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For one of my classes, I had the opportunity of creating a seminar presentation about consumer health information and the public library.  While researching for this presentation, my group and I visited numerous public library websites to see what public libraries were doing in regards to health information.  There were several trends that were apparent, but what I found the most intriguing was that many public library teen websites did not have links (or at least I could not find them and if I can’t find them when I am actively pursuing this information, will teens be able to find these links?)  Several questions became apparent to me as I began to reflect on the information found on library websites for teens.

 Do you think that public libraries need to be providing access to health resource links on their teen websites?

 I haven’t yet decided where I stand on this issue – I think that there are many different items that should be considered.  For example, when I was searching for health information on library website teen spaces I was not including the databases that are offered by the library.  Some library websites for teens did have links to their databases; for instance, the Stratford Public Library has links to their online health databases.  Would this be sufficient for teens?

 I don’t know if this would be sufficient for teens.  Are teens using their library card to access this information online?  I know that when I was a teen, I was not using databases to access this sort of information.  But then again, I was a teenager a number of years ago.  However, I don’t know if I would have used this to search for information if I hadn’t grown accustomed to searching databases in this program.  Also, what about the days that you are just too lazy to go find your library card to get the barcode to be able to access the information? 

 Another interesting point about searching for health information on library websites for teens is where the health links on the websites are found.  Understandably all libraries do not place health links in the same location, but are there spots where the links would be more easily found? Personally, I found it easiest to find the health links when they were located under Internet Resources or a similar title.  But when library teen websites had categories like “my life” and “homework help”, it could be difficult to determine where to find the resources I wanted.  However, I could always find the information. 

 Would a teen that was looking for health information look under the homework help for links to Internet materials??

 For me personally, I thought that I would find the health links under the life section that included life Internet links. However, I can see the reasoning behind placing the health links under homework help for teens that need the resources for school work. However if I was looking for health information because I had a particular illness or a question about a specific issue, I wouldn’t necessarily think to look at the homework section.  Perhaps this point is moot if teens are regularly using the teen library website, as they may already know where to find this information.

 I would be interested to hear other opinions on this topic.

In light of the recent website evaluations we discussed in class and to compliment the subject I discussed in yesterday’s blog post, I thought I would do a review on a sexual information website for teens. I will first make a few comments about RAMP, the Toronto Public Library’s teen webspace. The second part of my post will review Spiderbytes, a sexual information site for teenagers recommended by RAMP.

RAMP

Links to sexual health information are listed in the “life stuff” section of the website. Considering that the search function in RAMP is not very good (I actually couldn’t get it to work at all and kept getting error messages), “life stuff” is not necessarily an intuitive place to look. The importance of sexual health and young adults’ curiosity about sex justify better labeling and a more direct link to this information.

I think the sex information links in RAMP could be organized better in general, particularly since the different pages lead to many (if not all of the same links). I could go on critiquing this site but I think we already discussed it enough in class.

Spiderbytes

Spiderbytes was created by Planned Parenthood of Toronto, a community based, pro-choice agency.

Besides its terrible name (what exactly does Spiderbytes mean?), Spiderbytes’ design is lacking in usability. I think the design goal was to be different and attractive and although it achieves that, it is not great to use because you have to figure things out. Although the persistent navigation is consistent, you have to scroll over the buttons in order for labels to appear. Additionally, there are two persistent navigation bars/icon groups, which is disorienting and confusing to the user. The main navigation bar, housing information about sex, relationships, puberty, etc., leads to pages that look blank until you figure out that the little lists on the right-hand side of the pages are links that you have to click on to have the information appear in the center of the page. The font size here is way too small. Perhaps a young adult would find this design refreshing and enjoy exploring how the site works (I venture to guess that may have been the goal of the designers), but Jakob Neilsen, the usability expert, would disagree. Neilsen reports that studies of teen website use reveal their patience levels and attention span to be even lower then that of adults. If a user is looking to quickly access information, they would not be able to on this site.

However, the site does score some positive points with its design. It is not too busy or flashy with a lot of distracting animations. It does not require a lot of scrolling and does not use colours that bother the eyes. Rather the design is quite simple and clean, if not conventional and intuitive. Additionally, it contains interactive elements such as quizzes. For instance, in the “puberty” section, teens can fill out quizzes about getting hairy and periods. These short multiple choice quizzes test the knowledge of users and provide information (and answers) in an engaging way. Another good example is in the “sex” and “virginity” section where teens can take a quiz to let them know if they are ready to lose their virginity.

Thus the site offers great content. When I was a teenager we didn’t have access to this type of information, in this format. I think it would have been kind of cool to explore sexual health information through interactive, online quizzes. The inclusion of sexuality and sexual orientation in the content is also important and useful. The inclusion of disability issues is great but these are located in the “sexuality” section which is probably not the first place that people would look for this information. Although the information is generally straightforward and succinct in the main sections of the website, links to clinics, phone lines, etc, are located in a small pop-up window that requires a lot of scrolling. This information is thus not very accessible in terms of the website’s ease of use.

The site provides very informative content in an interactive and interesting way, but the design is ineffective and impractical, taking away from the overall experience. It is a good example of the ways in which information providers sometimes defeat their own purpose and put up unintentional barriers to accessibility. It is important for librarians to be aware of these issues and to critically evaluate the information tools they provide to their community.

Although Planned Parenthood of Toronto is a very reputable and authoritative community health organization, if the city’s public library is compelled to include a link to this site, I would recommend they ensure links to websites with more usable designs as well. As it stands, RAMP does not offer links to more then four sexual health websites in total. If I was a teenager (maybe not the best way to make this judgement… ) and clicking through all the links led to sites that looked and worked like Spiderbytes, I would likely leave the library site and look for more straightforward information elsewhere.

Posted in Accessibility, Barriers/Access to Information, Health Information, Public libraries, Reviews and Reviewing, Teen Content Creators, Teen Spaces      

For my blog posts I’ve decided to focus on teenagers and sexual health information. How available is information on sexual activity? How useful and accurate is it? How accessible? Are rates of STD/STI infection and pregnancy reliable indicators of an “information gap?” Is engaging in risky sexual behavior a sign that one is uninformed? In the first few years of the century, news stories were reporting that incidents of STDs were on the rise among young adults. A recent article, however, based on evidence from Stats Canada, reported that Canadian teens have become more sensible about sex disease risks. Are we seeing the start of a new trend toward more awareness and lower rates of STIs? The government has certainly taken initiatives to inform people about sexual health with their huge (and controversial) HPV vaccination campaign.

In this blog post, I want to briefly explore some barriers to information and comment on factors that contribute to risky sexual behavior in young adults.

It seems to me that when I was a teenager, in the 1990s, sexual health information was not as readily available as it is today. We mainly learned from our peers (which is probably still the case for teens today) and we had sex ed classes every so often. When someone was faced with a very serious issue, like pregnancy, there were sexual education centers and birth control clinics where they could go to get help. These places were also known as good sources of free condoms (for those who were not shy to go and ask for them). AIDS was big news in those days and we understood the importance of practicing safe sex and using condoms. Teenagers involved in risky sexual behavior then, as now, for a variety of reasons.

Since the Internet has given rise to a plethora of information, sexual health information is more prevalent and accessible then ever. In fact, the amount of sexual health information is overwhelming. Governments, hospitals, medical associations, and other authoritative bodies have put together, or subsidized the creation of comprehensive and reliable collections of sexual health information on the Internet. Barriers to access are multiple and varied. For starters, not everyone has access to the Internet. Many young adults who do have access to the Internet do not know how to conduct proper searches or assess the reliability of information. Still others are prohibited from conducting proper searches due to filtering imposed by parents. Teens who seek sexual health information at public institutions like libraries face similar barriers, lack of experience and knowledge using technology, and filters. Additionally, being in public may be a deterrent to some. Other barriers exist besides these, such as cultural, psychological, and institutional barriers. At least in Canada educational policies support sexual health education as a basic human right. This is not necessarily the case in the United States where some State systems actually prohibit sexual education.

Finally we cannot underestimate the importance of rebellion to teenage development. Although rebellion is played out in different ways and to different extremes, it is considered a natural aspect of a child’s transition from dependence to autonomy. It would be difficult in this day and age of media saturation to argue that children and teenagers are unaware of the dangers of smoking and drugs, yet some young adults still engage in these activities. Sexual activity is often a part of this rebellion.

This analysis would be incomplete without mention of the competing educational and pop cultural messages that influence (and confuse many) young adults. See:

I personally do not like the term “information gap” because it implies a lack of information and oversimplifies a very complex problem. I don’t think we need more sexual health information. Rather, we need to increase access to that information and foster an atmosphere of openess, encouraging a safe environment for teens to engage in a critical discourse of sexual issues. Many library systems are creating websites for teens that include links to authoritative sexual information. The problem with these library pages is that they are generally only available through browsing. In order to promote these resources libraries should partner with sex educators, school programs, and local health institutions.

Tomorrow I will do a review of a teen sexual health website.