The Hidden Value of Books: The Social Reader

There’s a few things that I look forward to each month– Fridays, pay-days, and getting my new Wired magazine.  At the risk of sounding like a commercial, if you’re a librarian– you should be reading Wired.  This month’s issue is full of articles relevant to our field, including a piece entitled Googlenomics (explaining just how Google works their advertising spots),  and another on The Future of Reading (Thompson, p.50). Thompson asks “Can books survive in this ADD, multichannel universe?”  He believes that we need to “stop thinking about the future of publishing and think instead of the future of reading.” He has a few good points that are especially relevant to libraries.  For example, think about all of the forms of media that have gone digital: newspapers, TV clips, blog posts.   What do they all have in common?   Audience members (readers) interact with the media– they are able to comment, send it along to friends, snip out their favorite parts.  Books are the last frontier for this sort of exploration because well, they are “stuck” on paper.   He suggests checking out BookGlutton, a site that has put 1,660 books online (it’s free!)  and allows users to form reading discussion groups, add their own tags, and comment on any paragraph.  As an educator and librarian, I can see the benefits of socially based reading and learning (just think of the conversation to be had around Ulysses!).  What this means for the future of publishing (and the library’s print book collection) remains to be seen.  Thompson points out that many people will still discover a certain book online, and then go on to purchase the book in print.  There remains a solitude found in print books– but I no longer hold the librarian’s romantic notion that the “book” is irreplaceable.  And as Thompson so eloquently puts it, “taking them digital will unlock their real hidden value: the readers.”

Librarians and Learning

I’ve been thinking a lot about Scott Bennett’s article, Libraries and Learning: A History of Paradigm Change (Portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 9. no.2, 2009), in which Bennett discusses the library’s shift from a reader-centered paradigm to a learning centered-paradigm.  In this Monday’s  New York Times (May 25, 2009, p. A14), an editorial was written in response to the news article “Psst! Need the Answers to No. 7 on the Physics Exam? Click Here” (May 18).   Joseph P.Healey writes, “Students have enormous access to information under the sun..Today, they have gluts of information. What they don’t have is a capacity to understand it all, analyze it, evaluate it and make it operate in their lives.”   Healey goes on to say something that hit right to my librarian core: “The challange for all of us in education is to accept the fact that we do not control access to information, but we do control the central task of turning information into real learning…” If you read Bennett’s article, you’ll see the connection here.  I think librarians have been too long concerned with access, and not concerned enough about what student’s actually DO with the information which we provide.  How can we turn information into real learning?  Librarians are educators– not simply traffickers of information.  There are many ways that we can contribute to student learning.  From improving  faculty collaboration, participating in learning communities,  leading workshops (giving real meaning to the resources which we provide), to making the extra effort at the reference desk– librarians are in the ideal position to contribute to real learning everyday.  -LF

Recommended Summer Reading

If you haven’t checked it out yet, I’d encourage you all to read “Libraries and Learning: A History of Paradigm Change” by Scott Bennett (Portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 9, No. (2009), pp.181-197).  Bennett discusses the shift from reader-centered to learning-centered paradigms in libraries.  He challanges librarians to stop thinking of themselves as only “traffickers” of information (or one who “supports learning by facilitating the use of information resources”) to that of enacting the learning mission of the institution through being educators.   He goes on to discuss making appropriate choices in library design which supports a learning-centered paradigm (hence, librarians must understand how people learn!).   There is no scarcity of information– it is everywhere.  The challenge is creating libraries which connect space and learning. Going beyond the Information Commons, the learning-centered model places intentional learning at the center of library design versus service.  On the same note, the March/April 2009 Educause issue is entirely devoted to learning spaces.  Also, check out Educause Learning Spaces e-book (it’s free and full-text). Ok, get reading (and thinking!)…  -LF

Podcast + Professor + Notes = A+

The days of recording lectures on tiny cassette tapes may be over, but the usefulness of  audio in education remains a hot topic.   According to the recent study “itunes University and the Classroom: Can Podcasts Replace Professors?” which appeared in Computers & Education (April 2009), students who listened to a lecture podcast and took notes scored higher on exams than those who attended class in person.  This was in part due to the fact that students could listen to the lecture more than once (the study also points out that only those students who took notes during the podcast lectures scored higher on exams).  As teaching librarians, podcasted lectures (perhaps in combination with a visual tool such as a PowerPoint slides) could be an excellent tool to ensure the academic success of our students.   Please share your experiences in using podcasting for library related instruction!  What advantages/disadvantages have you discovered?  What advice do you have for librarians who wish to further explore podcasting in the classroom?

-LF

Creativity in the Stacks

Patrons who have been wandering the second or third floor stacks of E. H. Butler Library have some innovative help finding books on their topic. Colorful new posters, designed to guide users in visually locating books by subject, pair Library of Congress subject headings with matching illustrations.

The poster project was a partnership between the Library and the Instructional Resources Department on campus.   After seeing over-priced subject posters advertised in a supply magazine, Librarian Lisa Forrest approached Computer Graphics Specialist Kaylene Waite with the idea to create their own posters for E. H. Butler Library. Kaylene was eager to help and, along with student assistants, Matt Evrard and Eddy Silverio, produced a collection of 115 unique posters. The project, which was a substantial undertaking (over 300 posters including duplicates), took over a year to complete.

Wisdom of Crowds?

As a follow up to my recent post “Confusion, Ignorance, and Critical Thinking: Why Librarians Matter”, I came across an opinion piece written in response to Clive Thompson’s article which I also referenced, “Manufacturing Confusion” (Wired, Issue 17.02).  Barry Berger replies, using Wikipedia as an example:

“Wikipedia does not build real knowledge through consensus anymore than religion or politics do. Please don’t confuse agreement among people–even after vigorous debate– as the attainment of real knowledge…”

Although I consider Wikipedia a reliable source, I do think this could be an excellent teaching point– especially when paired with Steven Colbert’s “Wikiality” example (which is currently disabled on the Wikipedia page, thanks to the wisdom of the Wikipedia police).

-LF

YouTube is the next generation search engine?

I recently came across “Is YouTube the Next Google?” at ReadWriteWeb and it got me thinking. Especially the part:

Whenever his son needed any information, he would open up YouTube, type in the search term and then just watch the videos that showed up as matches. He never Googled anything; he never went to any other site; his entire web experience was confined to YouTube videos.

Shortly after, the author tries a few searches and quickly realizes that the search results are not so great for every topic.  Even then, it is possible to find a lot of information through video clips you find in YouTube. Here’s a basic search for “search for scholarly articles” and you can find a lot of tutorials on how to identify and search for articles.

Here is a clip about a basic title search using the library catalog that I used as an experiment to complement a e-mail reference question.

I just happened to use YouTube to host the clip because it was free, but I didn’t even think about how it might end up in the public. This took me 10 minutes to make, which is about how long it takes me to write a detailed written instructions in an e-mail anyway. Eventually, with librarians adding more video tutorials to YouTube, will it get to the point where any basic library question might be answered by a YouTube clip? Will it ever get to the point where anything you can possibly search for will also have a video clip associated with it in the future?

Confusion, Ignorance, and Critical Thinking: Why Librarians Matter

For those of you who don’t follow Wired magazine, there’s a really interesting commentary by Clive Thompson in this month’s issue entitled “Manufacturing Confusion” (p.38).  Thompson points out the fact that “when it comes to many contentious subjects, our usual relationship to information is reversed:  Ignorance increases.”  Robert Proctor, Historian of Science at Statford,points out that when society doesn’t know something (like a quarter of respondents from a Texan poll that believe Obama is a Muslim)– it is because special interest groups have worked to “create confusion.”  Proctor says “people always assume that if someone doesn’t know something, it’s because they haven’t paid attention or haven’t figured it out…but ignorance also comes from people literally suppressing the truth– or drowning it out–or trying to make it so confusing that people stop caring about what’s true and what’s not.”

Thompson goes on to  point out that the internet has changed the way that people argue.  “People graze all day on information tailored to their existing world view…and when bloggers or talking heads actually engage in debate, it often consists of pelting one another with mutually contradictory studies they’ve googled…”

The article finishes up with a bit by Farhad Manjoo (True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society), who notes that “if we argue about what a fact means, we’re having a debate.  If we argue about what the facts are, it’s agnotological Armageddon, where reality lies screaming.” 

As librarians, we know the importance of teaching our students “critical” evaluation skills– and hope that it combats the ignorance which results from information overload.  I’m involved with the “Foundations of Inquiry” committee on campus, where I have helped to develop a research component which focuses on the “critical thinking” aspect of research.  While many librarians teach students how to evaluate Web pages– not all relay this back to critical thinking skills (or at least acknowledge this is what they are doing).  Librarians should be constantly asking…How can we teach students to be fair-minded researchers and skilled reasoners? Here’s a bit of what we teach in regards to critical evaluation of information (taken from the “Foundations of Research” chapter of the “Foundations of Inquiry” course book):

Anyone who has performed research on the Web knows that there is an overwhelming amount of information available to us. When searching online, just because a particular source is at the top of the search results does not necessarily mean that it is the most appropriate source to apply to your research. What information is needed to answer your research problem? What data is most relevant to your research goal? Be very selectful when choosing your sources—they are definitely not all created equal!

With the popularity of the Internet, where anyone can post just about anything, it can be extremely challenging to determine the reliability of information. Even with books and articles, it is important to be able to distinguish relevant information from biased, inaccurate information. Remember, all reasoning is based on data, information, and evidence—so you want to make sure that you are properly evaluating your sources for relevancy and accuracy. Here are a few things to consider when critically evaluating information sources.

· Relevancy. Does the resource address your research question? What are the findings and conclusions of the information presented? Is data included to support the conclusion? Is the data verifiable? Is there enough information provided? Is there a bibliography or footnotes authenticating the information presented? Is the information clear, accurate and relevant to the claim you are making? Does the information fulfill the requirements of the assignment?

· Purpose. Is the source intended to inform, persuade, or educate? Is it designed to sell a service or product? When evaluating Web sites, it is important to pay attention to the domain name—profit (.com), nonprofit (.org), government (.gov), or educational site (.edu)—as this can be an indicator of purpose and possible bias. Advertising should be clearly labeled as such.

· Authority. Who is the author? Are the author’s credentials listed? Is the information presented on a topic in the author’s area of specialty? Is the author’s association reputable or known for a particular bias? When evaluating Web sites, is there a way to contact the author? To find out more about a particular author, ot may help to perform a general Web search using the author’s name and affiliation. If there is no author listed, is the site sponsored by a group or company? If so, check out the site’s “About Us” page and mission statement. Does the group acknowledge a commitment to particular philosophies?

· Quality. Is the information presented in a logical, well organized manner? Are the author’s main ideas clearly presented? Are there grammar, spelling, or typographical errors? Are images, tables, and charts appropriately described and labeled?

· Timeliness. When was the source published? Be sure that the dates of the sources you are using are suitable for the topic area. For example, topic areas in Science, Medicine, and current events require the most up-to-date resources.

· Point of View. Many people only seek out information which supports what they already believe to true. When critically evaluating a source, it’s important to consider information from other points of view. What information has been left out that needs to be considered? When evaluating information that opposes your own viewpoint, strive to be fairminded and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the source. Skilled reasoners consider all relevant information—not just that which supports their own point of view. Be sure and articulate the point of view from which you are approaching the issue, but also fairly present important aspects from opposing views.

· Appropriateness. Even if a source is reliable, it may not be appropriate for your research. Does it contain information that supports your argument? Who is the intended audience? Beware of inflammatory language, sarcasm, and extreme bias.

Take the time to critically evaluate your search results. If you discover gaps in your arguments and evidence, you will need to readjust your search strategy in order to locate sources that are more relevant to your research problem. With patience and persistence, you will find the most appropriate and reliable resources available. Critical evaluation of resources allows for a greater understanding of different perspectives, making you a fair-minded researcher and skilled reasoner.

-LF

Websites and Co-Co Puffs: Using the Cereal Aisle to Teach Website Evaluation

Why is shopping for cereal like surfing the web?  I’ve been asking this question to my   “one-shot ” library instruction classes, and have been pleasantly surprised by the variety of creative answers.

Things you might want to highlight when using this example:

1. Ask your students how the two things are similar.  Today someone told me that the cereal aisle and the web are both overcrowded and overwhelming. Both of these answers are great ways for you to address simplifying the search process with a good search strategy.  I also like to point out Google’s advanced search features.

2. The Brand Name.  Is it a .com, .edu, .org or .gov site (maybe make a comparison to storebrand vs.  Kelloggs).  This can be a good bridge to discussing authority as well.   What makes one company better than another– how can you check the authority of a company (or Website)?

3.  Contents.  What’s really in the website (ok, sure the “box” might be pretty– but what nutrition does it contain?).  Also a great way to talk about audience.  (For example, is the cereal (or website) intended for kids or adults?)

4.  Relevance. Is this what you really want?  There’s no shortage of cereal out there (so how do you decide that this is the information that you really need?)

5.  Expiration date.  This is really the perfect example to talk about timeliness and the importance of updated websites (nobody likes stale cereal!).

-LF

The Civil Classroom…

I recently read “The Civil Classroom in the Age of the Net” by P.M. Forni, which appeared in the fall 2008 issue of The NEA Higher Education Journal: Thought & Action. Forni discusses the issue of disengaged students in higher education, and offers some sage advice for responding to the many challenges which face today’s educator.   He points out that when it comes to the Internet, “every single thing is equidistant from every other thing and from that person at the keyboard.  It takes the same amount of time and the same effort to access anything you wish” (p. 17).  Forni points out that his job as a teacher is to demonstrate that a “hierarchy of values does exist and does matter.”   Forni suggests opening a conversation on what makes information trivial vs. important– that is, discussing the value of the information at hand.   Kudo’s to Forni– who believes in developing his student’s “critical eye” when it comes to information evaluation (if only all educators (no matter what subject!) would take the time to hone their student’s critical thinking abilities!).

In regards to improving student engagement, Forni presents (among other things) a “fair convenant” to his students (pp20-21):

What I Expect from You:

That you will be punctual for every class

That you do not recieve or make telephone calls

That you respect what I and your fellow students have to say

That you come to class ready to ask and answer questions of substance on the day’s reading

That you will be mindful of time constraints when making presentations

That you will concentrate exclusively on this course during class hours…

He suggest also listing your own commitments, “What You Can Expect from Me”:

That I will be punctual for every class

That I will give everybody a fair share of my attention

That I will prepare you for your tests

That I will grade you on the quality of your work rather than on the amount of time and effort you spent on it

That I will work to make you perform better…

Forni suggests reading the covenant aloud on the first day of class and ask your students if they are willing to abide by it.  Although it can be part of the syllabus, he suggests that separate copies make the covenant more memorable (you can staple to the syllabus later).

Even if you’re not teaching a 3.0 credit class, you can still bring elements of the covenant into your one-shot instruction sessions.  In the beginning of the class, ask students to agree to refrain from checking their e-mail, facebook, e-bay, etc…”just give me 50 minutes…and I will show you how to locate the articles and books you need for your research project.  You will *leave* this room with high quality articles e-mailed to yourself and call numbers for books.  I will also show you how to save time in your research, save money, and (hopefully) get a better grade!”.

The fall 2007 issue of Thought & Action is currently available online (I’m not sure when the fall 2008 issue will be uploaded).

Here’s to an engaging spring semester!!  – LF