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Despite societal investment in providing health information to young parents, little is known about the health information practices of young parents themselves. The purpose of this paper is to explore young parents’ health information practices in context.

This constructivist grounded theory study investigates the health information practices of young mothers and fathers (age 16-23) in Greater Vancouver, Canada. Data were collected over 16 months via individual interviews with 39 young parents (37 mothers, 2 fathers) and observations at young parent programs. Inductive analysis was iterative with data collection.

Young parent health information practices emerged, clustering around concepts of information seeking, assessment, and use, with sharing conceptualised as a form of use. Many young parents were sophisticated information seekers, and most were highly networked using mobile technology. While access to information was rarely a barrier, assessment of the large quantity of health-related information posed challenges.

These findings are not generalisable to all populations. Newly identified information-seeking practices such as defensive and subversive seeking should be explored further in future research.

Rather than focusing on quantity of information, health and information professionals trying to reach young parents should focus on fostering information literacy skills and building relationships as trusted information providers.

Young parent experiences of social marginalisation influenced their information practices and should be taken into consideration.

This first investigation of young parent information practices can guide services and resources for young parents, suggests that sharing might be conceptualised as a subset of use, and highlights new information-seeking practices by marginalised individuals, such as defensive and subversive seeking.

The purpose of this paper is to utilize McKenzie’s two-dimensional model of information practices to situate child feeding practices as complex, socially situated information practices. Further, the authors examined a host of contextual factors (financial, physical, and social) that enabled and constrained information practices within the tightly controlled environment that defines the lives of young parents (YPs).

Methods of investigation were ethnographic in nature and data collection methods included naturalistic observation and interviews in two communities in British Columbia, Canada over a period of several years. Data collection and analysis was ongoing. During the initial stages of data analysis, a conventional approach to content analysis was used to identify key concepts, preliminary themes, and illustrative examples. Working within the broader category of child feeding practices, the authors used a constant comparative process of directed content analysis to identify sub-themes, namely, distinct physical, social, and financial influences on child feeding practices.

The YPs in this study described negotiating breastfeeding, formula feeding, and the introduction of solid foods within a heavily surveilled atmosphere with different and conflicting levels of support and information. The findings demonstrated that active seeking by YPs was often discouraged by authorities, and more passive practices of information encountering and receipt of information from proxies were accepted and expected.

This study used McKenzie’s two-dimensional model to paint a richer picture of YPs’ information practices and their physical, geographical, financial, and social contexts.

These findings suggests that child feeding informational support should, rather than being prescriptive, take into account the complexities of YPs’ relationships and daily lives, as well as the social structures that shape their experiences as parents.

Child feeding practices are influenced by a host of physical, financial, and social factors, and are situated within familial and education environments, as well as broader social and policy discourses.

This research utilized McKenzie’s two-dimensional model of information practices with a sample of YPs. Evidence suggested that child feeding practices were informed by active seeking, active scanning, non-directed monitoring, and by proxy, but these manifested differently for YPs than for the older expectant mothers upon whom McKenzie’s original model was derived. Using ethnographic methods, the authors situated child feeding practices as complex information practices that are informed by conflicting information, physical, social, and financial factors and intensive parenting ideologies. This reinforces the need for information science researchers to understand contextual factors that influence practices.

This paper aims to provide an historical perspective and current guidance for youth librarians collecting graphic novels for teens.

The paper provides a brief review of the historical issues involved with censorship/intellectual freedom and comics and of current teen‐oriented graphic novels with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning of sexual orientation (GLBTQ) content in Canada and the USA. It also provides a context for negotiating intellectual freedom and collection management policy issues, and suggestions for targeted acquisitions of teen graphic novels with GLTBQ content.

The paper provides a brief overview of US and Canadian censorship of comics, including how this legacy affects today's market. It recognizes the difficulty of obtaining information and recommendations for teen‐appropriate graphic novels containing GLBTQ content, and makes suggestions for core collection items.

Only English sources from the USA and Canada are reviewed. Francophone Canadian literature is relevant but outside of the scope of this paper.

The paper is a useful source of information for the librarian looking for collection development suggestions, and/or for the librarian dealing with or preparing against intellectual freedom challenges to graphic novels or GLBTQ material for teens.

This paper furthers discussion of censorship of graphic novels and of GLBTQ material, and provides concrete suggestions to librarians developing a teen graphic novel collection. The issue is timely, as the graphic novel industry is booming and the ALA has documented an increasing number of challenges to graphic novels in libraries. Few previous papers on graphic novels or comics have included Canadian content, although the Canada‐American library worlds, publishing industries and legal codes are historically and currently intertwined.