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Evolving Trends In Teen Web Librarianship[1]

by cmortlock on Dec 09, 2009

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Hello, my name is Christine Mortlock. I am a graduate student in the information and digital resource management program at Columbia University. This fall I had the privilege of taking a master’s seminar with project advisors, Dr. Linda Stoddart and Dr. Peter Jackson and five other graduate students. The workshop met on Wednesdays through the fall. We gradually developed our projects by collaborating during in-class discussions and by meeting with our readers one-on-one to review various drafts. Thank you to my classmates and Dr. Stoddart and Dr. Jackson. The culmination of this fall’s efforts is this final presentation and a final paper. In tonight’s presentation I will do four things:Identity a problem in information management fieldDescribe my methodology for researching the problemDescribe my research results And Conclude and offer final recommendations for addressing the problem
http://www.monmouthcountylib.org/teens.htm First let me address the problem I identified in information management. In the age where there are countless sources of information, where are teens finding their information? How can teen librarians reach teens most effectively? Are teens still using reference books in their local or school libraries? Are teens using destination web sites like archives.gov to learn about and view the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights? Are teens using their public or school library’s expensive subscription-based databases? Are teens using homework portals? Are teens visiting their library’s web site? Let’s take a look at one of those teen library web sites. Here we have the web site for Monmouth Public County Library. Monmouth Public Library is located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The county has a population of just over 600,000 people and is in the New York Metropolitan Area. The web page is simple: the user can click on four circles: webcat catalog, homework help, books and reading, and programs and events. The books and reading link displays book lists for teens, award winning books for teens, online book clubs, and what should I read next? The librarian has also selected bestsellers for teens, biographies for teens, books for guys, horror for teens, and teen chick lit. The librarian also compiled helpful book lists that are on the web. Clearly a librarian has spent a lot of time designing this teen library web site. But who exactly is using this web site? Are teens going to the site? What does the class think? Right, not really.If teens are not using a library’s teen web site, or print books in physical libraries, or destination web sites, or homework portals to find their information, where are teens getting their information? My research found that teens are getting their information through social media or web 2.0.
To find out more about the problem, where are teens getting their information and how do teen librarians best reach teens, I employed the following research methodology. I designed and analyzed a survey, conducted informational interviews, and conducted a literature search. The survey I designed, the Teen Web Librarianship Survey, obtained results from 57 librarians living in the continental United States. Librarians working at libraries representing different demographics and populations were surveyed. Both public librarians and school librarians or school media specialists were surveyed. The surveys were taken from October 26, 2009 to November 2, 2009. The informational interview was conducted with Andrew Wilson, Producer, Digital Experience Group, New York Public Library, on October 19, 2009. Another interview was with Zeth Lietzau, Associate Director of the Library Research Service, between November 1, 2009 and November 2, 2009.Finally the literature search concentrated primarily on articles produced by the Young Adult Services Association and the professional magazine, Computers in Libraries . The Evolving Trends in Teen Web Librarianship Survey was created using Survey Monkey. The Survey had three versions; Survey 1 was redesigned to incorporate new information from Survey 1 respondents and became Survey 2. Similarly, Survey 2 was modified to incorporate new information from Survey 2 respondents and became Survey 3. The Survey was sent to the four listservs. The four list servs were Pubyac, a listserv concerned with the practical aspects of children and young adult services in the public library, Lita-L, the listserv of the Library and Information Technology Association (LITA), a division of the American Library Association. publibthe electronic discussion list for public librarians and those interested in public libraries and lm_net the listserv for school library media specialists worldwide. It has 11,815 subscribers. School library media specialists share ideas about their practice, and share recommendations about publications and conferences. In addition to posting requests to participate in the survey on the above listservs, the request was also sent to Karen Keys, the committee Chair for Technology for Young Adults Committee of ALA, Benjamin Russell, librarian at Belmont High School in Belmont, New Hampshire, and Mary Lewis Haywood, librarian at Orange County Library in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
One of the questions asked on the survey and looked for while surveying the literature was, what are teens’ information needs? Teens’ information needs are different from adults and children. What exactly are their information needs? The literature search informed me that teens approach the reference desk with two main types of questions: the “imposed” query (usually a school assignment) and the personal query (often a popular culture interest). The Imposed Query: Educational needsHomework is a major part in the lives of teens. Many of the librarians who were surveyed responded that teens often ask them for homework help. The Personal Query: InterestsIn addition to homework teens have wide-ranging extracurricular interests. These interests run the gamut. Teen interests range from needlepoint to guitar, squash to cooking, ballet to origami. Online gaming was often cited by survey respondents as a leisure interest among teens. Manga and anime were also frequently cited as a teen interest. Vampire books were also popular with teens.
Now that we know about teens information needs, what did I find out about their information- seeking behaviors? Read quote. Many American teens are fully-wired. They have laptops, smart phones, and MP3 players. “Librarians need to understand how these “digital natives perceive the world.” (RUSA and YASLA 2008, 1)According to a study conducted by the Pew & American Life Project, some 93% of teens use the internet, and more of them than ever are treating it as a venue for social interaction – a place where they can share creations, tell stories, and interact with others. As research from the Pew Foundation supports, teens are online in great numbers. Since teens are online and getting their educational and extracurricular information online, teen librarians are now focusing their attention there. Teen librarians are going where teens are. Online.
But where specifically can teen librarians find teens online? Given the choice of four online spaces respondents to the Survey said that most teens are gravitating towards their library’s social networking sites. The four options included the library’s web site for teens, the library’s social networking sites, the library’s list of recommended web sites for teens, and the library’s other Web 2.0 tools.This figure shows that librarians think teens are using their library’s social networking sites more than other tools, followed by the library’s list of recommended sites for teens, and the library’s other Web 2.0 tools. The least popular choice was the library’s web site for teens. More time does not need to be spent designed elaborate library teen web sites. More time needs to be spent connecting teens to their library’s services via social media or web 2.0 tools. When I say web tools 2.0 what am I referring too?
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Leesburg-FL/Leesburg-Public-Library/132985626290?ref=tsLet’s look at some of the ways that teen librarians are reaching teens through some popular web 2.0 tools.First Facebook. Leesburg Public Library in Leesburg, Florida, serving a population of roughly 19,000 people in Central Florida, uses a plethora of Web 2.0 tools: Facebook, My Space, del.icio.us, Vod and Podcasting, Google Docs, Twitter, Instant Messaging, a blog, You Tube, and Meebo. Their Facebook page has 54 fans, three photo albums, six links, 25 events, and shares information regarding the library’s address and regular and holiday hours. Photos of teens reading manuals to put together a Star Wars lego diorama, along with the finished product on display in the story room, are posted on the Facebook site.

Evolving Trends In Teen Web Librarianship[1] Presentation Transcript

Evolving Trends in Teen Web Librarianship
1
Christine E. Mortlock
Columbia University, Information and Digital Resource Management
Master’s Seminar, Fall 2009
Dr. Linda Stoddart and Dr. Peter Jackson
The Problem
Christine E. Mortlock
2
Methodology
1. Literature Search
2. Informational Interview
3. Survey
Christine E. Mortlock
3
Teens’ Information Needs
1.) The Imposed Query
2.) The Personal Query
Christine E. Mortlock
4
Teens’ Web Habits
“Online information and electronic communication technology is a way of life for most teens. They have come of age with the web, the iPod, cable and satellite television, the cell phone, etc., and these tools form a seamless part of their everyday lives.”
(RUSA and YASLA 2008, 1)
Christine E. Mortlock
5
Teens and Web 2.0
Christine E. Mortlock
6
What is Web 2.0?
It’s all about online social interaction.
Library on Facebook
Christine E. Mortlock
8
Library on YouTube
Christine E. Mortlock
9
Library on Twitter
Christine E. Mortlock
10
Library Blog
Christine E. Mortlock
11
Library on del.ici.ous
Christine E. Mortlock
12
Profession’s Perception of Library 2.0
Christine E. Mortlock
13
Conclusion and Recommendations
Christine E. Mortlock
14

Evolving Trends In Teen Web Librarianship[1]

by cmortlock on Dec 09, 2009

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Evolving Trends In Teen Web Librarianship[1] Presentation Transcript