I agree with others - libraries are at the bottom of the 
"information-seeking food chain". They just aren't trusted information 
resources.

On Sun, 25 Apr 2010, Scott Barker wrote:

> During the discussion Mike asked the students about their own information 
> seeking behavior for these scenarios.  When asked if they sought information

This may be anecdoctal evidence, but I've run into a similar 
information-seeking practice for undergraduates - searching Google for whatever 
they wanted.  I've asked them to keep an information-seeking diary for two 
weeks, and turn in a two-page report of their information-seeking activities 
for the period.  Many reported using Google to find recipies for tuna noodle 
casserole. I reviewed their reports, and based the next lesson based on my 
analysis.

The next week, I turned them on to foodnetwork.com and epicurious.com, and 
our conversation blew their minds. The whole concept of information 
organized around a single concept - food and recipies- and being organized 
around ingrediants, methods, cuisines, seemed to be foreign to them. But 
they were enthusiastic - and the next report reflected finding cakes, 
cookies, casseroles and all kinds of recipies delighting friends and 
relatives alike.  And giving them a sense of personal empowerment. This is 
a start to understanding how information is organized around biology, 
astronomy, and the like. Or food.

I'd suggest using the students' own information seeking behaviours as a 
stepping off point for talking about and understanding information resources, 
and what these resources can do for them.

> Based on that small and non-scientific sample, at least for a large number of 
> our undergraduate students, libraries appear to be close to the bottom of the 
> "information-seeking food chain".

    Libraries are indeed at the bottom of the "information seeking food 
chain."  The situation is bad enough for young people. They can't find the 
sex information that they need, and are driven to other resources, for 
example. Libraries don't tell them how to avoid STDs, and don't tell them 
who can.

     The situation is worse, far worse, for seniors, who seek info 
on Social Security, the national financial situation, their pensions, 
their retirement accounts, and the like. Libraries (in my experience) 
simply run from these issues. They themselves are untrained in these 
issues, and they have no earthly idea how to refer users to others trained 
in these issues. Again, they don't know how to refer folks to people who 
DO understand these issues.

    Libraries are indeed the last choice in the food chain. They are 
focused on books, and not on information that people need. The staff is 
not trained in community resources and how to access them.

  Even for a scenario such 
> as seeking information for a class research paper, libraries come up short by 
> a mile for the vast majority of students compared to Google.

You can get them to write a "class research paper"??  I'm stunned. UTK 
students can barely come up with a two-page undocumented essay.  No 
footnotes, no readings.  How do you do that?  But that is the subject for 
another discussion.

> Probably not a big surprise, but something to ponder!
Ë
We should indeed.

   --gw
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Gretchen Whitney, PhD, Retired 
ˆUniversity of Tennessee, Knoxville TN 37996 USA 
[log in to unmask]
http://web.utk.edu/~gwhitney/
jESSE:http://web.utk.edu/~gwhitney/jesse.html
SIGMETRICS:http://web.utk.edu/~gwhitney/sigmetrics.html
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
> 
> Scott Barker
> Information School
> University of Washington
> 
š> 
> From: Open Lib/Info Sci Education Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On 
> Behalf Of Laval Hunsucker
> Sent: Saturday, April 24, 2010 2:17 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Where do libraries fit in the "information-seeking food chain"?
†> 
> Bernie Sloan wrote :
> 
>> Just a thought.
> 
> But a very good thought.
> 
> Yet isn't the problem (?) that it would, if honestly done, most likely pull 
> the rug out from under the whole superstructure of professional identity, the 
> whole self-image and pretension, that LIS ( and not least, LIS education ) 
> has constructed for itself over the past fifty years or so ?
> 
> Therefore :  don't count on it happening, I'd say. ( Let's hope I'm wrong. )
> 
> And as far as better positioning is concerned -- isn't it a little late for 
> that kind of undertaking to make much sense ?
>  
> - Laval Hunsucker
>   Breukelen, Nederland
> 
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: B.G. Sloan <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Sat, April 24, 2010 12:24:25 AM
> Subject: Where do libraries fit in the "information-seeking food chain"?
>  
> I think it would be really instructive if LIS students could take a course 
> that showed where libraries and librarians fit into the 
> overall "information-seeking food chain". Something that would give future 
> librarians a realistic idea of how libraries are used (and not used) by 
> people seeking information that they need. Something where students read 
> research reports about how people really go about looking for the info they 
> need, and then discuss how libraries might better position themselves in the 
> "big picture".
>  
> It might help future librarians design better library systems if they could 
> view the problem through a non-library-centric lens, and see the role of 
> libraries within a broader context.
>  
> I'm thinking there are probably courses like this out there. If you teach a 
> course like this I'd be interested in taking a look at your syllabus.
>  
> Thanks!
>  
> Bernie Sloan