Melissa Thornton / @sweetmj

  • Hi everyone!
    I would love to write about Taylor Swift and Swifties for my information community. I know this would fall into the broader category of Serious Leisure / Enthusiasts, and I was thinking I could focus on Taylor using her platform to inform fans on politics and feminism. I know it was said that it is hard to write about your own fandom…[Read more]

    • @laurenhayes66 The TS info community would be perfect and you would have the LIS research related to fandom info behaviors as well as all the studies of how folks use social media etc. to further causes, share etc.

  • Hi everyone! I’m leaning towards the Brandon Sanderson community. He has garnered so much love and attention and he continues to write books at an insanely quick pace. He has a website and YouTube where he gives weekly updates of his writing progress on all of his books and often discusses his works. His was the largest kickstarter project for his…[Read more]

  • Hi again, everyone! After looking into all of the different “fandoms” out there, it is hard to narrow it down to one because they are all interesting. Would exploring the intersection between fandom/fan culture and libraries/information science be too broad of a topic? Any advice would be appreciated!

    • @awilliams1998 One thing you could do is focus very broadly on fan communities as information communities. In the discussion section of your paper you could explore the library response to fan groups such as libraries that host “cons” and cosplay programs, or other service focused on fans. On the other side of that work, you would have a really…[Read more]

  • I’ve been having a hard time narrowing in on the information community I want to work with. I’m really interested in digital artists because I feel like there’s a lot of different ways they can engage with information (art tutorials, selling their art, social media, etc), but I’m having a really hard time locating appropriate sources. I find tons…[Read more]

    • @elenaporton Take a look at the artists example on the synthesis page. You will see how the student used broader studies on the info behavior and needs of artists to craft a view of her community. It is also just fine to use an article that focuses on the information behaviors and needs of creatives in general.

  • I would like to research comic books for my information community. Would like to try to write about how comics and their place in popular culture have changed over the years.

  • I’m leaning toward National Parks visitors for my information community. Still not sure if and how I should narrow the scope. I’m thinking of focusing on first time visitors, amateur hikers, or those looking to visit all the national parks.

  • I’m thinking of researching the realm of ASMR because it feels like there’s a robust foundation for further research in regards to community and information. I also seemed to have stumbled upon an article about practices within therapy and library settings, which is great!

    Additionally, I’ve consumed ASMR content for the past year and a half, so…[Read more]

  • I am still struggling to pick a single community for this assignment; I am interested in the film preservation community and fiction writers. However, I still need to narrow my focus on one subject within the community. For film preservation, I was interested in how the restoration of films for older films has resulted in a conflict between the…[Read more]

    • @cchristine The focus of all of the assignments in 200 is on the information behaviors and needs of an ion community. How I could see your Cameron example working would be researching the info behaviors and needs of film restoration fans and how they create and share info. Im thinking of all the YT’ers that made videos critiquing the Cameron’s 4K…[Read more]

  • I’ve been brainstorming ideas for a community and I’m really interested in people who make and solve crosswords. I haven’t been able to find academic articles about crosswords yet, though. Widening the search to puzzles also hasn’t turned up anything. Is that a red flag? I could certainly find something else to focus on but was curious if anyone…[Read more]

    • @jrogoff This group sounds like they would fit well under the banner of Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP) and Enthusiasts. There may not be specific LIS research on the information behaviors and needs of folks who make and solve crosswords or puzzles, but there is a lot of literature regarding how folks spin leisure time and what their information…[Read more]

  • Hello! I have been doing a lot of thinking on which community I want to focus on. One community that has peaked my interest is the BookTok community. There has been a lot of buzz around that community specifically so I thought it could be interesting. However, I’m afraid it might be a little too broad as there is a lot of sub communities that fall…[Read more]

    • @meganshipston054 BookTok would be fun and you van pull from the LIS literature on info behaviors and needs of enthusiasts as well as info behaviors and needs of social media users. Readers as well!

      I have also had successful papers on gamers and bakers!

  • Hey everyone, I have been pondering the homeschool family community. It is a community I fell into due to the pandemic. and there is so much there. But I am wondering if it is too broad of a subject.

    • @sweetmj The Homeschooling Information Community is not too broad at all. I have had papers in the past on the group. I do seem to recall there is not as much LIS research as I thought.

  • Hello everyone! Like many others, I also find myself drawn to fan communities and have been kicking a few ideas around… I am considering “Rick and Morty” fans, since it’s an odd show that ranges from extremely low-brow to abstract humor–but I’m wondering if it is potentially too offensive a show? I am also considering “Outlander” fans, because…[Read more]

    • @erin999 See my comments below about fan information communities. Yay for Outlander! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

      I don’t think you would be mocking the “bronies.”

      TikTok would be a good choice as well. I have had successful papers on various TT communities.

      • Thank you for your help! I’m struggling to pick a community–maybe because I’m unsure what type of community would work well for our upcoming papers and projects? I’m currently between Outlander fandom and citizen journalists on TikTok.

        Outlander is supposed to wrap up in 2025 whereas citizen journalists on TikTok are ongoing & widespread……[Read more]

        • @erin999 “Sing me a song of a lass who is gone…” I was on Skye last year and heard some folks singing The Skye Boat Song in an old castle.

          Outlander would work for sure but “American citizen journalists of TikTok” might be a bit more interesting from a timeliness standpoint. Not to take anything away from Outlander of course!

  • Hi, everyone! After reviewing the list of past information communities that have been researched for this class, I feel most drawn to the more “fan-based” communities. As of now, I’m trying to decide between Harry Potter Fans/Potterheads, Cosplayers, and a few more ideas that I came up with on my own, such as Star Trek Fans, Twilight Fans, or The…[Read more]

  • Hello everyone, looking through the list of past successful information communities to research on, I’m debating between many of them: Crafters, Fiction Writers, Hobbyist Cooks, Book Authors. But I’m definitely leaning more towards Crafters.

    • @pythao These are all good! Crafters is a good choice. They would also fall into the broader category of Serious Leisure / Enthusiasts. I have had many, many successful papers on all manner of makers.

  • I’m thinking about the citizen science community in America. I distantly recall watching a documentary about community members of Flint, Michigan researching their own water supply to first report the issues, and how they began their efforts at their library.

    A similar, but darker, alternative I am considering is “mis-information” communities,…[Read more]

    • @sjhan95 The citizen scientist community is super interesting and there is research in LIS for sure… it would also fall into the larger category of Serious Leisure / Enthusiasts. The misinformation community might be a little trickier. I do not recall a flat earth’s paper but I did have a successful paper on anti-vaxxers misinformation communities.

  • Hey all,

    I’m considering a few alternatives for my subject community. The ones I’m most interested in currently are 1) Clergy and 2) Recent refugees in the SF Bay Area. #1 will need refinement, but there seems to be a decent literature base and some articles with helpful calls for further research. #2 is maybe more interesting to me, but I have…[Read more]

  • I’m considering to choose elderly community for my research paper. I want to focus on elderly people in California who use library services. I’m struggling on gadering enough information for my research paper.

    • Hey Dao,

      Maybe look at Senior Homes in your community and library services that cater to them. I know libraries offer tons of activities for older adults through other organizations. An example, art and crafts, art talks, special speakers, classes, outings (I think).

      Something else to consider, senior homes in rural areas that don’t have access…[Read more]

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