User studies for social minorities

Abstract

The present article aims to identify the relationships of the Chicago School community studies with the Information Science perspective for social minorities, analyzing specifically how this process can occur within the scope of school libraries. The theoretical foundation deals with aspects related to community studies, user studies and social minorities. In this research, the social minorities considered were the LGBTT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual) public, black and indigenous. It reflects on the influence of user studies in the context of the school library, an environment that must attend a heterogeneous audience that needs to feel represented by the information unit. The main objective is to identify relations between the studies of community of the Chicago School with the studies of users of Information Science, especially those denominated social minorities in the scope of the school library. It is concluded that Information Science, as an area, is not yet ready to deal with such issues within the school library environment. Finally, the reflection of the importance of these spaces and of the information professional's view towards these social minorities presented is the main contribution left by this research.