Reflection on: “On Becoming Citizens: Examining Social Inclusion from an Information Perspective”

At the time On becoming citizens: Examining social inclusion from an information perspective was published, the global humanitarian crisis was still to reach its peak in Europe (OECD, 2015). Australia was also experiencing an unprecedented number of people arriving seeking asylum. As a consequence of these events, understanding the information experiences and information related needs of refugees as they transition and become settled into their host countries, seemed an important new area for research in the library and information science field.

The aim of the original article was to scope the field of refugee studies for an Australian library information science research audience, and to introduce some sensitising concepts and themes that would act to scaffold early research in the forced migration field. Highlighting the importance of information literacy for refugees and the role of libraries in supporting refugee populations was the main topic. The article focused on conceptualising social inclusion and by association social exclusion as an information problem. The authors argued that without strong information literacy skills, refugees were at risk of becoming information poor and thus marginalised within their host country. The role of information agencies was also included in this article to emphasise the important role that libraries play in the process.

How has the theme of the paper developed/changed over the intervening years

In the intervening years since the initial article, there has been a small but growing interest in this topic, particularly at an international level where research is being conducted on the experiences of refugees from a wide range of countries. Topics¹ have included refugee experience of transition and resettlement (Johnson, 2016; Lloyd, Kennan, Thompson, & Qayyum, 2013; Quirke, 2012); refugee use of social media and mobile technologies (Andrade & Doolin, 2016) and working with refugee youth (Fisher, Yefimova, & Bishop, 2016). The role of the public library has also featured in a number of studies since the time of the original publication (Audunson, Essmat, & Aabø, 2011; Vårheim, 2014).

Australian researchers have explored a range of topics including: the digital divide (Alam & Imran, 2015); refugee youth information practices in everyday spaces (Lloyd & Wilkinson, 2016); and health information use (Lloyd, 2014). Concepts such as information resilience (Lloyd, 2015) have been introduced, extended and connected to information literacy. Research has also been conducted that addresses conceptual issues such as social inclusion and exclusion (Kennan, Lloyd, Qayyum, & Thompson, 2011; Lloyd et al., 2013) and the experience of service providers has also been explored (Qayyum, Thompson, Kennan, & Lloyd, 2014). While Australian researchers are well represented in the broader library and information science literature, a quick review of Australian Academic and Research Libraries from 2010–2016 indicates that only three papers were published nationally which have clearly identified refugees as their research focus (e.g. Kennan et al., 2011; Lloyd, 2014; Lloyd, Lipu, & Kennan, 2010). This remains surprising given the broad-scale attention that has been given to this crisis. I am hopeful, however, that the Australian Library and Information Associations clear statement in the Library and Information Agenda (2016) about the role that public libraries play in supporting the development of ‘language and literacy skills, a sense of belonging, and an understanding of what it means to be Australian’ (2016, p. 16) will result in more research being undertaken and reported by Australian practitioners and researchers.

Speculation on how the topic may progress into the future

Library and information science researchers and practitioners across the world are uniquely placed to play a significant role in supporting refugees with their information needs as they move into their host countries. However, to provide this support, research is required that focuses how decisions made at local and national levels impact on the quality of refugees’ information experience. Focusing our research on library support is important, but it is not enough.

Since the original article was published, a greater refinement and clarity of the research have occurred in other fields and this is beginning to filter into the library and information science research space and produce a greater level of granularity and differentiation between forced and economic migration. While refugees and migrants may be viewed collectively as immigrants, the nature of the migration process is very different leading to significant variation in the information experience, information needs, practices and behaviours, and the nature and level of support that is required. The title of refugee is political and with this designation comes rights and resources (Lloyd, in press). A refugee’s migration is forced and for those concerned it is outside their control. The movement of migrants on the other hand is not forced, and based on a choice to leave for economic, social or political reasons, with an expectation of freedom to return (UNHCR, 2012, 2015a, 2015b). In the politics of forced migration words matter, so it is important that library and information science researchers make clear distinctions in nomenclature between migrants and refugees, particularly in relation to how they represent their participants’ experiences and how they, as researchers, position themselves in the research process.

Some crystal ball gazing suggests that future areas for research into the forced migration space include more research on the role of the public library to support transition, resettlement and social inclusion. Important areas for focus are: literacy, information literacy and its enactments (e.g. digital literacy, financial, visual literacy), ICT and building information resilience (Lloyd, 2014). Further research is also required into everyday spaces to increase our understanding of how community- and faith-based groups support refugee information needs, particularly the learning needs of refugee youth once they have left mandatory schooling (Lloyd et al., 2013; Lloyd & Wilkinson, 2016).

The area of health literacy and health information use also represent significant lines of inquiry. In work undertaken and still in progress, Lloyd (2014), explored how refugees learn and interpret the health environment and health information. Emerging from this research is the concept of information resilience (Lloyd, 2015). The resonance of this concept rests in its ability to describe the outcomes of people’s experiences in reducing uncertainty when knowledge bases are disrupted. Libraries could explore their own programmes to ascertain how information resilience is being built, not only in refugee communities but in other socially disadvantaged sectors.

Another issue that is important to the progress of this topic is the need to explore a wider range of research methods that will allow participants’ voices to be heard by policy-makers, so that services and funding actually address information issues and challenges faced by refugees.

Finally, an important aspect of forced migration research is advocacy and commitment to improving conditions. Ensuring that evidence from research actually reaches policy-makers and community advocates is essential. Therefore, library and information science researchers must carefully consider the dissemination of their research to ensure that recommendations reach their target audiences.

In conclusion, researchers and practitioners should work together to ensure that refugee information needs are recognised and met and their voices are heard through proactive advocacy and concrete actions that only the library and information science sector are uniquely placed to give.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Annemaree Lloyd is a professor at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science, University of Borås, Sweden. She has extensive research interests in information practices, and information literacy and information behaviour in the contexts of work places and everyday spaces. Her current research focuses on the refugee information experiences of forced migration, transition and resettlement.

Notes

1. This list is an illustrative list rather than exhaustive.