Content Not Containers
There were several points brought up in this article that I found interesting. The fact that consumers are "format agnostic" is rather intriguing. I would assume that users would have preferred formats but apparently certain factors, such as cost as the paper notes, override those preferences. Also, while it is true that books are no longer the "sacred objects" and text is no longer the only medium, it is obvious that many of our electronic devices still rely on text as the vehicle for information communication.
I am a little unsure about the research done comparing email and ILL requests (p. 4-5.) The paper does not make the distinction between types of email that is sent. ILL is specifically requested content. Email is both response for requested content and unsolicited information. However, even if you only count email with requested content, I would assume the number would still be quite significant when compared to the number of ILL requests.
Overall the article points to changes in how consumers conduct their lives both personally and academically. How they obtain and produce information is changing and, not only does this affect all libraries but it has them worried. One of the most important parts of this article from a libraries perspective, I believe come from the last few paragraphs. They say we are drowning in information but starving for knowledge and that also applies to our overabundance of content and lack of context. Libraries need to look at these two issues and find out how they can become solutions to those problems.
Information Literacy and Information Technology Literacy
One thing in particular that I found interesting in this article is the author's thoughts on skills not being enough. This is the opposite of what I have been taught before as in many classes I have heard "You do not need to know why this happens unless you choose to study this further on in your education; just accept that it does." However, the author's points as to why this is wrong are quite valid. If you don't understand why technology works it becomes harder to both adapt to and, perhaps more importantly, predict change. Sometimes you need to learn how to learn before you can learn.
This applies to the issues brought up in the first article concerning the libraries role. The more that they understand these systems, the more they will be able to understand consumers and how they can help their users.
Lied Library
While most of this article bogged me down with names and abbreviations I did not understand, the overall message was one that any library worker should understand. Being on top of information technology is only part of the equation. A knowledgeable staff is the other. Working in a library where being under the age of 30 qualifies you as a "computer professional" I understand how important it is to have a knowledgeable staff not just for helping patrons but also for keeping the building running. Reading the article reiterates the message from the second article where it is not just enough anymore to know a set of skills.
HI Jessica! Re: your comments on 'drowning in information and starving for knowledge:'
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting idea, made even more so by OCLC's attractive phrasing. That said, I was immediately made wary of its value because of the attractive, dramatic phrasing. While reading for Music 2111, which deals with music research and bibliography, I came across the following quote from D. W. Krummel's 'Bibliographies: Their Aims and Methods' (London: Mansell Publishing, 1984), which contextualizes OCLC's point a bit:
'It is an exaggeration to propose that the problem of learning today is one of 'graphomania' -- publish or perish, everyone writes and no one reads, everyone talks and no one listens; perhaps better to ask, when was it otherwise?'
In addressing the traditional overabundance of published materials relative to the number of potential readers/consumers, Krummel comfortably situates the data deluge in removed historical periods. We've always been drowning/starving.
For some reason, I find it refreshing to think that while the 'data deluge' is remarkably pronounced these days, it is a problem that began sinking its roots long before the age of the internet. Maybe I like this statement because it alludes to the fact that we're not the first people to grapple with it-- maybe we are the first to deal with such a tremendous deluge, but it's comforting to know that the problem is the same as it ever was, if somewhat more exaggerated...
If it weren't an issue ages ago, would the librarian profession have ever been born? Librarians have been successful in organizing information and making it accessible for ages, and there's little reason to doubt that this trend will cease.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments!
(by the way, that quote is from page 6 of Krummel (1984)).
ReplyDeleteah! sorry, for some reason my first post didn't go through. here it is:
ReplyDeleteHI Jessica! Re: your comments on 'drowning in information and starving for knowledge:'
This is an interesting idea, made even more so by OCLC's attractive phrasing. That said, I was immediately made wary of its value because of the attractive, dramatic phrasing. While reading for Music 2111, which deals with music research and bibliography, I came across the following quote from D. W. Krummel's 'Bibliographies: Their Aims and Methods' (London: Mansell Publishing, 1984), which contextualizes OCLC's point a bit:
'It is an exaggeration to propose that the problem of learning today is one of 'graphomania' -- publish or perish, everyone writes and no one reads, everyone talks and no one listens; perhaps better to ask, when was it otherwise?'
In addressing the traditional overabundance of published materials relative to the number of potential readers/consumers, Krummel comfortably situates the data deluge in removed historical periods. We've always been drowning/starving.
For some reason, I find it refreshing to think that while the 'data deluge' is remarkably pronounced these days, it is a problem that began sinking its roots long before the age of the internet. Maybe I like this statement because it alludes to the fact that we're not the first people to grapple with it-- maybe we are the first to deal with such a tremendous deluge, but it's comforting to know that the problem is the same as it ever was, if somewhat more exaggerated...
If it weren't an issue ages ago, would the librarian profession have ever been born? Librarians have been successful in organizing information and making it accessible for ages, and there's little reason to doubt that this trend will cease.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments!
Re: your comments on 'drowning in information and starving for knowledge:'
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting idea, made even more so by OCLC's attractive phrasing. That said, I was immediately made wary of its value because of the attractive, dramatic phrasing. While reading for Music 2111, which deals with music research and bibliography, I came across the following quote from D. W. Krummel's 'Bibliographies: Their Aims and Methods' (London: Mansell Publishing, 1984), which contextualizes OCLC's point a bit:
'It is an exaggeration to propose that the problem of learning today is one of 'graphomania' -- publish or perish, everyone writes and no one reads, everyone talks and no one listens; perhaps better to ask, when was it otherwise?'
In addressing the traditional overabundance of published materials relative to the number of potential readers/consumers, Krummel comfortably situates the data deluge in removed historical periods. We've always been drowning/starving.
For some reason, I find it refreshing to think that while the 'data deluge' is remarkably pronounced these days, it is a problem that began sinking its roots long before the age of the internet. Maybe I like this statement because it alludes to the fact that we're not the first people to grapple with it-- maybe we are the first to deal with such a tremendous deluge, but it's comforting to know that the problem is the same as it ever was, if somewhat more exaggerated...
If it weren't an issue ages ago, would the librarian profession have ever been born? Librarians have been successful in organizing information and making it accessible for ages, and there's little reason to doubt that this trend will cease.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments!
hmm, for some reason it didn't post my other response. sorry about that. let me try it again:
ReplyDeleteRe: your comments on 'drowning in information and starving for knowledge:'
This is an interesting idea, made even more so by OCLC's attractive phrasing. That said, I was immediately made wary of its value because of the attractive, dramatic phrasing. While reading for Music 2111, which deals with music research and bibliography, I came across the following quote from D. W. Krummel's 'Bibliographies: Their Aims and Methods' (London: Mansell Publishing, 1984), which contextualizes OCLC's point a bit:
'It is an exaggeration to propose that the problem of learning today is one of 'graphomania' -- publish or perish, everyone writes and no one reads, everyone talks and no one listens; perhaps better to ask, when was it otherwise?'
In addressing the traditional overabundance of published materials relative to the number of potential readers/consumers, Krummel comfortably situates the data deluge in removed historical periods.
We've always been drowning/starving; we've always found air and food.
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, your original posts were going into "spam" instead of being posted as a comment. Hopefully that has been corrected.