Transcript ASIDIC Las Vegas “Sometimes content can be sacrificed for format” How People Get Their Information 18 March, 2008 Presented by: Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D. Senior Research Scientist Libraries Provide systems.

ASIDIC
Las Vegas
“Sometimes content can be
sacrificed for format”
How People Get Their Information
18 March, 2008
Presented by:
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.
Senior Research Scientist
Libraries
Provide systems and services to meet the
information needs of differing groups
• Largest groups
• Baby boomers
• Cohort #1
• Cohort #2
• Millennials
• Screenagers
Who Are They?
Baby Boomers
• Actual “boom” in births occurred between
1946 - 1964
• 1950s - Time of prosperity
• 1960s & 1970s - Time of social upheaval
• Comprise largest part of workforce (45%)
Who Are They?
Baby Boomers
Cohort #1
Cohort #2
• Born 1946 - 1954
• Born 1955 - 1964
• Experimental
• Less optimistic
• Individualists
• Distrust of government
• Free spirited
• General cynicism
• Social cause oriented
Information Perspectives
Baby Boomers
Value authoritative information
Involved in information seeking
Value library as place
Use technology as tool
Personalized service
Who Are They?
Millennials
Millennials / NextGens / EchoBoomers / Gen Y
Born between 1979 & 1994
75 – 80 Million
Generational divide
13-28 year olds
By 2010 will outnumber Baby Boomers
Who are they?
Screenagers
Youngest members of “Millennial
Generation”
Term coined in 1996 by Rushkoff
Used here for 12-18 year olds
Affinity for electronic
communication
Information Perspectives
Millennials
Information is information
Media formats don’t matter
Visual learners
Process immediately
Different research skills
Information-seekers’ Preferences
IMLS-funded projects
• How individuals find information to
meet their needs
• Why information seekers do not
choose to use library services first
for their information needs
• How libraries can develop services
and systems to meet the needs of
information seekers
Sense-Making the Information Confluence:
The Whys and Hows of College and University
User Satisficing of Information Needs
Baby Boomers:
Convenient & Authoritative
“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.”
“[Google] is user friendly… library catalog is not.”
“…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.”
“I'm suspicious of people who are publishing on-line because
usually the peer review is much less rigorous.”
“I'm not trust(ing) everything that's on the Internet…”
Baby Boomers:
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.”
Millennials:
Convenient & Quick
“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”
“…you need to know which database with abstracting, indexing…
Google, I don't have to know, I go to one spot.”
“…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 [the local consortium]…”
“I had the Google tool bar, tool bar on my browser. I don’t even
have to go to a search engine anymore. I mean it is literally one
tab down…”
Millennials:
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 25page article from JSTOR than 250page book.”
“Sometimes content can be
sacrificed for format.”
Seeking Synchronicity:
Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from
User, Non-User, & Librarian Perspectives
Non-User (Screenagers):
Stereotypes and Independence
“Because, I mean, once they do their famous point,
it’s just like… you don’t want to go near them
again.”
“I wouldn’t really trust my librarian. I trust
Google.”
“Plus I think the IMing kind of gives it a cold
feeling to it… when you can actually sit and talk
to someone face-to-face you kind of can see if
they care or not…”
Non-User (Screenagers):
Security, Accuracy, and Speed
“I don’t usually like to talk to like people I don’t know
on the Internet.”
“I’m not going to go get tutored on the Internet by
somebody… who might be some psycho serial killer
out there when I could get personal help from my
home and people in my community.”
“A librarian’s trying to do like 15 of those
conversations at once they’re going to mix up
replies…”
“I don’t really want to take the time actually to type
out, like explaining what I’m doing, what I need it
for, what type of sources I need.”
Non-User (Millennials):
Preference for Face-to-Face
“Just generally, I would talk to somebody in
person.”
“I prefer to interact with a librarian that I
know.”
“I would just go, um, to the library website…”
“I go to Google Scholar as well and
Inquestia.com which I belong to.”
Non-User (Millennials):
Privacy and Technology Concerns
“And there could be a chance that [the librarian might
say] ‘This guy’s teaching these classes and he
doesn’t know this?!’”
“I was worried that in some way, you know, if the
Department would get a report about what
questions [I was asking], you know what I mean…”
“Would the connection be good enough to facilitate
real-time chat?”
VRS Users (Millennials):
Convenience and Independence
“I’d rather go two feet to my computer than a couple
of miles to the library.”
“I always want to do everything myself – I don’t
want help.”
VRS Users (Millennials):
Collaboration
“It’s helpful to have another
person looking for you so
you get twice as much
information – which is
quicker.”
“…they know how to do it
and know where to look
and you don’t necessarily
know.”
VRS Users (Millennials):
Personalized Service
“I was on the site at 2 or 3 in the morning and it
felt personalized.”
“Instead of having to write everything down…
you have the transcript of the conversation
and all the links from the conversation in a
permanent email.”
Users (Boomers & Millennials):
Ability to Multi-Task
Moderator: “Okay, so
there’s some consensus
on that that it allows you
to multitask?”
Multiple Participants: “Yes.”
VRS Users (Millennials):
Distrust
“To me it wasn’t that much more than any other search
engine.”
“I’m not sure how much attention the person… was
paying attention to the actual question or the key
words in the actual question.”
“…they were just Googling stuff as far as I could see.”
“I feel like I get better results when I’m, like with the
person.”
Two Views
Users
Librarians
Highly value Librarian’s attitude &
personal qualities
More likely to value content,
transfer of information
Some value interpersonal aspects
more than receipt of information
Also value relationship qualities
(but to a lesser degree)
Interpersonal Communication
Analysis: Results
Relational Facilitators
• Interpersonal aspects of the chat conversation that have a positive impact
on the librarian-client interaction and that enhance communication.
Relational Barriers
• Interpersonal aspects of the chat conversation that have a negative
impact on the librarian-client interaction and that impede
communication.
Facilitators – Differences
Millennials (n=296) vs. Adults (n=76)
Lower averages (per transcript)
Thanks
59% (175) vs. 75% (57)
Self Disclosure
42% (125) vs. 63% (48)
Closing Ritual
38% (111) vs. 50% (38)
Lower averages (per occurrence)
Seeking reassurance
56% (166) vs. 68% (52)
Polite expressions
30% (90) vs. 33% (25)
(n=372 transcripts)
Facilitators – Differences
Millennials (n=296) vs. Adults (n=76)
Higher averages (per occurrence)
• Agree to suggestion
64% (188) vs. 47% (36)
• Lower case
43% (126) vs. 16% (12)
• Greeting Ritual
24% (70) vs. 16% (12)
• Admit lack knowledge
20% (58) vs. 7% (5)
• Interjections
20% (58) vs. 7% (5)
• Slang
(n=372 transcripts)
9% (27) vs. 3% (2)
Barriers – Differences
Millennials (n=296) vs. Adults (n=76)
Higher averages (per transcript) for:
Abrupt Endings
37% (109) vs. 28% (21)
Impatience
4% (13) vs. 1% (1)
Rude or Insulting
3%
(n=372 transcripts)
(9) vs.
0
Multiple Demands on the Library
Traditional Library
Environment
Baby Boomer Preferences
Millennial Preferences
Requires patience
Want it now
Want it now
Largely text based
Largely text based
Visual, audio, multi-media
Learn from the expert
Learn from the expert
Figure it out for myself
Logical, linear learning
Logical, linear learning
Multi-tasking
Metasearch
Full text
Full text
Complexity
Simplicity
Simplicity
What Now?
Three Opportunity Areas:
Content
Access
Services
1. Content
What can information providers do?
• Tailor content
• Shape collections
• More choices
• Make discovery easy
1. Content
What information providers are doing today:
• Network level services
• Discovery
• 24x7 access
• Online content
• Incorporating more relevant content
• Enabling user contributed content
2. Access
What can information
providers do?
• Expand search tools
• Expose library content
through both:
• Library interfaces
• Non-library interfaces
• Provide access – anytime,
anywhere
2. Access
What information providers are
doing today:
• Broadcast & federated search
• WorldCat Local
• Partnerships
• Web services
• Mobile interfaces
3. Services
What can information providers do?
• Integrate physical spaces with virtual services
• Provide a comfortable environment
• Support collaboration
• Update infrastructure
• Provide media literacy skills
• Redesign the role of the
librarian
3. Services
What information providers are
doing today:
• Virtual reference
• Social networking tools
• Profiles
• User contributed content
• Tags
• Reviews
• Lists
• RSS feeds / alerts
• Recommendations
• Community tools
• Collaboration
What We Learned
Libraries are trusted sources of information
Search engines are trusted about the same
People care about the quantity and quality of
information they find
They like convenience and speed
They do not view paid information as more accurate
than free information
What We Learned
The image of libraries is…
BOOKS
Patrons do not think of the library as an important
source of electronic information!
What can we do?
Create a library experience which matches the experience of the
web
• Easy search functionality
• Integrated library search for all sources
• Social networking software
• Recommender service
• Click-through to online sources
• Point of need reference services
• Instant messaging reference services
• Customizable library portals
University of Washington on WorldCat.org
Holdings: Local, Group, Global
Univ Washington collections
Summit collections
WorldCat
Detailed record – item held by UW
Detailed record – request item
Request handled locally
Item not held by UW
Item not held by UW
or Summit
Article citations
Article citations
Conclusion
• Expectations not
isolated
• Lead the way
• By understanding them,
we can serve everyone
better
Additional Resources
Boomer Nation: The Largest and Richest Generation Ever and how it Changed America, S.
Gillon. New York: Free Press, 2004.
Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584-2069, N. Strauss & W. Howe. New York:
Morrow, 1991.
Generations at Work, S. Luck.
http://dps.dgs.virginia.gov/Forum2006/Presentations/S201%20PPSluck%20Generations.ppt
Growing Up Digital, D. Tapscott. www.growingupdigital.com
Millennial Behaviors and Demographics. Sweeney,R. http://library1.njit.edu/stafffolders/sweeney/Millennials/Article-Millennial-Behaviors.doc
Millennial Net Values: Disconnects between Libraries and the Information Age Mindset, R.
Mcdonald & C. Thomas. http://dscholarship.lib.fsu.edu/general/4/
Millennials Rising: The Next Generation, W. Howe & N. Strauss. New York: Random House,
2000.
Net Generation Students and Libraries, J. Lippincott. In Educating the Net Generation,
Educause 2005.
“Screenagers” and Live Chat Reference: Living Up to the Promise, M.L. Radford & L.S.
Connaway. (February, 2007). Scan, 26(6), 31-39.
Special Thanks
Rutgers University and OCLC Grant Project Team
Marie L. Radford, co-investigator
Jocelyn DeAngelis Williams
Susanna Sabolsci-Boros
Patrick Confer
Timothy Dickey
David Dragos
Vickie Kozo
Mary Anne Reilly
Julie Strange
Jasmine de Gaia, OCLC
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 was 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 (Senior
Research Scientist) and Chandra Prahba (Former Research
Scientist), as Co-Investigators. More information can be
obtained at: http://imlsosuoclcproject.jcomm.ohiostate.edu/
Notes
This presentation is one of the outcomes from the project,
“Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services
from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives.” Funded by
IMLS, Rutgers University, & OCLC Online Computer Library
Center, Inc., the project is being implemented by Marie L.
Radford (Associate Professor, Rutgers University) and Lynn
Silipigni Connaway (Senior Research Scientist, OCLC) as
Principal Investigators. More information can be obtained at:
http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/synchronicity/default
.htm
Questions and Comments
Lynn Silipigni Connaway
[email protected]
Slides available at project web site:
http://www.oclc.org/research/presentations