Mapping the methodological gap: an integrated framework for anti-racist research with youth in public libraries

Purpose This paper articulates an integrated methodological framework for conducting critical qualitative research with equity-deserving youth in public library contexts. It argues that no single existing qualitative approach adequately addresses the relational, structural and communicative demands of this work simultaneously and suggests a purposeful theoretical and methodological response. Design/methodology/approach The framework integrates narrative inquiry, critical race methodology and personal meaning mapping (PMM) as an arts-based tool. Each component is examined for its specific methodological affordances and limitations, followed by an explicit argument for their integration. The study involved semi-structured interviews with 14 youth and seven parents and PMM exercises completed by 12 youth, conducted in consultation with a Black-led community organization over 18 months. Findings The three approaches are theoretically compatible and mutually necessary. Narrative inquiry governs the relational and reflexive conditions of ethical research practice with youth. Critical race methodology provides the structural analytical lens through which individual accounts are connected to institutional conditions. PMM addresses the epistemological and practical constraints of collecting verbal data from young people and produced participant-generated data that independently confirmed the analytical themes. Research limitations/implications The framework was developed and applied by a white researcher in a specific Canadian community context. Future researchers whose positionality differs or who work in different national contexts will generate different relational conditions. Originality/value This paper presents the first known application of PMM in any public library research context. It contributes a replicable and theoretically grounded integrated framework to the repertoire of qualitative methods available to critical LIS researchers.