The Identification and Management of Bias in Webbased Information Resources Provided to New Zealand Children by Lower North Island Public Libraries

Abstract

The provision of web-based library resources to children in New Zealand libraries has increased dramatically in the last ten years. This research investigates the identification and management of bias in web-based information resources provided to New Zealand children by lower North Island public libraries. It attempts to examine the decision-making process by which librarians select web-based information resources for children, identify how librarians define and identify bias as well as how or if they mange it, to examine the impact that the presence of bias has on the selection of web-based resources, to identify the extent to which librarians are guided by an institutional policy in their selection of web-based resources, and to determine what criteria for selection of web-based resources for children are being used. Decision-making theory provided the framework for this research. The target population were librarians responsible for the selection of web-based resources for children, employed in public libraries in the lower North Island that provided web-based information resources for children, with eight librarians interviewed. Analysis of the results showed that librarians evidenced a clear understanding of what bias was, and identified bias in webbased information resources, but displayed little consensus as to the methods and extent of the management of this bias. Diverse decision-making processes and use of selection criteria was also identified.