BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Upon hearing the phrase “anthropological study,” images of professors traveling to remote villages or isolated mountain regions might come to mind. Yet there is an anthropological study being conducted here at Illinois Wesleyan University – a study looking at the ways students study.
“We’re trying to get a very detailed and close-up understanding of how students approach information gathering with an eye toward how the library can better facilitate those processes,” said Andrew Asher, the resident anthropologist hired to conduct the ethnographic study for The Ames Library titled “Anthropologist in the Library: Helping Librarians Support Student Success.”
Asher, who comes to Illinois Wesleyan from the University of Illinois, was hired last October through a two-year grant, which comes from the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) under the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. The grant is shared by five Illinois universities. This month, the library received word the state is continuing the second year of funding at $160,000 for the five institutions.