Online Information

London

6 December 2007

Social Networking: The Confluence of Content, Collaboration and Community

Social Networking: The Confluence of Content, Collaboration and Community

Presented by:

Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.Senior Research Scientist, OCLC

Jasmine de GaiaDirector, Social Networking Initiatives, OCLC

Marie L. Radford, Ph.D.Associate Professor, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

LibrariesLibraries

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 BoomersWho 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 BoomersWho Are They?Baby Boomers

Cohort #1

• Born 1946 - 1954

• Experimental

• Individualists

• Free spirited

• Social cause oriented

Cohort #2

• Born 1955 - 1964

• Less optimistic

• Distrust of government

• General cynicism

Information PerspectivesBaby BoomersInformation PerspectivesBaby Boomers

Value authoritative information

Involved in information seeking

Value library as place

Use technology as tool

Personalized service

Who Are They? Who Are They?

Millennials / NextGens / EchoBoomers / Gen Y

Born between 1979 & 1994

75 – 80 Million

Generational divide

13-28 year olds

By 2010 will outnumber Baby Boomers

ScreenagersScreenagers

Youngest members of “Millennial Generation”

Term coined in 1996 by Rushkoff

Used here for 12-18 year olds

Affinity for electronic communication

Information PerspectivesMillennialsInformation PerspectivesMillennials

Information is information

Media formats don’t matter

Visual learners

Process immediately

Different research skills

Information-seekers’ PreferencesInformation-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 & AuthoritativeBaby 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 libraryBaby 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 & QuickMillennials: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 libraryMillennials: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.”

Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User,

Non-User, & Librarian Perspectives

VRS Transcript AnalysisVRS Transcript Analysis

Population of 500,000+ QuestionPoint VRS sessions

In-depth analysis of n=850, random sample• Sessions coded as Millennial (secondary school or

collegiate)

n=296

• Sessions coded as adult for comparison,

n=76

Analysis of relational facilitators and barriers reveal different communication patterns

Facilitators – DifferencesMillennials (n=296) vs. Adults (n=76) Facilitators – DifferencesMillennials (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 – DifferencesMillennials (n=296) vs. Adults (n=76) Facilitators – DifferencesMillennials (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 9% (27) vs. 3% (2)

(n=372 transcripts)

Barriers – DifferencesMillennials (n=296) vs. Adults (n=76) Barriers – DifferencesMillennials (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% (9) vs. 0

(n=372 transcripts)

What We LearnedWhat We LearnedLibraries 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

The image of libraries is…

BOOKS

Patrons do not think of the library as an important source of electronic information!

Multiple Demands on the LibraryMultiple 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? What Now?

Three Opportunity Areas:

Content

Access

Services

1. Content 1. Content

What can libraries do?

• Tailor content

• Shape collections

• More choices

• Make discovery easy

1. Content1. Content

What libraries are doing today:

• WorldCat.org

• Discovery

• 24x7 access

• Online content

• Incorporating more relevant content

• Enabling user contributed content

2. Access 2. Access

What can libraries do?

• Expand search tools

• Expose library content through both:

• Library interfaces

• Non-library interfaces

• Provide access – anytime, anywhere

2. Access 2. Access

What libraries are doing today:

• Broadcast & federated search

• WorldCat Local

• Partnerships

• Web services

• Mobile interfaces

3. Services 3. Services

What can libraries 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 3. Services What libraries are doing today:

• Virtual reference

• Social networking tools

• Profiles

• User contributed content

• Tags

• Reviews

• Lists

• RSS feeds / alerts

• Recommendations

• Community tools

• Collaboration

ConclusionConclusion

Expectations not isolated

Lead the way

By understanding them, we can serve everyone better

Additional ResourcesAdditional ResourcesBoomer 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/staff-folders/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.

Questions and CommentsQuestions and Comments

Lynn Silipigni ConnawayJasmine de Gaia

Marie L. Radford