New Blog

I've recently been reading a new blog, that is very funny. I have no idea who is writing it, but I think you should take a look.


www.lookingforcleo.wordpress.com

Public Libraries

I started working in a public library in February of this year. Having worked on the academic side (as a student lackey) for two years I thought that it would be interesting to see the public side of libraries.

*Public Libraries are very very different.

I've had a few false starts here. Like the time a patron needed help finding information on Sea Turtles and my first instinct was to use ISI web of science. Needless to say an 8 year old girl does not need that in-depth of information.

I'll spare you the countless anecdotes that I've had thus far, but will say that working in a public library is nothing like I expected. I've had to help people with extremely basic uses of the computer (i.e. opening a browser) and how to use Word to write a resume. Reference librarians, generally, have a lot of education. I think that this fact can sometimes make us a bit sanctimonious about who we are and what we do, but it shouldn't. Librarians are here to serve the public and help people find information. While this comment might seem obvious I think it is something that we need to remember.

Has Chat Changed Things?

Sending instant messages, be they SMS, AOL, Gchat or any other of the numerous methods of “chatting” has become widespread in the computer world. The research maniacs over at the Pew have identified, in several studies, the current generation’s (those born since 1980) love of the chat. What does this mean for the library?

Currently, The University of Iowa library is redesigning it’s web site based on someone’s brilliant Master’s Thesis. One of the recommendations was to move the chat feature to a prominent place on the main page. I am guessing that the move of the chat feature will result in dramatically increased traffic of this service. However, I am wondering what impact, if any, this will have on the type of question the reference department is asked. Additionally, will the relocations of the chat feature send a signal that the library has changed, for better or worse, to accommodate the information needs of students?

I firmly believe that the amount of attention that students give their education is decreasing, but this is hardly any fault of the student and more society. But that is a discussion for a different time. The point is that students have information needs and the library is here to help, but is encouraging chat the way to do this?

Search Engines

The idea of a search engine is, I believe, fairly limited. By that I mean that Google dominates the market. There are plenty other options out there for people to use, but Google remains, by far, the search engine de jour. Within the past few weeks a new search engine has appeared, www.cuil.com Pronounced “cool” this engine was designed by former Google engineers. The interesting thing about cuil is that its WebCrawler is strikingly different from Googles. I encourage you to try out searches between these two search engines and look at the difference.

the Information Search Process

I have now completed two rounds of usability testing at Iowa. We are testing a beta site, designed with some of my recommendations from the previous study. Even with improvements students are still having a damn hard time finding things. I am beginning to think that information literacy needs to target instructors more than it needs to target students. I think the best chance for students to succeed is if they are told the same thing from every 'information-authority.' Essentially that they need to hear the same words "databases" "smart search" from both professors and librarians.
The problems that continually present themselves in my usability studies are the participants abilities to understand what a citation is. Participants still experienced considerable trouble finding the article, even after I explained what each section of an MLA citation meant.
So what is going on here? Is it a lack of information literacy of the students (or maybe a general apathy towards research). Or is there a lack of instructors who know how to use the library (or maybe a general apathy towards their students?).

interview AND success NOT("screw up" AND rush)

Some tips for reference librarian interviews

1. Make sure you research possible questions you might get asked

2. Go over those questions with friends

3. Don't have a script in front of you, but just try and play it naturally and try your best to 'be cool.' (I dislike the use of the word 'cool' but it really sums up my point here).

4. Remember steps 1-3 when your phone interview begins

5. Don't give short, and sometimes meaningless, answers to questions.


#5 is particularly important as you might experience a kind of 'out of brain' feeling during an interview which, might, cause you to sound dis-interested and like an overall idiot.

Also, if you have a list of questions that you want to ask it might be a good idea to have those in front of you. If you neglect to do this (and try to play it by ear) you might end up asking questions that have little or no relevance to the position you are applying for, in which case you will sound stupid, and again dis-interested. Do not do this.

This post has no basis from my own life and has nothing to do with trying to get a job that I really wanted and feel as though I totally blew the phone interview.

The trouble with students

Another topic of discussion at The University of Iowa SLIS Journal Club, and the main purpose for our meeting, was Patience L. Simmonds and Syed Saad Andaleeb's article "Usage of Academic Libraries: The Role of Service Quality, Resources, and User Characteristics" Library Trends 49:4 (2001).
One of the findings of the article was that users tend to not be able to use library services, even after they had attended an information literacy session with a librarian. Shawn and Courtney pointed out that perhaps the problem isn't the users, that maybe it's the library's problem. There is a lot of blame placed on each generation that they just don't work hard enough or (insert something here) enough.
Libraries too often try and force their users into interacting with terribly designed web sites. No amount of instruction, by even the best instructors, can overcome bad web site design. One problem with library web sites is when they are designed for librarians and not for the user. The 'librarian knows best' mentality is a major problem. Too many studies/librarians/professors are quick to blame the users and do not take the time to consider that maybe, just maybe, there is a problem with the system itself.