Date Created

2019

Abstract

This review offers a critical analysis of the library and information science (LIS) literature on first-generation students (FGS) from the last 40 years. This literature demonstrates an interest in understanding the needs of FGS to serve them better, but it is often grounded in a deficit model of education that focuses on what first-generation students lack instead of what they have. This review identifies four predominant themes in the literature: FGS as outsiders, as a problem, as reluctant library users, and as capable students. Then it suggests possible avenues of future research, such as using a “funds of knowledge” approach to build on the learning and skills that students bring from their families and communities.

Publication Title

portal: Libraries and the Academy

Document Type

Article

Volume

19

Issue

1

First Page

177

Last Page

196

DOI

10.1353/pla.2019.0009

Keywords

first-generation students; first-generation college students; library and information science; library science literature; academic libraries; funds of knowledge

Rights Statement

Copyright © 2019 Johns Hopkins University Press. This article first appeared in portal: Libraries and the Academy, Volume 19, Issue 1, January, 2019, pages 177-196.

Digital Origin

Born digital

Publisher

The Johns Hopkins University Press

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