From June 4-7, 2013, a group of University of Illinois librarians participated in the 5th International Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (or QQML) in Rome, Italy. Lynne Rudasill, University of Illinois Global Studies Librarian and a member of the conference advisory committee, gave the keynote. Beyond the presentations, the conference featured half-day research methods workshops. One such workshop, led by University of Washington Professor Karen Fisher, focused on using the concept of information grounds to drive ethnographic approaches to discover how space shapes where and how people share information. Mara Thacker, University of Illinois South Asian Studies Librarian, found the workshop helpful in thinking about ways to drive research that could help improve outreach to international students: “If we can reach out to the students on their own turf, we may be more successful at connecting them with the services they need.” Continue reading