Edge Hill University
(Way)finding the Words: Dyslexic Students Experiences of Navigation in the Academic Library
Higher Education (HE) libraries are instrumental to the student experience. Poised as the centre for knowledge repository and the site for skill refinement, it is no surprise that enhanced academic outcomes are associated with increased library usage. Arguably, navigation is the most necessary skill required to use the library and access the positive outcomes libraries offer. However, whether the library is accessible to all students remains to be answered – particularly in the case of dyslexic students, where there is a lack of experiences shared in the literature. Addressing the paucity in the literature, the current investigation will evidence dyslexic students’ experiences when using the HE library, aligning these with the concepts of Lexism and Stigma, as the first empirical investigation to utilise the concept of Lexism.
Using a combination of creative methods (walking interviews, photovoice interviews, and member check protocols) I have co-constructed data with four dyslexic participants, asking: “How do we understand the experiences of dyslexic library users in HE?”
Navigation was a significant aspect of dyslexic students’ experiences of the HE library. Experiences of inaccessibility are understood through Lexism and Stigma, demonstrating barriers to dyslexic students’ engagement in issues of inclusion and social inequality. Whilst there were instances of good practice that supported student access, several experiences demarked how the library is inaccessible to dyslexic students. Drawn from participant suggestions and insights, place-based recommendations to positively impact the accessibility of the library are discussed.
Jessica Eccles-Padwick’s Edge Hill University Graduate Teaching Assistant webpage