ASIDIC Las Vegas

18 March, 2008

“Sometimes content can be sacrificed for format”How People Get Their

Information

“Sometimes content can be sacrificed for format”How People Get Their

Information

Presented by:

Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Ph.D.Senior Research Scientist

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?

MillennialsWho Are They?

Millennials

Millennials / NextGens / EchoBoomers / Gen Y

Born between 1979 & 1994

75 – 80 Million

Generational divide

13-28 year olds

By 2010 will outnumber Baby Boomers

Who are they?ScreenagersWho are they?Screenagers

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

Non-User (Screenagers):Stereotypes and IndependenceNon-User (Screenagers):Stereotypes and Independence

“Because, I mean, once they do their famous point, it’s just like… you don’t want to go near them again.”

“I wouldn’t really trust my librarian. I trust Google.”

“Plus I think the IMing kind of gives it a cold feeling to it… when you can actually sit and talk to someone face-to-face you kind of can see if they care or not…”

Non-User (Screenagers):Security, Accuracy, and SpeedNon-User (Screenagers):Security, Accuracy, and Speed

“I don’t usually like to talk to like people I don’t know on the Internet.”

“I’m not going to go get tutored on the Internet by somebody… who might be some psycho serial killer out there when I could get personal help from my home and people in my community.”

“A librarian’s trying to do like 15 of those conversations at once they’re going to mix up replies…”

“I don’t really want to take the time actually to type out, like explaining what I’m doing, what I need it for, what type of sources I need.”

Non-User (Millennials):Preference for Face-to-FaceNon-User (Millennials):Preference for Face-to-Face

“Just generally, I would talk to somebody in person.”

“I prefer to interact with a librarian that I know.”

“I would just go, um, to the library website…”

“I go to Google Scholar as well and Inquestia.com which I belong to.”

Non-User (Millennials): Privacy and Technology ConcernsNon-User (Millennials): Privacy and Technology Concerns

“And there could be a chance that [the librarian might say] ‘This guy’s teaching these classes and he doesn’t know this?!’”

“I was worried that in some way, you know, if the Department would get a report about what questions [I was asking], you know what I mean…”

“Would the connection be good enough to facilitate real-time chat?”

VRS Users (Millennials):Convenience and IndependenceVRS Users (Millennials):Convenience and Independence

“I’d rather go two feet to my computer than a couple of miles to the library.”

“I always want to do everything myself – I don’t want

help.”

“It’s helpful to have another person looking for you so you get twice as much information – which is quicker.”

“…they know how to do it and know where to look and you don’t necessarily know.”

VRS Users (Millennials): CollaborationVRS Users (Millennials): Collaboration

VRS Users (Millennials): Personalized ServiceVRS Users (Millennials): Personalized Service

“I was on the site at 2 or 3 in the morning and it felt personalized.”

“Instead of having to write everything down… you have the transcript of the conversation and all the links from the conversation in a permanent email.”

Users (Boomers & Millennials): Ability to Multi-TaskUsers (Boomers & Millennials): Ability to Multi-Task

Moderator: “Okay, so there’s some consensus on that that it allows you to multitask?”

Multiple Participants: “Yes.”

VRS Users (Millennials):DistrustVRS Users (Millennials):Distrust

“To me it wasn’t that much more than any other search engine.”

“I’m not sure how much attention the person… was paying attention to the actual question or the key words in the actual question.”

“…they were just Googling stuff as far as I could see.”

“I feel like I get better results when I’m, like with the person.”

Two ViewsTwo Views

Users

Highly value Librarian’s attitude & personal qualities

Some value interpersonal aspects more than receipt of information

Librarians

More likely to value content, transfer of information

Also value relationship qualities (but to a lesser degree)

Interpersonal Communication Analysis: ResultsInterpersonal Communication Analysis: Results

Relational Facilitators

• Interpersonal aspects of the chat conversation that have a positive impact on the librarian-client interaction and that enhance communication.

Relational Barriers

• Interpersonal aspects of the chat conversation that have a negative impact on the librarian-client interaction and that impede communication.

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)

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 information providers do?

• Tailor content

• Shape collections

• More choices

• Make discovery easy

1. Content1. Content

What information providers are doing today:

• Network level services

• Discovery

• 24x7 access

• Online content

• Incorporating more relevant content

• Enabling user contributed content

2. Access 2. Access

What can information providers do?

• Expand search tools

• Expose library content through both:

• Library interfaces

• Non-library interfaces

• Provide access – anytime, anywhere

2. Access 2. Access

What information providers are doing today:

• Broadcast & federated search

• WorldCat Local

• Partnerships

• Web services

• Mobile interfaces

3. Services 3. Services

What can information providers 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 information providers are

doing today:

• Virtual reference

• Social networking tools

• Profiles

• User contributed content

• Tags

• Reviews

• Lists

• RSS feeds / alerts

• Recommendations

• Community tools

• Collaboration

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

What We LearnedWhat We Learned

The image of libraries is…

BOOKS

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

What can we do?What can we do?

Create a library experience which matches the experience of the web

• Easy search functionality

• Integrated library search for all sources

• Social networking software

• Recommender service

• Click-through to online sources

• Point of need reference services

• Instant messaging reference services

• Customizable library portals

University of Washington on WorldCat.org

Holdings: Local, Group, Global

Summit collections

Univ Washington collections

WorldCat

Detailed record – item held by UW

Detailed record – request item

Request handled locally

Item not held by UW

Item not held by UWor Summit

Article citations

Article citations

Conclusion

• 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.

Special ThanksSpecial Thanks

Rutgers University and OCLC Grant Project TeamMarie L. Radford, co-investigator

Jocelyn DeAngelis Williams

Susanna Sabolsci-Boros

Patrick Confer

Timothy Dickey

David Dragos

Vickie Kozo

Mary Anne Reilly

Julie Strange

Jasmine de Gaia, OCLC

NotesNotes

This presentation is one of the outcomes from the project “Sense-Making the Information Confluence: The Whys and Hows of College and University User Satisficing of Information Needs." Funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Ohio State University, and OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., the project was implemented by Brenda Dervin (Professor of Communication and Joan N. Huber Fellow of Social & Behavioral Science, Ohio State University) as Principal Investigator; and Lynn Silipigni Connaway (Senior Research Scientist) and Chandra Prahba (Former Research Scientist), as Co-Investigators. More information can be obtained at: http://imlsosuoclcproject.jcomm.ohio-state.edu/

NotesNotes

This presentation is one of the outcomes from the project, “Seeking Synchronicity: Evaluating Virtual Reference Services from User, Non-User, and Librarian Perspectives.” Funded by IMLS, Rutgers University, & OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., the project is being implemented by Marie L. Radford (Associate Professor, Rutgers University) and Lynn Silipigni Connaway (Senior Research Scientist, OCLC) as Principal Investigators. More information can be obtained at: http://www.oclc.org/research/projects/synchronicity/default.htm

Questions and CommentsQuestions and Comments

Lynn Silipigni Connawayconnawal@oclc.org

Slides available at project web site: http://www.oclc.org

/research/presentations