It’s funny that the instructor’s choice for a blog reflection deals with what it deals with this week – library instruction, and how it currently factors into our overall experiences with it. I think that the library classes I have taken have proven to be very useful in teaching me how to utilize the full spectrum of resources at my fingertips. But there are still moments when all that I’ve learned seems to fail me.
Take this past week. We recently learned and used online databases for class research, and I navigated it pretty well. So, when one of my kids had an elementary school biome project due, I thought I had it made when it came to helping him find adaptations for three plants and three animals within an ocean biome – by helping him use the resources at his fingertips.
Getting an 8 year old to ‘come to the conclusion’ that certain elements of a plant or animal are adaptations to their environment without spelling it out can be a challenge in and of itself. But I tried to use online databases – science encyclopias and websites that were supposed to be designed for kids – to help him find his answers. I got answers, but at a level written to be understood by high school students. Finding information about red algae and its adaptations on a level that an 8 year old would understand – and find fun and interesting - proved to be far more difficult than some of our own class projects. And my teenager was of no help when he sensed my frustration and said, “just use Wikipedia, mom!”
But this is the nature of any reasearch, and especially with online databases, in my experience. It can be hit and miss. Personally, I felt frustrated, because this seemingly easy task of helping my 8 year old ‘find the information,’ did not end with satisfying results – and certainly not in the timeframe that his generation is ready to sit still for. Maybe that will develop as he grows, but my hunch is that, as a generation, it won’t.
2 comments:
Librarians are also educators that are able to convey clear and concise messages to patrons. Therefore allowing patrons to gain knowledge and skill and thus, leading to more productive library instruction dedicated to better serving patrons’ needs.
I too think that this generation neither has the desire nor the patience to cull information from numerous research results. I don't think they will change, rather I believe they will be the implementers of change. With all the information available over the internet it's a shame there isn't a simpler and faster method by which a parent can help their child retrieve information from home. The library system and search engines will have to adapt to the needs of patrons. The Library 2.0 is perhaps the answer. As for search engines Google.scholar is an attempt at providing serious research materials to the public.
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