation for resources with a write in category, as well as a rating system for different resources according to aspect. Crucially, preferences for different resources could indicate avenues of partnership for public libraries, and they are therefore not exterior to the question. Eligible participants would be public library users of any age, including at risk demographics, because it would not make sense to exclude them from surveys; however, public library users who have advanced biodiversity knowledge (such as researchers and university students with a related major) would be excluded from the pool.
The analysis of this data would then be mixed, as preferences for resources, generic aspects and tools would be submitted to statistical analysis, though I have not decided on a model, but longer form answers would be analysed thematically to hone in on the aspects of tools that are particularly useful. This extra step could prevent some degree of interference with the data, as participants could prefer a tool due to reasons that are unrelated to the topic of study: for example, seed catalog users may particularly enjoy this resource because their best friend also uses it, or workshop attendees may prefer this tool because it fits with their schedule better, or because they have a personal relationship with the person giving it. This data is worth recording, because it can have other implications, such as the importance of community or scheduling, for example.
Some of my concerns in terms of the survey format include the limitations of self-reporting, which means that participants may not rate tools and resources in a way that reflects their actual learning. I am also concerned that there is a quite high likelihood that a majority of participants have only tried one or two tools or resources, and cannot compare them effectively.
Some of the demographic information that I believe could be interesting to collect would be age group and education level, since they could have some bearing on preference. I would like to also note participants’ personal access to computers and the internet, and perhaps their relevant hobbies.
Conclusion
In terms of how to focus my project, I have yet to finalize the questions I would like to ask on the survey, and come up with an adequate list of tools to compare: I am currently thinking of including a workshop (real or imaginary), a seed catalog program, current library holdings, and online databases and sites. As for resources, they may vary depending on the final location of the study, but I have found several groups active in promoting biodiversity in the Outaouais and Ottawa region, and could also include schools and natural history museums. One of my current problems also lies in the form of evaluation, as tools may not be comparable in an absolute way. For example, seed catalog may only teach users about flora, but not fauna, or a workshop may be particularly effective for short term learning, but not long term engagement. Narrowing down questions so that I do not risk overtaxing participants is also both a priority and a difficulty. Likewise, some resources may only be relevant to certain participants, as elementary school aged children could rate a school run program as a very useful resource, for example.