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School Library Websites
What they look like Where theyre going Their
influence on learners
  • Joyce Kasman Valenza
  • Doctoral Candidate
  • University of North Texas
  • joyce_valenza_at_sdst.org

Study funded by the 2005 AASL/Highsmith Research
Grant
3
Or . . .
  • My long, strange, reflective trip
  • teens and information skills, attitudes,
    behaviors
  • the potential impact of online guidance and
    instruction
  • what does current effective practice look like?

Actual learners dreaming about research.
4
Warning
  • This is an overview of the journeynot an
    academic presentation
  • Joyce 1.0 speaks too fast
  • Joyce 2.0 may resolve this bug
  • Please download to enjoy the true beauty of these
    slides!

5
The trip
  • Informal exit interviews
  • Focus groups (Springfield Township) exploratory
  • Web-based survey (14 high school sites)
  • Delphi panel to select sample and identify
    features and characteristics
  • Content analysis of effective practice (in
    process)

Web-based survey
Delphi panel
Focus groups
Content analysis
Exit interviews
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In the beginning
  • Informal collection of evidence
  • Video (baseline)
  • Followed by six years of exit interviews

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  • I was teaching hard, but . . .
  • Were students learning?
  • Were my efforts effective?
  • What were the learning issues?

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Baseline video clip
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Videos informed whole faculty
  • How students searched
  • How students selected sources
  • How students viewed their assignments
  • Need for specific instruction and shared levels
    of expectations
  • Need to retool as a faculty

10
Initial Research Questions
  • How do school library websites affect student
    information-seeking habits?
  • How do student users respond to virtual access to
    resources, guidance, instruction?
  • In a Google-reliant world, will students be
    motivated to begin their searches in an alternate
    interface, even if that interface is customized
    to meet their specific information needs?
  • To what extent are school library interfaces
    effective environments for information access and
    for learning?
  • Can school library websites translate the school
    library program for 21st century learners?

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Problems
  • How do we reach / meet the learning needs of a
    tech-confident generation of users who seek
    information, learn, and communicate online?
  • After more than ten years of Web presence in our
    schools, the development of school library
    websites remains an emerging and disparate
    practice. Existing school library websites
    represent range of professional efforts--from
    single-page library brochures to dynamic,
    multi-page, collaborative learning environments.

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School virtual libraries are a little different
  • Smaller community, shared learning culture
  • Customization one (two) voices behind site, with
  • Knowledge of users needs
  • Knowledge of teachers styles
  • Knowledge of broad curriculum
  • Established personal relationships
  • Opportunity to present / represent virtual
    library service to young library users
  • Need greater? Users cognitive skills less fully
    developed
  • Great potential for hybrid learning experiences

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They might be gurus? A tension
  • Popular literature attributes technological
    sophistication to youth
  • Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants (Prensky,
    1998)
  • Tapscotts NetGeneration, generation lap
  • LIS research belies this assumptionoften
    identifies deficiencies of information seekers,
    need to better teach skills

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Theory of Radical Change (Dresang 2005)
  • Meta-analyses of the research on youth
    information-seeking behavior and use of digital
    materials tend to focus largely on the
    deficiencies and need for improvement rather than
    ferreting out the potential of new and exciting
    ways of knowing in a digital age. p. 192
  • Need for new and more positive perspectives for
    researchers and professionals?

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Traditional Front Door
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School library 2.0?
Alternate front door
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  • Models that inform this research

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  • Kuhlthaus ISP--zone of intervention (1994)
    librarians can provide essential assistance and
    guidance in learning in digital libraries.
  • Vygotsky (1978)zone of proximinal
    development--zone in which intervention would be
    most useful to a learner. Range of skill
    developed with guidance and collaboration exceeds
    what can be attained alone. Can this occur
    online?
  • Agosto / Simon satisficing, stop rules, when do
    users stop at their choices
  • Constructivist theory--learning as social
    activity, knowledge building, applied to prior
    knowledge. Teacher (librarian) as coach (on- or
    offline?)
  • Just for me, just in time (Riel, 1998)
  • Information literacy modelsBig 6, Information
    Literacy Standards, etc. Can these models be
    represented online?

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  • Focus Group Interviews Exploratory study

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Focus Group Interviews
  • Four discussions with high school seniors across
    ability levels
  • Discussions videotaped, transcribed, and coded
    using WEFT QDA software.
  • Conducted May 2005, Analyzed Summer/Fall 2005

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Composition of focus groups
  • Group 1 Seven girls from AP English
  • Group 2 Six studentsfour girls, two boysfrom
    AP English
  • Group 3 Seven studentsfour girls, three
    boysfrom regular academic Global Studies
  • Group 4 Six studentsthree girls, three
    boysfrom regular academic Global Studies

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Questions asked of students
  • When do you use online school library services?
  • What prompts you to use the school Virtual
    Library?
  • Is it is usually the first place you go or your
    last resort?
  • Can you describe the last success you had with
    the interface?
  • What features of the school library website do
    you most value?
  • How have those features helped you with your
    research? Your understanding of the scope of
    online resources?
  • Does the librarians influence appear to be
    present in the site?
  • What problems or flaws do you encounter with the
    interface?
  • What improvements or additional features students
    would like to see in the website?
  • Do you feel the school library website helped you
    prepare for college or real-life research?

23
Focus groups observations
  • Strong group-to-group validation
  • High degree of consensus within and across the
    groups
  • Although it might be expected that honors or
    Advanced Placement students would approach the
    discussion or their work more seriously than
    general classes,
  • Each of the groups responded thoughtfully and
    discussed their research experiences with evident
    pride.
  • Each described similar satisfaction and similar
    issues with the interface.

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Databases!
  • In each of the four groups, favorite or most used
    area, was Catalogs Databases, where students
    had access to subscription databases, the OPAC,
    and the catalogs of other libraries for
    interlibrary loan.
  • Students described their favorite databases as if
    they were fans, as they might describe their
    favorite actors or musicians. I love GaleNet.
    I am obsessed with ABC-CLIO.
  • When students suggested site improvements, their
    improvements focused heavily on improving access
    to databases.
  • .

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Compared to
  • A Google doesnt really come up with . . .
  • A Scholarly articles. Thats how the Virtual
    Library helps us out. (Group 1)
  • A I think I understand more about like general
    Google searches versus the databases, like how
    theyre separate and how they each kind of do
    different things for you. (Group 2)
  • A I know that like before my boyfriend got into
    a different private school, the teachers dont
    even know what a database is. They are just like
    go on Google or something. . .And then I compare
    it to students at this school, and its like this
    is real information, I see that its from a
    scholarly article rather than like someones
    website project or something. (Group 3)
  • A I think its a waste to go on Google, because
    like five articles from Google equal one from
    GaleNet. (Group 3)

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Compared to other schools
  • A Not many libraries have set up what we have
    because other schools websites that I went to.
    And they might give you links to stuff thats
    going on in the library, but not Catalogs and
    Databases that we have available to us. . . it
    makes things so much easier. (Group 1)
  • A And I know that friends, some of my friends
    from other schools, they always ask me where did
    you go to find the research for the information,
    or ask me to help them with their research
    because I know I can just go to the school
    website and then itll be just that simple.
    (Group 2)
  • A I know we just have a lot of advanced programs
    here. Especially online, but also if I talk to
    people that go to (the local community college),
    they struggle with writing papers that we could
    have written in like eighth grade.
  • A Yeah, my friend from (a local high school)
    couldnt even write like a paper and have all the
    resources like us. It was like a joke paper to
    us.
  • A I went to sites from a different high school,
    and they had like a website but it didnt have
    any databases, good ones, they had maybe like
    two, it was like Ask Jeeves and Google. all
    laugh (Group 4)

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Student-identified problems / needed improvements
  • Need aid in how to select databases
  • Need to organize databases by subject, not vendor
  • Databases by subject
  • Need aid in query formation and keyword selection
  • Frustration with password inaccessibility
  • Requested mouse-over explanations
  • Resources need names that make more sense, needed
    kid-friendly descriptions
  • Interlibrary loan, pathfinders

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Focus Group Findings
  • Nearly all agreed it was the first place they
    went when they started a research project.
  • All responded that they used it when they were
    NOT at school--bookmarked, homepages
  • Students understood site was designed for them
  • Students noted teachers endorsement and
    participation. Specific pages created and
    maintained to meet needs of specific assignments
    and specific teachers.
  • Recognized personal voice / intervention of
    librarian
  • Students understood the structure of the site.
    They knew why each category was useful.
  • Some commented that they liked the little
    pictures and found the site pretty.

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More themes
  • Website as quality filter
  • Favorite area Catalogs and Databases,
  • Next favorites MLA Style Sheet, Pathfinders
  • Understood Google was wonderful search engine,
    but not best strategy for academic research
    tasks.
  • Described thoughtfulness in selecting
    information.
  • Used the word scholarly 13 times.
  • Believed interface helped them achieved better
  • grades, meet teacher expectations, prepare for
    college
  • Aware of information choices. Displayed pride
    about abilities and knowledge of their Web
    options compared to their friends in other
    schools
  • Hybrid experienceuse is supported by culture
  • Not all students are novice searchers.

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Focus group findings
  • Chelton and Cool (2007). Youth Information
    Seeking Behavior II. Scarecrow.

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  • Web-based survey

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Web-based survey of high school seniors
  • Online survey of 1257 seniors in 14 schools
    identified as best practice
  • Solicited participation among all high school
    sites selected for the IASL/Concord Award and as
    School Library Journals Website of the Month
  • Focus on seniors for long-term perspective and
    experience with librarys interface.
  • Instrument designed with QSurvey--plug-in for
    open source Zope package.
  • Conducted April through June 2005
  • Open-ended items coded with WEFT QDA
  • Survey instrument

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The website contributed to my understanding of
Frequency
1616 (Multiple response)
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Which pages on the site do you find most valuable?
2740 (multiple responses)
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Describe the value of the library website to
your high school homework and research
100
80
Couldnt live without it! Very important Important
Somewhat important Not important Never use it
60
40
20
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
12 13 14
Schools
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Responses to open-ended survey items
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Improvements (excerpts)
  • Organization/ Navigation Some of the links
    dont make sense to me. Make it easier to get
    to from home."Its too complex. Too busy, too
    much stuff.
  • Accessibility The website address should be
    shorter. Access to email and AIM. Teach
    people how to use it.
  • Descriptions/Annotations Maybe have a synopsis
    beneath each category to show what it is used for
    in case we forget. Describe what each search
    tool is best for. Clearer labeling.
  • Documentation Make the bibliographic
    information clearer. Easier access to
    information on citing sources. Information
    about internal citations.
  • Images/Aesthetics/Fun/Teen Relevance Make the
    site more appealing. Make it cooler looking.
    Its boring. Jazz it up. Better interface.
    More graphics, more color. Educational games.
    Flash intro, background music, links to cool
    bands. More sports stuff. Cosmo and Jet.
    Dont make it all work related. I want it to
    say, Welcome students name here on the
    opening page. Let us sign in and get to GPAs
    and schedules like colleges do.

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Improvements (contd excerpts)
  • Teacher/Project Links Direct links to teachers
    sites. More of what the teachers go over in
    class to make sure we understand.
  • Passwords Easier access from home. An easier
    way to find the passwords. Find some way to
    post passwords to subscription services so we can
    actually use them from home.
  • Missing Content Students wanted the following
    and much more world news/current events, more
    booklists, easy links to online reference,
    college stuff, career stuff, government and
    economics, more support for research papers.
    Since I am hispanic, I would like there to be
    some hispanic history in all of this.
  • Databases (They value these!) Greater variety
    of databases. More programs like Gale. More
    contemporary databases. Databases with scanned
    in books. More subscriptions.
  • Book stuff (Surprising number of responses
    requested more resources relating to books.)
    Include the reading suggestion lists in the
    library on the page. Organized book lists by
    genre or author. Book of the month, trivia on
    books?

42
Improvements (contd excerpts)
  • Filters and Blocking (Students had much to say on
    this issue!)
  • Let us check email. (biggest issue!) Make
    sure information isnt blocked by big brother we
    can actually learn without the censors. Have
    less banned websites-- it makes it agrivating
    when you think youve found a good website for
    research and then you cant read it because its
    blocked. Stop blocking picture searches because
    students need all sorts of pictures for different
    projects and it is hard to get them if all of the
    sites and searches are blocked. Too many
    restrictions! Stop blocking all the sites! I
    notice that when anything like, horoscopes,
    modern practice of magic, or homosexuality is
    being researched, there are limited
    resources--our school system is biased. Let us
    search for fun things.

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In your own words, describe the influence of the
school library site to your high school studies.
  • The following themes emerged
  • Students largely satisfied with and expressed
    they were learning through these resources
  • Site connected to discovery of new search tools
  • Appreciated teacher/librarian links
  • Appreciated readers advisory content
  • Grateful for help with documentation
  • Felt use related to improved grades
  • NegativeGoogle works better, I dont need help.

44
Web-based Survey Observations
  • Difference in acceptance across schools
  • Students in some schools clearly value the
    websites.
  • In others, level of acceptance generally positive
    but moderate
  • Students WILL use these resources when we are not
    looking
  • Many students view these sites as learning
    landscapes
  • Overall positive responses in access to the
    documentation help, the OPAC, catalog, search
    tools, databases and college search links
  • Echoed focus group results

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Variables School culture
  • Website is part of a larger storyfive schools
    returned results that vary from the others
  • Can you separate the sites from school culture?
  • Some cultures appear to value high quality,
    varied resources more than others
  • Some schools appear to value online guidance more
    than others
  • Some faculties appear to recommend the site more
    than others
  • Some schools value research more highly than
    others
  • Some students directly relate use of the site to
    grades and achievement

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Another issue
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Study shift
Influence of School Library Websites on Youth
Information Seeking Behavior Discovering a
Descriptive Taxonomy of Attributes of Exemplary
School Library Websites (dissertation in process)
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  • Content Analysis

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Research need
  • While studies of online interfaces exist for
    public, academic, and business library
    environments, little research examines school
    library service online.
  • Despite their potential for service and
    instruction, no existing studies examine models
    in practice, what commonalities such models
    share, or how they might differ

50
Move beyond feature counting
  • While Clyde (1999, 2001, 2004) listed site
    features and their frequency, she made no attempt
    to create a taxonomy of this content, or to
    separate content from format.

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Delphi panel
  • Delphi panel of 22 experts identified secondary
    library websites demonstrating exemplary
    practice.
  • 74 schools in initial list, panel agreed on list
    of 10 most effective sites
  • Panel suggested items for two coding instruments
  • Features (the whats of the sites)
  • Characteristics (the hows of the sites)

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Research Questions
  • From the models observed in sites identified as
    exemplary practice, can a functional taxonomy of
    features be developed?
  • What common features are represented in effective
    practice?
  • What common organizational structures, design
    elements, and visual metaphors are presented in
    virtual library sites?
  • How are school virtual library sites evolving?
    How do the features and services offered by
    effective sites in 2006 differ from the
    state-of-the-art of the randomly selected sites
    last studied by Clyde in 2002?
  • To what extent do these virtual libraries
    translate traditional library roles outlined in
    Information Power?

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Information Power Logo
American Association of School Librarians and
Association for Educational Communication
Technology. (1998). Information power
Building partnerships for learning. Chicago
American Library Association. 48.
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School Library Website Features
  • The What of the sites

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Program Administration
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Information Access and Delivery
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Learning and Teaching
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Books and reading
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The How Interactive services, 2.0 tools, video,
podcasts
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Operational definitions for content analysis
  • For the purposes of data collection, the
    researcher will define
  • School virtual library collection of pages
    html, blog, other Web-based publicationlinked
    together to represent a school library program.
  • Unit of analysis home page of the virtual
    library plus three drills down.
  • Features website content that provides a
    particular library or information service to the
    intended audience. Features will be sorted in
    categories. The researcher expects that several
    levels of sub-features will emerge as content is
    examined
  • Category grouping of features or concepts
    related to how the site works. The researcher
    expects that several levels of sub-categories
    will emerge as content is examined.

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Features coding instrument (seriously excerpted)
  • Information access and delivery
  • OPACS, Federated search?
  • Pathfinders
  • Ask-a-librarian
  • Databases (video, ebooks, journals, reference)
  • Search tools
  • Reference
  • News (local, national, international, RSS)
  • Personal help
  • Learning and teaching
  • Information fluency instruction
  • Questioning, searching, evaluation,
    documentation, synthesis
  • Study process guides
  • Test prep
  • Homework help
  • Student work
  • Orientation
  • WebQuests, learning objects, PowerPoints

Books and reading Readers advisory Reading
lists New materials Book discussion/
Booktalks Contests Support of school-wide reading
program Program administration General Contact,
hours, mission, welcome, staff,
FAQs Policies Schedule /calendar Newsletter Promot
ional materials Reports Surveys Materials
suggestion forms Volunteers Events Data mining
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Characteristics coding instrument
  • Connectedness to school / curriculum
  • Evidence of collaboration
  • Age/grade appropriate
  • WebQuests, PowerPoint instruction, pathfinders
  • Navigation / organization
  • Consistent design, layout
  • CMS vs. traditional html
  • Mouse-overs, embedded explanations, labels,
    annotations
  • Language Find a magazine
  • Map, index
  • Printable, legible, scroll and load issues
  • Aesthetic qualities / appeal for audience
  • Images of students, materials, events
  • Personality, friendliness
  • Color
  • Animation, video elements
  • art, one alternate site rich in student images
  • Interactive elements / communication tools
  • Opportunities for interaction, personalization,
    feedback

69
Preliminary observations
  • Trend toward 2.0 practice
  • blogs (7 of 10), wikis (1)
  • 3 of 10 based on CMS template
  • Move toward student involvement
  • Student-produced media (4), suggestion forms (3)
  • Databases (ubiquitous) expand to video (3) and
    ebooks (6)
  • Documentation focus of learning and teaching
  • 8 of 10 have pathfinders
  • 5 offer embedded explanations, 9 annotate links
  • 6 of 10 ask-a-librarian, 3 of 10 link to remote
    service
  • Not moving as quickly as public and academic
    sites--no federated search, no RSS feeds

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New questions
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Questions for future study
  • Why are some library websites far more important
    to students than others?
  • What role does school culture play in the
    acceptance of library websites?
  • How do librarians promote site use and acceptance
    into school culture?
  • How can we use what weve learned to create
    models and guides for improved practice?
  • How can we continue to improve online
    intervention to enhance learning?
  • Can we assess virtual libraries by how
    effectively they present the library
    programinformation access delivery, learning
    teaching, administration, for 21st century
    learners?
  • Direction???

72
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73
OCLC Perceptions of Libraries and Information
Resources (2005)
  • 84 use search engines to begin information
    search. 1 begin on library Web site.
  • Information consumers use library less and read
    less since using the Internet.
  • Books is the library brand. Libraries not seen
    as top choice for access to electronic resources.
  • Do NOT trust purchased information more than free
    information.
  • 90 satisfied with most recent search using
    search engine.
  • Information consumers like to self-serve. Use
    personal knowledge and common sense to judge if
    electronic information is trustworthy,
    cross-reference other sites to validate
  • The library has not been successful in leveraging
    its brand to incorporate growing investments in
    electronic resources and library Web-based
    services.

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Pew Internet and American Life
  • Generation IM (2004)
  • 94 of online youth use the Internet for school
    research
  • 18 of online teens say they know of someone who
    has used the Internet to cheat on a paper or
    test.
  • Internet Goes to College (2002)
  • Almost every student that was observed checked
    his or her email while in the computer labs, but
    very few were observed surfing university-based
    or library Web sites.
  • Students using the computer lab for
    academic-related work made use of commercial
    search engines rather than university and library
    Web sites.
  • Search Engines (2005)
  • Users are largely confident, satisfied, naïve
    about search engines

75
Griffiths and Brophy (2005)
  • College students prefer use search engine -
    Google most popular
  • Students use of academic resources low
  • Difficulty locating information
  • Use of search engines influences perception,
    expectations of other electronic resources
  • Little awareness of alternate methods for
    information seeking

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Landscape shiftWeb 2.0 tools and resources
  • Value of blogs, podcasts, webcasts, wikis, SL as
    resources
  • New tools for searchingtags, technorati
  • New issues relating to intellectual
    propertyCreative Commons

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Learner issues across the literature
  • Designing effective search strategies /
    Representing information needs, generating search
    terms
  • Identifying searchable topics and questions
  • Awareness of age/curriculum-appropriate
    electronic resources--reliance only on commercial
    search engines
  • Mismatch between students ideas about
    information and how information is actually
    organized
  • Understanding that not everything may not be
    instantly digitally available
  • Judging relevance and authority
  • Repetition of flawed strategies (its the
    engines fault)
  • Strategies for facing overload in both results
    and dense text
  • Need for scaffolding, instructional intervention

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Two solutions
Make users smarter
Make systems smarter
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Making systems smarter
  • Users are most successful when interacting with
    systems designed for them (Hirsh, 1997)
  • Understand the users, multiple entry/search
    points (Marchionini, G., Plaisant, C., Komlodi,
    A., 2003)
  • Standardized terminology, better directions,
    context-sensitive supports (Neuman, 2003)
  • Design criteria for youth Web portals--four
    headings portal goals, visual design,
    information architecture, personalization.
  • Cater to both educational and entertainment needs
  • attractive screen designs, effective use of
    color, graphics, animation
  • provide keyword search facilities and browsable
    subject categories
  • allow individual user personalization--color and
    graphics. (Large, Beheshti, Rahman, 2002)

80
Summary design improvements
  • Help with mismatches
  • Improvement of categorization
  • Eliminate jargon, speak to your audience
  • Accommodate developing vocabularies, incorporate
    guide mechanisms
  • spell checks
  • word form variations
  • thesauri
  • Graphic visualizations, Mind / concept maps
  • Scaffold user needs
  • Augment links
  • Include pop-ups (definitions, histories)
  • Use real estate of the first screen
  • Study understand user needs and behaviors

81
Content analysis library websites
  • Gray et al. (1998) conducted statistically-based
    content analysis of a random sample of school
    sites to establish a baseline of current
    practice.
  • Bates and Lu (1997) studied 114 personal
    homepages of librarians to detect trends and
    patterns.
  • Haines (1999) used both a content analysis and an
    email survey to investigate librarians personal
    sites.
  • Chisenga (1998) studied 13 university library
    websites in sub-Saharan African nations looking
    especially for access to electronic sources and
    services.
  • Cohen and Still (1999) examined content and
    structure of 50 Ph.D. granting university library
    sites in the United States and 50 two-year
    college sites to identify purpose.
  • Clausen (1999) analyzed twelve Danish academic
    libraries with goal of creating an evaluation
    form.
  • Agingu (2000) compared sites of historically
    black colleges with those of other public
    institutions, looking at services they provided
    for users.

82
On content analysis on school library websites
  • Simpson (2001) school virtual library practice in
    Texas. Sites differed dramatically.
  • Many clearly missing features, others stellar
    examples,
  • some serving as placeholders, others active,
    changing, and fully featured.
  • Clydes (1999, 2001, 2004) longitudinal research
  • Rationale for websites
  • demonstrating role of librarian in information
    skills development
  • contributing to development of school information
    center on Web
  • seizing critical opportunity to promote school
    library and information technology skills staff
  • promoting collections, activities, and services
  • offering guides to information sources in such
    forms as pathfinders, style sheets, tutorials
    and making the library catalog widely available.
  • Sites varied dramatically in quality and content.
    Need for quality indicators

83
Clydes longitudinal study
  • Began 1996--content analysis of 50
    randomly-selected sites to get snapshot of
    state-ofthe-art
  • Attempted to identify most popular pages and
    features, point to effective design models,
    develop quality indicators observed
  • Revealed sites varied a great deal--most lacked
    purpose, made little effort to identify users
    needs.
  • Replicated in 1999
  • Clyde found the 37 existing sites from the
    50-site 1996 study more sophisticated, more
    pages, more resources. Sites still varied in aim
    and purpose.
  • 2002 looked at evolution since 1996
  • Revisited 32 remaining sites from 1996 study
  • Revealed sites evolved to provide access to such
    electronic resources as subscription databases
    and catalogs
  • Discrepancies still dramatic--few sites one-page
    web presence not updates Others evolved into
    large sites offering more than 40 pages of
    information and many features designed to meet
    the needs of users (p. 164).

84
Delphi panel to select sample for content analysis
  • To keep the study manageable for a single
    researcher, the number of sites limited to top
    ten sites as they are ranked in the Delphi
    results.
  • Experts will be asked two questions
  • Please list the names and URLs of up to ten
    secondary school library websites that you
    consider exemplary. (These may be traditional
    html sites, blogs, wikis, etc.)
  • Please list the 5 to 10 features or
    characteristics of an effective school library
    website you consider most important.

85
Sample time period
  • Because of dynamic nature of the Web, study is
    likely a snapshot of a moving target
  • Especially pronounced 2006, emergence of Web
    2.0/Library 2
  • The creation website not short-term effort.
    Sites respond to technological advances, user
    needs, and changing capabilities of creators
  • Sites archived as Web files and printed during a
    one week period in Nov. 2006,

86
Two coding schemes?
  • Features / Content coding schemethe what such
    features as access to subscription databases,
    instructional units, readers advisory,
    pathfinders or subject guides, e-book
    collections, access to the OPAC, or email help,
    reports, policies, calendars.
  • Form / Characteristics coding schemethe aspects
    of the site that address the how-- use of
    blogs, wikis, video, navigational
    strategiespull-down menus, mouse-overs, image
    maps--interactive forms, virtual reality
    elements, etc. The content coding scheme for form
    examined the functions achieved by these
    strategies.
  • While categories and features will be mutually
    exclusive within each form, it is possible that
    coding items on the websites will be classified
    in both form and content coding schemes.

87
  • Effective school library websites present
    features that are designed to aid users in
    information access and delivery
  • Effective school library websites present
    features that are designed to support and deliver
    teaching and learning
  • Effective school library websites present
    features that are devoted to program
    administration.

American Association of School Librarians and
Association for Educational Communication
Technology. (1998). Information power Building
partnerships for learning. Chicago
American Library Association. 48.
88
Will they use it when were not looking?
  • The level of personal acceptance, or site creep,
    is generally positive, but really kind of
    moderate across schools
  • At four of the 14 schools, well over 60 of the
    students report using the site when they are not
    at school. At seven of the schools less than 40
    report using the site when not at school.
  • Fewer students admitted to using the site
    weekends. Do they do much of their homework in
    the evenings? In only two schools, was the level
    of weekend use was around or more than 50.
  • Indeed, students reported more evening than
    weekend use. With students at six of the schools
    reporting evening use at around 50 or higher.
  • In none of the schools studied, did 50 of the
    students report actually bookmarking the site on
    their home computers. This limited number
    surprised me.  Does bookmarking imply a serious
    kind of commitment?  Is bookmarking an old-time
    activity in a world of tagging?

89
Buckets
  • Cognitive
  • Affective
  • Social
  • Physical
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