During the "tween" years (roughly age 9-13) adolescents undergo significant physical, emotional, and cognitive development. As tweens transition from childhood dependence to adult independence, their social interactions demonstrate a switch in emphasis: parents become less important than peers in decision-making processes, identity formation, and in validation of behaviors. These years also mark two important transitions which affect tweens' motivation, behavior and self-perception: the move from the elementary grades to middle school, and then to high school. While sociologists, educators, and marketers focused extensively on aspects of tweens' life, little is known about how life changes influence their information behaviors, particularly those that occur outside the school context. In general, non-LIS studies report that adolescents struggle to carve out a sense of "place"-physical, social, or virtual-to cope with the stresses of their changing lives, and that they seek new information and information sources as they try to make sense of their evolving identities in an increasingly post-modern and uncertain society.

In 2005, we explored tweens everyday information behavior as part of a larger study Talking with You: Exploring Interpersonal Information-seeking, funded by the National Science Foundation. Against a backdrop of several information and everyday life theories, including Dervins sense-making (c.f., 1992), Chatmans normative behavior (c.f., 2000), and Fishers informatio n grounds (c.f., Fisher & Naumer, 2005) along with principles of everyday information behavior discussed by Harris and Dewdney (1994) and Case (2002), the tweens study was guided by the following research questions:

1. What types of everyday information do tweens perceive themselves as needing?
2. How do tweens seek everyday information?
3. What barriers do tweens encounter in seeking and using information?
4. What criteria do tweens use in assessing and sharing information and information sources?
5. What are the roles of information grounds in tweens’ lives?
6. What roles are played by different social types regarding information flow?
7. How do tweens manage their accumulated everyday information?

These questions were explored using the "Tween Day" approach, which was designed specifically for this study, and based in the 30+ years of teaching and youth leadership experience present in the research team. Thirty-four tweens participated in the three Tween Days, which blended two one-hour focus groups, 20 minute individual interviews, and creative activities in a five hour "play date" with researchers. Tweens were provided with lunch, snacks, and incentives for their participation. Using three different locations (the UW campus, a public school, and a faith-based organization), we validated this approach in different contexts with a diverse group of informants.

Emergent Themes and Future Research:

• Tweens are aware of their own information needs and the roles played by and barriers inherent in different sources.
• Tweens viewed information seeking as a healthy activity but that their needs, particularly for social and personal situations are not easily met.
• Trust and social costs were paramount considerations when tweens chose information sources.
• Their information grounds-social settings, e.g., school lunchroom, bus, sports fields, shopping malls and libraries in which tweens gather and are conducive to sharing everyday information-were varied and rich, and thus in great need of deep investigation.
• Tweens showed unique information behaviors with statistically significant differences within the larger population.

Longitudinal studies of tweens are necessary to flesh out these distinctions and to provide a clearer picture of this challenging age group, along with ways in which better everyday life information services may be derived. Partnering with Intel Research, we submitted a proposal to the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to continue this study. The proposed 3-year research project will seek to: (1) gain deeper understanding of the everyday life information behavior of tweens; (2) create a community of practice among early adolescent service providers; and (3) propose an innovative service model and tools for meeting tweens' everyday information needs.

Presentations and Publications:
Fisher, K. E., Marcoux, E., Meyers, E., & Landry, C. F. (Forthcoming, 2006). Tweens and everyday life information behavior: Preliminary findings from Seattle. In M. K. Chelton & C. Cool, (Eds.), Youth information seeking behaviors: Contexts, theories, models and issues, Volume 2. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow.

Meyers, E., Fisher, K. E., & Marcoux, E. (2007). Studying the everyday information behavior of tweens: Notes from the field. Library & Information Science Research, 29.3, 310-331.

Fisher, K. E. (2005). The emotional frontiers of tweens and stay-at-home moms. Panel organized by D. Nahl. 2005 Annual Conference of the American Society for Information Science & Technology. Charlotte, NC.

Fisher, K. E., Marcoux, E. L. & Meyers, E. M. (2005). Tweens. Connecting Research and Practice: Special Populations. 5th Annual Research Symposium of the Special Interest Group on Information Needs, Seeking, and Use (SIG USE) of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. October 29, Charlotte, NC