Can you?
I don’t need to tell you that the web is progressively beating the library in every battle for information. The search engine has effectively replaced the card catalog, microfilm reader, magazine stand, and bestseller list.
Representing those born after 1993, the Google generation is trending the future with 93 percent of college students satisfied finding information with search engines, compared to an 84 percent satisfaction rate from librarian-assisted searching.
And that’s if they’re physically entering the library and not calling-in or emailing for help.
Born and raised in homes with computers and internet access, elementary school children (let alone the kindergarteners my sister teaches) are playing online educational games and know about search engines and simplistic social networking sites. How many kids are entering libraries and tracking data with the Dewey Decimal System? Is your child? Are you?
Studies indicate that kids are ingrained with social media tools (even if they don’t know what “social media” as a term means) but are not evaluating the relevance, accuracy, and authority of the results. They assume if something is available online, it’s authentic.
According to a comprehensive January 2008 report by the British Library and the Joint Information Systems Committee to identify trends in future research, the kicker for me comes on page 9:
In general terms, this new form of information seeking behaviour can be characterised as being horizontal, bouncing, checking and viewing in nature. Users are promiscuous, diverse and volatile and it is clear that these behaviours represent serious challenges for traditional information providers, nurtured in a hardcopy paradigm and, in many respects, still tied to it. Libraries must move away from bean counting dubious download statistics, and get much closer to monitoring the actual information seeking behaviour of their users.
The Google generation is computer literate but not information literate. They believe the internet is a thing, not a continually-growing compendium of information and virtual interaction between multiple providers.
Search engines provide information result-by-result, as card catalogs did with each new entry. Perhaps one way to change society is to stop using search engines to find information but to flick between different results for the best one. I do that all the time, but how many of the Google generation do?
Then again, I also visit my public library.
I don’t hold the answers but I have ideas. What about you?
Photo credit: bfurlong
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Ari Herzog is an online media strategist and Newburyport City Councilor-Elect.
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Your text doesn’t sound as in-your-face as your title. Do you mean “flick between different results” as between traditional research methods and search engine type searches? As in mix it up to lessen the one-dimensional dependency on Google?
If that’s it, I agree. I still use the library, though not so much the Dewey system as the Library of Congress one. There is a vertical element in research which respects the time and toil and discipline scholars have invested in creating a body of knowledge, not merely information.
Thanks, good post.
bob
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RT @ariherzog: I’m sure I’ll get some flak for this, but what the heck. STOP USING SEARCH ENGINES: [link to post]
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Commenting on @ariherzog STOP USING SEARCH ENGINES: [link to post]
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From @ariherzog [Go to the library, you whipper-snappers!]: STOP USING SEARCH ENGINES: [link to post]
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I’m a library advocate, as well. In addition to search engines making libraries seem irrelevant for the Google generation, I don’t think that Barnes & Noble or Borders help, either. Every time I go into the library I’m expecting it to be laid out by subject, like a bookstore. I have to think back to 4th grade and scan the aisle headers to remember what all the Dewey Decimal codes are. But I actually prefer the bookstore layout and would love to see it replace the current system in libraries. Having fiction sorted alpha by author doesn’t help me discover new books on similar topics, because they’re not near each other on the shelf. And Dewey Decimal for non-fiction is just not intuitive anymore.
To me, the public library has become less about research and more about relaxing, finding a good book, or sharing community events. It’s just faster, easier, and more immediate and convenient to do research and information gathering online. I agree that kids need to be learning how to discern the quality and accuracy of online information, but I don’t think they need to give up search engines.
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Heh, I didn’t even mention bookstores so am glad you did! Reminds me of the time, around 2003ish, when I worked at B&N and routinely got frustrated that baseball books were in the sports section but Red Sox books were in the New England section.
I agree the public library has become more of a community center. Which provides hope for the future.
Beautiful. Love it. You’re absolutely correct. When I first saw the link on Twitter, I tried to anticipate various reasons for your position. I now agree with you wholeheartedly. Since our target audience is high school seniors and college students, I am going to place a link to your site on our blog. Thanks for the positive input.
Here is a better idea. Stop blogging. This post is worthless.
Whether research information is found at libraries, bookstores or online doesn’t really matter, does it? The important point is that it’s available.
I agree that kids should know the Internet is a place for information, not the original source of information, but I’m not ready to tell them to go do their research at the library first.
What’s the saying? “All things in moderation.” I think that’s the key here, too.
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The Google generation is computer literate but not information literate [link to post]
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Stop Using Search Engines [link to post]
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Well, I am biased because I went to Library School. When I go to the library it seems that most people are checking out movies and music rather than books. A lot of people are also using the computers – I’m not sure what they are doing online but I assume it’s something useful.
My daughter is in first grade and has “library” once a week. Occasionally she comes home with a book from the school library. I recently found out that frequently during the library class the kids watch movies. I would think that they would want to read books and learn how to use the library. I have not yet had a chance to ask the school about this but it really bothers me.
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I was in the library just a week ago to see if I could find a book about some new web development languages out there. I like to have something solid to hold. What I found instead was a bunch of books that were 11 or more years out of date. How is this at all helpful?
While the libraries can’t afford to remove old books because of reasons like not wanting to look empty, they also can’t leave those books on the shelves – because it turns people like me away from going back. Sounds like another initiative that needs to be taken by someone soon. Act The F’ck Now! Right?
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My 4 y old asked me the other day about the person whose face was on a dime. I said, “Dunno, but I let’s ask my computer.” I typed, “Whose face is on the dime” into Google and found out pretty fast. Some day, I’m sure she’ll ask me, “Mommy, what is a card catalog?” At least I’ll know the answer and won’t have to type it into Google.
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Trusting anything one finds on the internet isn’t a good thing. I know I have a bad habit of trusting almost anything on Wikipedia that doesn’t have a dispute noted in the content. I do have a Firefox add-in that sorts Google results by PR, and I start with the highest PR site when researching something new. It’s not a guaranteed method, but it helps with finding established content.
~ Kristi
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