Preparation
Using the criteria identified in the instructions for this assignment, I developed two forms with which to track the information-seeking behavior of a patron at Southbury Public Library (Southbury, CT). Next week, I will use the same format at the University of Connecticut School of Law Library.
Data Collection Sheet #1
Collection of background informationData Collection Sheet #2
Information Seeking Research (narrative)
The second data sheet was prepared in 14 pt. type with multiple line-breaks to improve readability, although in this instance the form was completed by the researcher rather than the patron.
Information Seeking Research Background
Prior to initiating the observation, permission was obtained from the Library Director and the Head of Reference at the libraries in question. A third information sheet was prepared to explain the research to the patrons and to secure consent for the observation.
Observation
I identified myself and my purpose to the reference librarian on duty, who is
acquainted with my library work. I stationed myself in the library's non-fiction
section with a view of some of the OPAC terminals. A patron who was nearby appeared
to be fairly far along in his search, and was therefore not approached. A second
patron went directly to the 600's section of the reference section and began
to browse. When approached, he stated that he'd like to help but had no time
to participate. A woman who had spent some time at the OPAC terminal proceeded
to the 600's section of the circulating collection. After hearing the explanation
of my research request, she agreed to participate.
She indicated that she was in her 50's and was currently employed part-time
in education (later specified as assisting students at a local community college
with writing). Her youngest child was in her final year of high school and she
was seeking information about starting a business as a "professional organizer",
that is, a consultant to individuals and businesses who wish to organize their
paperwork, homes, offices, and activities more efficiently. Later in the interview,
she mentioned that she had a master's degree in organizational psychology but
had retired from that career to be a full-time mother and was looking to return
to the workforce.
She believed that she had heard or seen some mention of this career possibility
sometime in the last few months and yesterday decided to look for information
in the library about professional organizing methods as well as small-business
start-up guidance. She began by searching the internet via her home computer,
through which she identified professional associations in the field and community
groups (like SCORE) that provided advice to entrepreneurs. One association's
website included a bibliography of about a dozen recommended books, which she
printed out and brought to the library.
Here, she searched the OPAC, looking for these particular titles using "organization"
and similar keywords. She reported extreme frustration in both the process (the
screen frequently timed out) and the results (finding only two of the recommended
books, one of which was checked out). She also noted some other promising call
numbers and explained that she like to go to those areas on the shelf and browse
for materials that were missed in her initial search. Unfortunately, because
of her problems with the screen timing out, she didn't have title/author information
for these books.
Her call numbers led her to 650.1, then 640, then 658. She eventually found
the title from her list (initially missed because it was a smaller book pushed
back between two others). She was puzzled that one of her call numbers was in
the cookbook section (actually, the housekeeping section). She seemed to miss
a number of books on career transitions at 650.34 that were adjacent to her
search area.
She examined a number of books and found two others, but was generally frustrated
that she couldn't determine the currency of the books without taking them off
the shelf, most of which she felt were "really old, as old as my 22 year-old
son." Besides the aesthic negative of older, used books, her topic would
seem to be particularly in need to current information that would cover the
use of computer technology for organizing and scheduling, including the use
of PDA's, cell phones, wireless internet, etc.
I noticed that the crowded bookshelves left her no place to set down her selections
and notes, forcing her to pile them on the floor as she browsed. I withheld
comments or advice, and though she shared a few comments, she didn't ask me
directly for help. There were no discernable behaviors attributable to the observation
process. After approximately 20 minutes browsing these areas, she decided to
borrow two of the three books she had found.
I asked her if she had had any help from a librarian today. She said that she
had asked for computer help when the OPAC timed out during her search. The new
head of reference was not in at this time, and the assistant reference librarian
was not inclined to provide "active" reference, but instead usually
waited for patrons to approach him. This was particularly of note, since I had
discussed my project with him earlier, and one might expect that the observation
effect might impel him to provide extra service to my chosen subject in order
to demonstrate the value of reference service.
As she gathered up her things to check out the books and leave, I thanked her
for her participation, noting that I, too, was making a career transition as
my children grew independent. Since she had indicated that her search was complete,
I waited until this point to ask about other sources she might consider. She
mentioned that she occasionally finds books [in the regional OPAC listings]
from other libraries, but that the only ones she saw today were at Silas Bronson
Public Library (Waterbury, CT), which was not a location she was likely to use.
I then confirmed my impression that she didn't use interlibrary loan to obtain
these books, and she stated that she felt that process would take too long.
She said that she would next obtain information at meetings of the professional
and community associations she had identified and would then look for relevant
material at the bookstore.
I had suggested that the reference librarians could give her some other ideas
and asked if she had used the online periodical databases (EBSCO products).
She wasn't initially familiar with this resource and asked me how to access
it. With no librarian in sight, I stepped out of my researcher's role and showed
her how to bring the search screen up and select some promising databases. I
showed her how to mark results of interest and to e-mail them to herself (thus
saving the paper and cost of printing). This generated 48 "hits".
I commented that periodical sources were likely to include very current material
and be good short introductions to her topic, perhaps with suggestions of other
resources.
She had earlier mentioned that she found the paper card catalogue much easier
to use, that she would have been able to go directly to the appropriate subject.
She was particularly frustrated by recent changes in the look and feel of the
OPAC, resulting in slower searching and a new learning curve. Today, her keyword
search (the default screen and the only one most patrons ever find) produced
many seemingly irrelevant titles, including one on the Marines (I recall a recent
title by a retired Marine on principles of organization and management) and
one on origami (perhaps picking up the word "organization" from an
author entry).
Conclusions
This user was typical of many adult patrons of our local library, in a community
where many have college degrees and look to the library for self-help and business
information. It was clear that many of the tools and resources of the library
were not on her radar scope, however. She certainly had little knowledge of
Boolean searching and didn't recognize the effect of choosing between a keyword
search and a subject search or the importance of selecting discriminating search
terms.
Her failure to seek reference help (and the librarian's failure to offer it)
suggests a need for further, more representative study of patron/librarian interactions
and, perhaps, policy review, supervision, and in-service training. Since some
users would not want to receive reference help, more user-friendly computer
interfaces, signage, and how-to posters might help. This library does offer
one-on-one instruction in the use of the library computers, but one suspects
that few recognize the benefit of such a class since they're already using computers
at home.
In conducting further observational studies, I would like to refine my data
sheets to include a date/time/resource log to note conveniently the time spent
at various resources. If a keystroke log were available, as has been used in
some major studies, it would be helpful to see precisely how the user entered
search terms, which databases were selected, what results were received, and
how long each was viewed by the user. If user-identified "hits" (resources
of interest) could be logged quickly, subsequent review might reveal the extent
to which apparently appropriate items were overlooked or inappropriate ones
pursued. If a user could easily mark an item (and perhaps be "rewarded"
with a convenient results printout with shelf-location information), providing
a record of the user's choices.
This would, of course, leave many decisions to interpretation. Did the user
ignore a title because of its older copyright? Was a work that had been touted
on television get preference over a more authoritative one? Was the title or
subject entry misleading? Did the user get too many results and stop partway
through the list when he or she had "enough"? Did the user have another
need that took priority before the search was complete (an appointment, a child,
a deadline)? Did the user stumble onto something embarrassing or frightening
that he or she preferred to ignore at that moment? These are questions that
can seldom be reached in a printed survey. Some users in some situations may
be willing to answer these directly to the right interviewer, or may reveal
this information through indirect conversation. Many, because of time constraints,
embarrassment, or privacy concerns, may not consent to such a comprehensive
review of their information searching. Thus, it is unlikely that one could obtain
a random sampling of a user population. However, with more time available, I
might attempt to conduct a running observation/interview/dialogue from the moment
a user enters the library in order to secure some of this information, with
the attendant risk that many would either decline initially or would cut short
their search so as to exit the observation.
The time and day of my observation was at the very beginning of the school year,
with the first hint of pleasant weather is several days. The librarian noted
how well-behaved and hard-working the students had been who had used the library
that week. I suspect that those who are hitting the books now, with the temptation
of a lovely fall day close at hand, are a rather different crowd than those
who dive into the library in a panic just before a report is due. My observation
notes should take these "calendar" considerations into account as
well.
Finally, I had to restrain my urge to kibitz, which would have been easier if
I knew that I would have the opportunity to actually assist the user once my
observation was complete. For my next observation, I will prepare a written
"Thank You" sheet with suggestions and offers of additional help in
the search, including use of the reference librarians, printed/online help references,
and specific suggestions based on my personal knowledge and training. While
I would like to convey my observations to the policy makers at the library,
I do not believe that this could be done directly without causing resentment
among the staff. Nonetheless, it might be possible to amalgamate the observations
and conclusions of our class members and share them with the libraries en toto,
avoiding individual criticisms of isolated events and encouraging library boards
to develop a more comprehensive study of the information seeking behavior of
their patrons.
Preparation
I selected an academic law library whose users include law students, faculty, practicing attorneys, and pro se members of the public for my second observation. Because these users are typically under high time pressure (hours or days) and require a high degree of thoroughness, I selected this group as a contrast with the public library user in Observation #1. I obtained permission for the observation from the head of reference. I prepared additional copies of the same data forms as for Observation #1.
Procedure
I introduced myself to the librarian on duty at the reference desk, explaining the nature of my observational study. I stationed myself on the main floor of the library, between the circulation desk, the OPAC, and the reference desk and approached patrons as they arrived in this area, introducing myself, explaining the nature of my observational study, and describing the additional time that would be required to complete the descriptive data. The first few people approached declined to participate (indicating that they didn't have the time). A group of about 15 students came though on an orientation tour, being told that the reference desk is the "most import thing on the tour." Eventually a young man agreed to participate. This user was a third-year law student (age 24-29), enrolled in an advanced legal research course (taught by the library director). He was completing a "scavenger hunt" for very specifically defined legal information sources as a beginning-of-the-semester assignment for that course, and had completed part of the questions on a prior occasion.
On this day, he initially approached the reference librarian for help interpreting
one of the questions, which had apparently confused him in his prior efforts.
Thereafter, he went immediately to the print periodical indexes in the reference
area, without obtaining a call number. Although he stated that he was looking
for "ILP" - Index to Legal Periodicals, he actually looked initially
at "CLI" - Current Legal Index. He stated that this was the resource
specified in the particular question. He also examined some unbound issues of
the index. He then read the front matter and switched to ILP, from which he
selected a few pages for photocopying.
For the next question, he returned to the reference shelves (about 12 shelves,
10 feet long) and scanned a couple of aisles before spotting his target, "CJS"
- Corpus Juris Secundum, a legal encyclopedia. He began with the volume that
included his main topic alphabetically, browsing the pages of the topic, then
the topic outline, and then jumped to the main index volume. He appeared to
be unaware of the topic index within the volume he was already using. Eventually,
he settled on a pair of pages which he then compared to the assignment question
several times, then completed the relevant response.
To locate his next source, he scanned the shelves where he was, then rounded
the corner to the next group, where he found "ALR" - American Law
Reports, another legal encyclopedia. For this question, concerning child abuse,
he went first to the annual index "C-D 2004" and, from there, to the
text volumes. Later he picked up the "A-Z 2003" index and was puzzled
until the user who had taken the "A-B 2004" index to a carrel returned
it. The titles on the spine were relatively small print and with poor contrast.
He then returned to the text volumes and hopped back and forth several times
between the treatise and the question.
At this point, as second law student joined my subject, and the observation
was terminated due to the change in conditions. I thanked him for his cooperation.
The subject described himself as "satisfied" with the research process
that day, rating it 5 on a scale of 1-10.
Conclusions
Advanced Legal Research is a relatively recent addition to law school curricula,
as are courses taught by law librarians. Law schools are unique in making bibliographic
instruction ("legal method") a regular course rather than a brief
tutorial or how-to seminar. The practice of law is one of the few professions
in which one is expected both to continually research the matters presented
and to document that research for independent review (typically by a judge).
Nonetheless, it is a common observation that the current crop of law students
(from the internet generation) lack skill in using print resources. Because
the material is complex and specialized, each resource includes many highly
developed finding aids with which one must be familiar to perform thorough and
efficient research.
It being the beginning of the semester, some skills may have become rusty over
the summer. However, most law students use the summer for professional internships
which hone these skills. Therefore, I was rather taken aback by this student's
disorganized approach to these research materials. This is especially concerning
given that the resource required was extremely well-defined, specified by the
question. The sole task left was to access the information within the resource.
In future observations, an assessment instrument might be developed which could
be used by legal research instructors to evaluate a student's ability to find
and use the appropriate legal resources. Alternatively, a self-evaluation could
become the basis of a student presentation to other class members illustrating
his or her approach to researching a particular problem. The latter would provide
opportunities for collaborative work (an important aspect of lawyering), and
would identify poor research strategies as learning needs for the class.
While much could be learned by tracking keystrokes during electronic legal research,
print materials (particularly treatises and encyclopedias) continue to be significant
resources for lawyers. Efficient, accurate, and thorough research is highly
prized by law firms. Therefore, a practical metric with which to evaluate a
student's legal research could be a valuable tool in a law student's resume.
The bar exam primarily tests the ability to synthesize the facts of a case with
major legal theories to describe key issues to research. The proper observational
tool might provide a parallel test of the ability to conduct that research.
I have selected for this self-observation my research on travel destinations and points of interest in the United States that for members of my church seeking to further their spiritual development and knowledge of Christianity, our denomination (United Church of Christ), and religion in general. I intend to incorporate this information in the website which I've developed for our church's library, Collister Digital Library.
Primarily, this will consist of an annotated list, organized geographically. I had previously created a limited list as a part of my Summer Features page on the website. During my summer vacation, I gathered additional information from locales I visited.
To the extent feasible, I will include links to websites with additional information. If this initial publication is well-received, I may develop the concept further into a magazine article or print guidebook. Therefore, a part of my search will be scanning the market for existing publications of a similar nature.
A critical factor in my workplan for this particular search is the limited time available to me for this project due to competing information needs and personal obligations. Typical of most searchers, I think, are the multiple tasks that consume each week (168 hrs.): 40 hrs. household management, child care, and educational support; 7 hrs. visitation and care of invalid mother and management of legal affairs; 25 hours chauffeuring children to schools, clubs, lessons, etc.; p/t library work 10-15 hrs. per week; 12 hrs. on scheduled ambulance crew; 5 hrs. community organizations; 18 hrs. MLS study; 49 hrs. sleeping & personal care;
1. From the adjectives below, check those that describe how you feel at this point in the process. Selected responses are marked with "<".
1. Confident <
2. Disappointed
3. Frustrated
4. Relieved
5. Sure
6. Confused
7. Doubtful
8. Optimistic <
9. Satisfied
10. Uncertain
2. What is your task now? Please check one box.
1. To gather information pertaining to the specific topic. <
2. To investigate information on the general topic.
3. To complete the information search.
4. To recognize an information need.
5. To formulate a specific topic.
6. To identify the general topic.
3. What are you doing now? Check as many boxes as apply to you.
1. Discussing the topic.
2. Browsing or making a comprehensive search of the library.
3. Outlining to organizing information.
4. Conferring with people who know about the topic.
5. Asking librarian questions.
6. Skimming and scanning sources of information and/or recording bibliographic citations. <
7. Writing about themes and ideas.
8. Reading about topic.
9. Taking notes on facts and ideas. <
10. Rechecking sources for information initially overlooked.
4. What is the title of your project? Describe the topic is a short paragraph.
"Landmarks Along Your Faith Journey"; see
description above.
5. On the scale below indicate your confidence level at this point in the project.
(low level of confidence) 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 .
9 . 10 (high level of confidence)
15 Sept. - Sorted and examined brochures from potential destination sites gathered during vacation; filed with church library materials.
16 Sept. - Examined AAA Regional Tour Books on hand for USA & Canada; prepared list of additional volumes needed; examined various index entries among separate books; made preliminary outline of types of destinations.
19 Sept. - Bibliomation & Amazon.com search for related titles.
20 Sept. - Initial design plan for library travel display.
1. On the scale below indicate your confidence level at this point in the search.
(low level of confidence) 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 .
9 . 10 (high level of confidence)
2. From the adjectives below, check those that describe how you feel at this point in the search.
1. Confident <
2. Disappointed
3. Frustrated <
4. Relieved
5. Sure
6. Confused
7. Doubtful
8. Optimistic <
9. Satisfied
10. Uncertain
1. On the scale below indicate your confidence level at this point in the search.
(low level of confidence) 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9 . 10 (high level
of confidence)
2. From the adjectives below, check those that describe how you feel at this point in the search.
1. Confident
2. Disappointed
3. Frustrated
4. Relieved
5. Sure
6. Confused
7. Doubtful
8. Optimistic
9. Satisfied
10. Uncertain
For this observation, I contacted four adult professional educators working in Connecticut public elementary schools, one of whom was unavailable for interview. Each interviewee was given informed of the nature of the investigation and that no identifying information would be published concerning the interview. Each gave his or her consent to participate (see Consent for Observation, above).
I had initially interviewed two law students, but found their understanding of information seeking to be so removed from the issues raised in this script that I did not use that data.
I prepared duplicate copies of the scripted interview questions to be used for this observation, with space for my notes to be recorded. I scheduled a 30 minute meeting with each interviewee.
After recording some brief demographic information, the scripted questions were read to each interviewee. In order to standardize the investigational instrument with that used by other members of the class, I refrained from explicating or elaborating on the questions. When an interviewee asked for a clarification of the meaning of a question, I asked him or her to answer as best as the question was understood. When an interviewee paused in a response, I asked if there was anything else that they wanted to include, sometimes generating further elaboration from the interviewee.
In this paper, the interviewees are referred to as "A", "B", and "C", to preserve their anonymity. Answers given by each are listed below the interview question.
A is a male in his 50's, teaching fourth grade; B is a female in her 50's, teaching second grade; C is a male in his 40's, serving as a technology resource teacher for an elementary school.
1. What are your current (last six months) information needs?
A - (broadly) world, national, and business news & information; professional
education; medicine; technology; retirement prospects.
B - technical re: computer systems, operating systems, applications, and new
developments in learning & technology; brain science; learning styles; weather
for outdoor activities; college searches; travel; directions.
C - health issues; teaching.
2. How do you usually seek information?
A - online, for the past 3-5 years.
B - internet; colleagues in the field.
C - internet first; then bookstores, libraries, resource specialists.
3. What resource do you use and how are they used?
A - CNBC, CNN; talking to others in field; periodicals; workshops.
B - Internet, books, people.
C - search engines; specific websites (e.g. Apple Computer); online subscriptions,
(EBSCO primary, iConn); school-developed (vetted) website for students; books,
school library.
4. What has been your use of these resources over the last 2 to 3 years?
A - increasingly online, self-taught on computers, ERIC scanning.
B - intensive.
C - in teaching students and teachers; in technical work.
5. Do you use librarians?
A - Infrequently; process too slow.
B - Yes.
C - Work side by side, next door to; provide computer support for library.
6. Do you use online database searching?
A - Yes.
B - No need.
C - Yes.
7. Do you have an intermediary search online databases for you?
A - No.
B - Computer specialist; other teachers.
C - No.
8. Do you use the Internet? How?
A - Yes. See above.
B - To gain an overview.
C - Yes, for searching, e-mail, general communications, video conferencing with
a foreign school.
9. Do you use any specialized reference tools?
A - ERIC, Yahooligans! (for students).
B - No.
C - Apple Computer's "Knowledge Base"
10. Do you communicate with other teachers? By e-mail? On newsgroups? At conferences? Do you share research or preprints with others?
A - Face to face discussions, in small groups; don't want to appear to be grandstanding;
generally within school district; attend outside professional conferences once
every 2-3 years.
B - All of the above; attend professional meetings at school 3-4 times per year.
C - Yes; I administer school e-mail system; set up online conferences; belong
to listservs,; distribute resource; meet with teaching teams and administrative
groups.
11. Recall a "critical incident" where you needed information and describe how you sought that information and how successful you were.
A - needed financial information in connection with borrowing a large amount
of money; needed banking advice; spoke by phone with one person, a prior acquaintance
at the bank; success 10 on scale of 10.
B - contrast ease of finding information on the Internet with college experience,
"hunt and peck through library"; needed materials not on shelf; great
frustration then, much easier now.
C - annual school budget preparation, predominantly done on the Internet, to
identify current hardware/software/technologies for learning environment; requesting
pricing from vendors; 8 on scale of 10.
These teachers completed their basic professional education before the age of personal computers, e-mail, and the Internet. Yet, to some degree or another, each has adapted to the technology, primarily through self-study. However, only the technology resource teacher demonstrated a wide-ranging knowledge and use of Internet resources. In general, library science terminology such as "database" and "specialized reference tools" seemed confusing to these non-librarians.
While two of the respondents said that they used librarians, there was no indication as to what services the librarians provided. Respondent A commented that the search process with a librarian was "too slow." Even the teacher who worked "side by side" with librarians did not refer to the librarian assisting him with information seeking, but rather as a part of a teaching team. Thus, it appears that the librarian's research skills are going unused.
In describing "information needs", all respondents had a wide-ranging conception of information, in contrast with law students interviewed, whose focus was limited to library information required for legal research. Multiple information sources were cited, including television, interpersonal sources, colleagues, and bookstores, in addition to more formal information sources such as journals and library resources. Most instances cited involved optional personal and professional interests rather than assigned, mandatory work.
While many of their students are growing up with keyboards on their laps, these teachers do not seem to be intimidated by information technology. They are using it for both personal and professional research. Regrettably, they do not appear to be using the librarian as an information partner. Excepting the technology teacher, they don't appear to have received comprehensive instruction on Internet searching and tools. Since these teachers serve as role models for their students and have an important role in instilling research skills in them, librarians need to develop bibliographic instruction methods that will enhance the teachers' research skills while demonstrating these skills to students with course assignments.
In a separate vein, the confusion caused by the library terminology in these questions suggests that search tools and research language needs to be revised to match terms more commonly used by the teachers, particularly as they teach research skills to their students. The clearest menus and labels for Library Web site interfaces should be selected to aid these users in accessing available resources.
Last revised 10 October 2003.