Fostering a love for research in print-rich environments

By Dr Demelza Hall, Ruairi Murphy

Getting students excited about research can often feel like asking a patient to be excited about bitter medicine. But if we begin with the premise that developing a passion for research includes not only the content but also the medium through which it is delivered, new and unexpected ways to inspire students can present themselves.

One such surprising insight occurred during the ongoing collaboration between Guilford Young College (GYC), a senior secondary college in southern Tasmania, and the University of Tasmania (UTAS). This collaboration is designed to enrich the experience of GYC students undertaking their independent research projects by allowing them access to UTAS’s library spaces and resources.

After initial concerns about the value of the collaboration due to GYC students’ limited access to UTAS’s electronic resources, it quickly became apparent that a visit to the library’s print collections would more than compensate. Against the ubiquity of screen-based learning, the library shelves and its printed books appeared to offer the students a fresh experience, one both physically immersive and tactile.

One student expressed delight at becoming ‘lost among the books’, while another student enthused that they had ‘never been to a huge library like this’.

Their liveliness and energy were evident when wandering among the shelves and, in particular, when handling the books, in whose palpable weight and visible place among many provided a floodlight view of the breadth of information available. This is in contrast to the often ethereal, roaming spotlight of online research. In keeping with the findings of Berg, Hoffman and Dawson in their 2011 article, ‘Not on the same page’, students appeared to experience a firmer ‘sense of place’ by virtue of the ‘tangible characteristics of print books’.

A group of philosophy students studying Friedrich Nietzsche reported being motivated by coming face to face with a vast collection of texts by and about the philosopher, while a group of English literature students, inspired by the space, expressed their intention to form a study group that would meet in the library independently. While most students reported that they preferred to use e-resources when researching, they still tended to regard print books as possessing more reverence and authority, qualities that arguably carry a better chance of imbuing the research process with meaning.

GYC classroom teachers observed a similar engagement in their students with the print collections. English teacher Christina Martini reported that ‘many students were bitten by the “research bug” and experienced the academic excitement of finding great resources with which to develop their ideas’. Anita Manners, English faculty head at GYC, said of the campus visit more broadly that ‘for them to be able to picture the environment, move through the spaces and see the other students has a positive impact on the sense of their future identity’. Psychology teacher Michelle Harris labelled the visit an ‘immersive experience’ that enabled students to ‘visualise themselves in that space in the future.’

Print-rich environments have long been recommended for enhancing children’s literacy and improving their overall wellbeing. No contention is being made that that same exposure and interactive experience are similarly beneficial to older students, nor that engagement necessarily equals learning. But as an exercise purely in generating excitement for the oftendry practice of researching, the print collections carry the latent potential to provide the spark that ignites a passion.

Dr Demelza Hall Academic Resource Centre Leader Guilford Young College dhall@gyc.tas.edu.au

Ruairi Murphy Learning and Research Librarian University of Tasmania ruairi.murphy@utas.edu.au