Sometimes one can have a false sense of technology savvy. With consumer electronics becoming so intuitive, often there is the sense that one need only push a button and whatever you want done will happen, appear, or be deleted from your device. Librarians understand there is a process that goes with the information, application, and/or system that is being utilized. In LIBR 210, many of the assignments revolved around the importance of the reference interview. Though it sounds so simple to me, the most important question to ask is: why are you seeking this information? Our professor had our class conduct reference interviews with each other via Elluminate and then we discussed what went right and wrong. The most common concern amongst the students was trying to understand what exactly the user was looking for. It was during this exercise that we discovered that being familiar with many databases or having expertise about a specific subject may be great, but being able to direct the user to the best source for him or her by asking questions was the first step in the searching path.
The ALA (2003) has resources that address the professional competencies for reference and user service. They are helpful in putting the concepts into a realistic setting. Besides knowing why a person needs information (responsiveness), there are also other concepts like organization and design of services, critical thinking and analysis, environmental scanning (this carries over into all aspects of librarianship), and multiple facets to knowledge from utilizing new information to how it is disseminated (Whitlatch, Bodner, Diefenthal, Huling, and Kluegel). These guidelines provide a base for a librarian or information professional to be successful for his or her user in terms of finding helpful references. Design and organization of references take into consideration that patrons are not librarians; they search materials differently. With this in mind, the librarian can be more helpful to patrons and makes the quality of references provided higher. Having the ability to do an environmental scan (either formally or informally) is essential for a successful librarian. Knowing your audience is key and being able to look at demographics and what kind of resources are available and needed for the users in one’s area keeps libraries relevant and vital. And of course, being able to synthesize information gleaned from using these concepts helps figure out how to suit the patron’s needs.
Since many of my students would be considered digital natives, it is important to know, and for them to know, what is out there. In the Information Literacy Workshop I hold once every module, I bring awareness to the different kinds of information available to them not only through the physical and virtual library, but also on sites found through an internet search. The first time I held the workshop, I was shocked of how many of my students could operate a smartphone, yet had no idea how to evaluate information. I showed them that even though a website comes up first in a Google search, that does not necessarily mean that it is the best resource for answering your question. They also lack patience in sorting through the information, whether because of the immediacy of the available information or their lack of the basic computer skills.
When I introduce the virtual library to the students in orientation and show them all the links to eBooks, databases, and APA tutorials, they are overwhelmed with all of the ways to retrieve information through one site. Some of the students refer to the virtual library as “school Google.” At first this shocked me, but now I know that treating each user individually will help both of us in finding and using the information.
This also carries over into the reference materials that I have available for the students. Since their research is mostly for practical application (i.e., dental x-ray techniques, diseases, legal briefs), I have gone on quests to find information that pertains to their projects. Though the business classes have more theoretical papers, most of the classes’ projects are brief summaries, PowerPoints, and brochures. Because a lot of students use images from the internet in their work, I took the Google tutorials myself and learned how to search images. In turn, when I give an ILA presentation or am assisting students with finding information for their brochures or presentations, I can provide them a better service with this knowledge.
I have also had meetings with the program chairs to figure out what kind of periodicals (both physical and virtual) would benefit the students. Some of the chairs are not so in the know of what is out there and I have had to evaluate different websites and periodicals to determine if they were credible enough to use. Our corporate librarian does an okay job selecting and approving campus-wide materials, but she is not always the quickest to make things available because of her other duties in our accreditation department.
It took me a little while to figure out how to not overwhelm the students with information that was too academic in nature. In the past few months, I have become a much better evaluator of sources for the student body. Though I am far from an expert in the medical field, I am now much more knowledgeable about websites, periodicals, and databases that offer information for our students.
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