Web Scale Discovery and Information Literacy – Competing Visions or Mutual Support? Sheila  Corrall,  University  of  Sheffield  iSchool  

John  Dove,  Credo  Reference  

LILAC  2012,  Glasgow  

Presentation outline •  SeCng  the  scene  −  context,  products  and  features  of  web  scale  discovery  

•  SoluHon  or  problem  −  impact  on  resource  use,  implicaHons  for  user  educaHon  

•  Known  item  and  exploratory  searching  −  on  the  open  web  and  via  the  library  

•  Reference  services  supporHng  discovery  •  Four  quesHons  for  reflecHon  and  debate  

The context for web scale discovery Social  •  24/7  online  networked  society  •  self-­‐service  and  mutual  support  •  Google  generaHon  

Technological  •  digital  asset  management  •  cloud  compuHng  •  mobile  connecHvity  and  apps  

Economic  •  world  financial  crisis  •  exchange-­‐rate  volaHlity  •  service  closures  and  job  losses  

PoliHcal  •  public  expenditure  cuts  •  doing  more  with  less  •  demonstraHng  value  and  impact  

Perceptions of libraries, 2010 “When  comparing  libraries  to  search  engines,  overwhelmingly,  Americans  consider  search  engines  to  be  more  convenient,  faster,  more  reliable  and  easier-­‐to-­‐use.  Americans  consider  libraries  to  be  more  trustworthy  and  more  accurate.  

While  Americans  ranked  libraries  ahead  of  search  engines  in  trustworthiness  and  accuracy,  this  disHncHon  evaporates  when  asked  about  the  informa(on  that  is  provided  by  search  engines  and  libraries.  Most  Americans  (69%)  believe  the  informaHon  they  find  using  search  engines  is  just  as  trustworthy  as  they  would  find  from  their  library.”  

(OCLC,  2010,  p.  40)  

Information Literacy What  students  need  to  learn  •  Finding  research  tools  beyond  Google  and  Wikipedia  •  Understanding  the  purpose  of  the  library    •  NavigaHng  the  library    •  Assessing  quality  and  reliability  of  informaHon  •  Discerning  between  different  types  of  materials  •  ConducHng  effecHve  searches  •  Narrowing  topics  •  CiHng  sources  and  avoiding  plagiarism  

Ethnographic  Research  in  Illinois  Academic  Libraries  (ERIAL)  project      

Next generation discovery services Commercial  •  AquaBrowser  Library    •  BiblioCommons  •  Ebsco  Discovery  Services  •  Encore  (InnovaHve  Interfaces)  •  Primo  Central  (Ex  Libris)  •  SirsiDynix  Enterprise  •  Summon  (Serials  SoluHons)  •  Visualizer  (VTLS)  •  WorldCat  Local  (OCLC)  

Open  source  •  Blacklight  •  Fac-­‐Back-­‐OPAC  (Kochief)  •  LibraryFind  •  Rapi  •  Scriblio  (WPopac)  •  SOPAC  (Social  Opac)  •  VuFind  (Breeding,  2010;    Yang  &  Wagner,  2010)  

Desired features of discovery services •  Single  search/point  of  entry    −  for  all  library  materials  

•  State-­‐of-­‐the-­‐art  web  interface  •  Enriched  content  

e.g.  book  cover  images,  user  input  

•  Faceted  navigaHon  of  results  e.g.  dates,  formats,  locaHon  

•  Simple  keyword  search  box    −  on  every  page  

•  Relevancy  ranking  e.g.  influenced  by  circulaHon  data  

•  Did  you  mean  .  .  .?  −  spell-­‐checking  mechanism  

•  RecommendaHons    •  User  contribuHons  

e.g.  summaries,  reviews,      raHng,  tagging,  folksonomies  

•  RSS  feeds  •  IntegraHon  with  social  

networking  sites  •  Persistent  links    (Yang  &  Wagner,  2010)  

Web scale discovery – the story so far •  Combining  next-­‐generaHon  catalogues  with  federated  search  −  integraHng  print  and  digital,  local  and  remote,  records  and  content  

•  Providing  access  to  library  resources  within  user  workflows  −  search  from  library  homepage,  LibGuide,  uni  portal,  Blackboard,  etc  

•  Allowing  libraries  to  create  mulHple  profiles  for  communiHes  −  subject  subsets  of  discovery  resources  to  avoid  overwhelming  users  

•  Early  reports  of  dramaHc  impact  on  use  of  licensed  resources  −  students  able  to  find  things  easily,  but  not  able  to  interpret  results  

•  ImplicaHons  for  informaHon  literacy  and  reference  support  −  from  database  searching  to  understanding  and  evaluaHng  informaHon  (Gross  &  Sheridan,  2011;  Howard  &  Wiebrands,  2011;  Luther  &  Kelly,  2011;  

Kenney,  2011;  Way,  2010;  Wisniewski,  2010)  

One-stop info-shopping: pros and cons ✔  Convenient,  easier  and  faster  

access  to  informaHon  ✔  Integrated  into  user  workflow    ✔  Student  exposure  to  a  wider  

range  of  sources  and  material  ✔ More  visibility  and  use  of  

library  scholarly  resources  ✔  Beker  value  for  money  from  

investment  in  content  

✔  Shils  focus  to  higher-­‐order  informaHon  literacy  abiliHes  

✘  Dumbing  down  the  informaHon  search  process  

✘  Problems  with  material  from  news  databases  

✘  Students  need  more  help  to  make  sense  of  search  results  

✘  Less  funcHonality  than  naHve  database  interfaces  

✘  NeglecHng  development  of  basic  informaHon  skills  

✘  Poor  foundaHon  for  higher  degrees  and  future  careers  

Seven Pillars of Information Literacy (SCONUL, 2011)

“InformaHon  literacy  is  knowing  when  and  why  you  need  informaHon,  where  to  find  it,  and  how  to  evaluate,  use  and  communicate  it  in  an  ethical  manner.”    (CILIP,  2004)  

Competing visions of the library? The  resource-­‐based  view  of  the  library  

•  The  library  is  essenHally  a  bundle  of  informaHon  and  other  resources  

•  The  library  creates  value  through  the  use  of  its  disHncHve  resources  

•  Resource  uHlisaHon  is  the  key  performance  measure  

(Barney,  1991;  Wernerfelt,  1984)  

The  informa:on  literacy  view  of  the  library  

•  The  library  is  essenHally  a  place  of  learning  

•  The  library  creates  value  by  developing  the  ability  to  understand  and  use  informaHon  in  context  

•  InformaHon  competence  is  the  key  measure  of  success  

How?  Advanced  search  opHons  

Single  search  box  

What?  Approved    scholarly  content  

Open  web  

content  Most  people  start  a  search  with  Google  

Some  use  Google  Scholar  (with  library  links)    

Web  scale  discovery  steers  users  back    to  the  library    

Librarians,  faculty  and  grad  students  want    more  func:onality  

Students  need  help  in  understanding    search  results  

Dimensions of 21C search

Scenarios for the webscale discovery world •  Library  promotes  discovery  

tool  as  starHng  point  for  student  research  

•  Students  move  away  from  Google  to  discovery  tool  −  get  easier  faster  access  

to  reading  list  items  −  find  more  appropriate  

resources  for  papers  

BUT  unable  to  select  effecHvely  from  results  

•  Library  uses  teaching  sessions,  teachable  moments  or  learning  resources  to  explain  how  to  use  discovery  tools    −  make  sense  of  results    −  manage  searches  beker  

•  Library  provides  customised  versions  of  discovery  tool  for  parHcular  user  groups  −  exposing  them  to  subject-­‐

based  subsets  of  resources  

Session  Htle  here    

Web-­‐scale  Discovery  –    What’s  Missing  from  this  Library  Answer  to  Google?  

 

•  Familiar with keywords or relevant search terms

•  Have specific information in mind

(article, book, journal, etc.) •  Know where to start (website,

database, stacks)

•  Lack of subject orientation and familiarity with keywords

•  Need guidance to start searching •  Need general information

Information  need  

“For over three-fourths (84%) of the students surveyed, the most difficult step of the course-related research process was getting started.”

Truth Be Told: How College Students Evaluate and Use Information in the Digital Age, Alison J. Head and Michael B. Eisenberg, Project Information Literacy Progress Report, University of Washington's Information School, November 1, 2010 (72 pages, PDF, 602 KB).

OTHER16%

GETTING STARTED

84%

•  Provides background and vocabulary

•  Comprehensive and consistent •  Easy to access and use •  Provides potentially useful links

•  Not always trustworthy •  Not customized for audience •  Does not actively promote IL skills

•  Starting point for most people •  OK for known item searches •  Links to Wikipedia articles

•  Millions of results

“Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink

from a fire hydrant.” Mitchell Kapor

!

 

•  Summary, overview and background information

•  Vocabulary building •  Easily digestible •  Links to relevant library resources

Four questions for reflection and debate 1.  Are  web  scale  discovery  tools  a  good  starHng  point  

for  subject  searches  or  for  exploring  new  topics?  2.  Will  such  tools  help  students  become  competent  

informaHon  users  in  the  work  place  and  later  life?  3.  Do  we  need  to  change  our  informaHon  literacy  

educaHon  to  fit  the  new  discovery  environment?  4.  Can  we  augment  our  discovery  services  to  support  

and  deliver  our  informaHon  literacy  mission?  

LILAC  2012,  Glasgow