A Content Analysis and Collection Evaluation of Fiction and Non-Fiction Books about and for K-12 Children with Hearing Impairments in Franklin County Public Libraries of Ohio.

N

165

Access to Information; Adolescent Literature; Adolescents; Bibliographies; Children; Childrens Literature; Content Analysis; Deafness; Elementary Secondary Education; Fiction; Hearing Impairments; Library Catalogs; Library Collection Development; Library Collections; Library Research; Literary Genres; Literature Reviews; Nonfiction; Public Libraries; Reading Materials; Subject Index Terms; Tables (Data); User Needs (Information); Users (Information)

The purpose of this study was to find out to what extent K-12 fiction and nonfiction books about and for hearing impaired children and adolescents are included in the collections of the seven public libraries in Franklin County, Ohio. Two core bibliographies were compiled through content analysis of selective bibliographic sources. Via dial-up access to library catalogs, the numbers of titles by audience, genre, publication dates, and reading levels were identified. A spreadsheet program was used to calculate results and present findings in tabular format. Consistent findings emerged among libraries having the highest to the lowest number of books by audience, genre, publication date, and reading levels. Within audience groups, books deemed for and about deaf/HOH (hard-of-hearing) persons ranked first to those solely for deaf readers or those about deafness in nearly every library. By genre, nonfiction books for and/or about deaf/HOH readers consistently outnumbered fiction books. By publication date, books published from 1988-1992 represented the greatest number of books available across libraries. Finally, K-2 readers showed the most books compared to other grade level groups. Eighteen tables are included, and appendices present content analysis and collection evaluation results, bibliographic sources used, subject headings, and booklists. (Contains 51 references.) (DLS)

1999

ED424855