“Google is user friendly… the library catalog is not.” Information-seekers’ Preferences

1. “Google is user friendly…the library catalog is not.”Information-seekers’ Preferences Presented by Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D. Consulting Research Scientist OCLC Research Email: connawal@oclc.org www.oclc.org/research/staff/connaway.htm Tri-state College Library Cooperative Malvern, Pennsylvania June 5, 2007

2. Why Not Libraries? “...faculty use a variety of strategies for negotiating the digital morass. For most, the path of least resistance is the one usually taken – a Google search, a walk down the hall or an email to a colleague, a visit to the website of a trusted archive, or often one’s own eclectic ‘collection’ of digital stuff.” Harley, Diane, Jonathan Henke, Shannon Lawrence, Ian Miller, Irene Perciali, David Nasatir, Charis Kaskiris and Cara Bautista. 2006. Use and users of digital resources: A focus on undergraduate education in the humanities and social sciences. http://digitalresourcestudy.berkeley.edu/report/digitalresourcestudy_final_report.pdf. (2 May 2006, 8-2)

3. Why Not Libraries? Then: The user built workflow around the library Now: The library must build its services around user workflow • Get into the flow • Disclose into other environments

4. Why Not Libraries? Then: Resources scarce, attention abundant Now: Attention scarce, resources abundant • Competition for attention

5. Information-seekers’ Preferences • Two IMLS-funded projects • Individuals' preferences for finding and using information sources and service • Why their first choices often donot include library sources and services • Sense-Making the Information Confluence: The Whys and Hows of College and University User Satisficing of Information Needs • Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives

6. Focus Group Interviews • 5 academic institutions • 44 colleges and universities • 100 mile radius from Columbus, Ohio • Total of 8 focus group interviews • 31 faculty • 19 graduate students • 28 undergraduate students

7. Sense-Making the Information Confluence: The Whys and Hows of College and University User Satisficing of Information Needs

8. Undergraduate Student Comments:Quick Search • Human resources • Dad • Friend • Roommates • Google • Everything is current • Blogs • Discussion groups • Electronic databases • Lexis Nexis These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

9. Undergraduate Student Comments: Quick Search “… the thing about Google is that I generally find the little somethings under the search results and relevance to anything to actually be fairly good… You know, if I use the library catalog, it will give me a list of a thousand things, but there is really no ranking that I can understand.” “I stay away from the library and the library’s online catalog.”

10. Graduate Student Comments: Quick Search • Web and Google • Quick • Easy • Personal library • Library • Databases • EBSCO • Online journals and abstracts • Human resources • Friends • Advisors These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

11. Graduate Student Comments: Quick Search “…you need to know which database with abstracting, indexing… Google, I don't have to know, I go to one spot.” “I have been going to library web sites and using their stuff…e.g., EBSCO… Library as portal to online sources … will also go to university library ... and search (for) articles I need.

12. Faculty:Quick Search • Personal library – “quicker than online” • Amazon • Google • “quick and dirty” • “first stop” • Human resources • Colleagues • Electronic journal center • Library homepage • Databases These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

13. Faculty:Quick Search “Google is my first place to find something quickly.” “[Google] is user friendly… library catalog is not.” “Yeah, well, actually I was going to be different and not say Google. I do use Google, but… [I also] use two different library homepages… and I will go into the research databases… do a search there and then I will end [up]… limiting myself to the articles that are available online.”

14. Undergraduate Students:Did not use the library • Human resources • Dad • Parents • Professors • Google • Online Encyclopedia • JSTOR • Academic databases • Lexis Nexis • Personal library These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

15. Undergraduate Students:Did not use the library “The library is a good source if you have several months.” “Hard to find things in library catalog.” “Tried [physical] library but had to revert to online library resources.” “Yeah, I don't step in the library anymore… better to read a 25-page article from JSTOR than 250-page book.” “Sometimes content can be sacrificed for format.”

16. Graduate Students:Did not use the library • Internet and Google • Easy • Databases • Lexis-Nexis • OhioLink • Bookstores • Amazon.com • Personal library • Human resources • Professors • Dad • Peers • Other experts These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

17. Graduate Students:Did not use the library “Also I just go ask my dad, and he'll tell me how to put in a fence, you know? So why sort through all this material when he'll just tell me” “Don’t use university online system. Don’t like it.” “…first thing I do, is, I go to Google… I don't go into the [library] system unless I have to because there's like 15 logins, you have to get into the research databases. Then it takes you out of that to OhioLink…”

18. Faculty:Did not use the library • Human resources • Experts in academic community • Colleagues • Subscribed services and electronic databases (Prefer to Google for credibility) • PsychInfo • Amazon.com • Google for personal information These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

19. Faculty:Did not use the library “If I have a student mention a book and I'm not familiar with that book, Amazon.com gives me a brief synopsis, … reader reviews of the book, so it's a good, interesting first source to go to for that kind of information.” “…before I came to the library to use the MLA database, I did a Google search and it turns out that there is a professor at Berkeley who keeps a really, really nice and fully updated… page with bibliographic references.”

20. Undergraduate Students:Thorough Search • Human resources • Librarians • Google • Amazon.com • Use Amazon.com first, then go to library catalog • Television programs • Discovery Channel These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

21. Undergraduate Student Comments:Thorough Search “I use OhioLink, but I don't really need to come into a library, as long as I have a computer at home.” “Discovered Lexis-Nexis, and those articles are brilliant, give lots of information… get so much information going through library and Lexis-Nexis, and articles are ten time’s better [than web].” “Go to Google… can [pinpoint]… I will find Google articles and then [go] to library and find a couple articles...”

22. Graduate Students:Thorough Search • Human resources • Class members • Professors • Peers • Colleagues • Experts • Library • Internet • Online books These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

23. Graduate Student Comments:Thorough Search “I'm not trust(ing) everything that's on theInternet, but I will print off all the information and I get ideas that I will also go to theuniversity libraryand search some article I need.”

24. Faculty:Thorough Search • Online resources • Web sites ending in .ORG • Google for definitions • Library • Academic journals • Journal databases • Books • Human Resources • Experts • Authorities in field • Personal information specialist These are not listed in order of the number of occurrences.

25. Faculty Comments:Thorough Search “So if I have athlete that has low back pain and, andI have a questionabout a particular exercise that would be helpful or, or not helpful or that sort of thing, … I'd rather get on the phone and talk with a therapistthat works with back people all the time, because you can cut right to the chase - ask a specific question and there is some credibility there that you, that is already built in. Intalking to this regional expertabout how they do things that is directly applicable to what I need to do and it is, it is immediate. It's credible, and it's very specific to what I am looking for.” “I'm suspicious of people who are publishing on-line because usually the peer review is much less rigorous.”

26. Undergraduate Student Comments:Magic Wand “Make library catalogs more like search engines or OhioLink.” “Make a universal library card that would work in all libraries.” “Space in the library to interact and collaborate - group study areas and areas to spread stuff out.”

27. Undergraduate Student Comments:Magic Wand “More staff, roaming personnel” “Book delivery from library through campus mail” “Drive-up pickup or drop off delivery service since parking is a problem.” “Make the library like a coffee house.”

28. Faculty Comments:Magic Wand “Lessen the intimidation factor” “Better signage and other pathfinders” “Bookstore environment”

29. Semi-structured Dialogue • 15 participants • 6 faculty • 4 graduate students • 5 undergraduate students • Situations • Academic Recall how you go about writing your most recent assignment or research. • What sources did you consult • How did you decide on using them • Where did you locate them? • Personal Show us one of your favorite websites, one you use frequently.

30. Emerging Themes:Internet • More than one-half use Google • More than one-third use other search engines • Familiarization tool • Convenient • Current information The findings are not generalizable because of the small, non-random sample.

31. Emerging Themes:Internet Internet as indispensable for familiarization Graduate student comments “Without Google it takes away that initial familiarizing yourself with what’s out there. We wouldn’t know what the good keywords were when we go to a more academic database.” “…but if I want more in-depth information then I would go to the library and find books or whatever.” Faculty comment “… I find Google really, really useful as a fast familiarizing tool.”

32. Emerging Themes:Internet Internet as convenient Graduate student comment “I obviously turn to electronics first, then library second… because it’s convenient. But if I want more in-depth info, then I go to the library.” Internet as current Faculty comment “They’re a bunch of sites I go to everyday. Now none of them are academic. I don’t go to any academic sites everyday.”

33. Emerging Themes:Library • Used for research • Desire ability to customize library portals • Inclusion of recommender services • Enhanced discovery services • Databases, abstracts, and indexes • 8% use electronic databases • Do not perceive as “library sources” • Unable to locate or access full-text copies of journals and books

34. Emerging Themes:Library Library as customizable: Recommender Services Undergraduate student comments “Oh people who liked these have also liked this. Maybe you should check this out.” “It would be more like Amazon than, say, the current library catalog.” “I’ll try to find something where I can search inside of a book… I would have descriptions, maybe, you know like, amazon.com has.” “Well, I have our library [web page] here open and… there’s a lot of information and there’s nowhere to search. This is the opening to the catalog but there’s no box to search.”

35. Emerging Themes:Library Graduate student comment “Ok. I definitely don’t like going to the library because I think it’s time consuming... They don’t have someone there that can have the journals and books out ready for you.” Faculty comment “The library is much less self-contained. It’s now connected to other libraries. So, interlibrary loan, shared electronic resources, Ohiolink, is much more important to us now.”

36. End Notes This presentation is one of the outcomes from the project “Sense-Making the Information Confluence: The Whys and Hows of College and University User Satisficing of Information Needs." Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Ohio State University, and OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., the project is being implemented by Brenda Dervin (Professor of Communication and Joan N. Huber Fellow of Social & Behavioral Science, Ohio State University) as Principal Investigator; and Lynn Silipigni Connaway (OCLC Consulting Research Scientist III) and Chandra Prahba (OCLC Senior Research Scientist), as Co-Investigators. More information can be obtained at: http://imlsosuoclcproject.jcomm.ohio-state.edu/

37. Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, & Librarian Perspectives

38. Focus Group Interviews • 8 Focus Group Interviews • 2 with VRS librarians • 4 with VRS non-users • Screenagers • Rural • Suburban • Urban • College students • Graduate • 2 with VRS users • College students • Graduate • Undergraduate • Adults

39. Participant Demographics:User Focus Group Interviews • Ethnicity-Users • 15 Caucasian (68%) • 4 Asian (18%) • 2 African- American (9%) • 1 Hispanic/Latino (5%) • Gender-Users • 13 Male (59%) • 9 Female (41%)

40. Participant Demographics:Non-user Focus Group Interviews • Ethnicity-Non-users • 18 Caucasian (45%) • 7 African- American (17.5%) • 6 Hispanic/Latino (15%) • 2 Asian (5%) • 7 Missing (17.5%) • Gender-Non-users • 23 Female (57.5%) • 17 Male (42.5%)

41. Non-User (Screenagers): Major Themes • Librarian stereotypes • Preference for independent information seeking • Google • Web surfing • Trust own ability to evaluate web resources more than librarians’ • Preference for face-to-face interaction • Value interpersonal interactions in Face-to Face

42. Non-User (Screenagers): Major Themes • Privacy/Security concerns • Librarians as “psycho killers” • Fear of cyber stalkers • Concern for accuracy of information • Chat takes too long • Factors influencing future VRS use • Recommendation • Marketing • Ability to choose a trusted librarian

43. Non-User Graduate Students: Major Themes • Most students prefer face-to-face librarian interactions • Reliable • Developing a personal relationship with a librarian • Utilize internet tools for information • Library website, Google, other internet resources

44. Non-User Graduate Students: Major Themes • Negative perceptions about VRS: • Sounds like a chat room, not professional, fear of question unsuitability, technology/learning curve • Fear of appearing stupid, or being negatively evaluated by the librarian. • Privacy concerns/ transcripts revealed to professors

45. Non-User Graduate Students: Major Themes • Factors influencing future VRS use • Recommendation by librarian/colleague • Developing confidence in service’s use, speed & access • Promotional campaign

46. VRS Users: Positive Major Themes • Convenience • Research/Information retrieval independence • Collaborative – share work • Knowledgeable service provider

47. VRS Users: Positive Major Themes • Pleasant interpersonal environment • Transcript of chat session • Anonymity of VRS • Immediacy of chat vs. email • Allows multi-tasking

48. VRS Users: Negative Major Themes • Just another search engine • Generic responses • Distrust in information provided • Technical improvement suggestions • Face-to-face interaction preferred • Fear of overwhelming the librarian • Concerns about librarians’ lack of subject expertise

49. End Notes • This is one outcome from the project Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, & Librarian Perspectives, Marie L. Radford & Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Co-Principal Investigators. Project website: http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/synchronicity/ • Funded by IMLS, Rutgers University and OCLC, Online Computer Library Center, Inc. • Special thanks to Jocelyn DeAngelis Williams, Patrick Confer, Julie Strange, Susanna Sabolcsi-Boros, & Timothy Dickey.

50. Yes, libraries! A library experience like the experience available on the web