Helen Georgas

Using interactive technology to teach information literacy concepts to undergraduate students

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to measure the effectiveness of a highly interactive animated tutorial that aims to teach basic information literacy concepts to undergraduates and to determine which factors enhance online learning.Design/methodology/approach – The tutorial was evaluated using 30 undergraduate students. Each test consisted of a pre‐tutorial questionnaire and a post‐tutorial questionnaire.Findings – Data from the evaluative testing of the tutorial shows that the tutorial is effective in imparting information literacy concepts to undergraduate students. Students responded positively to the interactivity and game‐like nature of the tutorial.Originality/value – The high degree of interactivity and the game‐like quality of the tutorial are key factors in its success. Thus, developers should aim to incorporate these elements into future online tutorials for undergraduate students.

Google vs. the Library: Student Preferences and Perceptions When Doing Research Using Google and a Federated Search Tool

Federated searching was once touted as the library world’s answer to Google, but ten years since federated searching technology’s inception, how does it actually compare? This study focuses on undergraduate student preferences and perceptions when doing research using both Google and a federated search tool. Students were asked about their preferences using each search tool and the perceived relevance of the sources they found using each search tool. Students were also asked to self-assess their online searching skills. The findings show that students believe they possess strong searching skills, are able to find relevant sources using both search tools, but actually prefer the federated search tool to Google for doing research. Thus, despite federated searching’s limitations, students see the need for it, libraries should continue to offer federated search (especially if a discovery search tool is not available), and librarians should focus on teaching students how to use federated search and Google more effectively.

Google vs. the Library (Part II): Student Search Patterns and Behaviors when Using Google and a Federated Search Tool

This study examines the information-seeking behavior of undergraduate students within a research context. Student searches were recorded while the participants used Google and a library (federated) search tool to find sources (one book, two articles, and one other source of their choosing) for a selected topic. The undergraduates in this study believed themselves to be skilled researchers, but their search queries and behaviors did not support this belief. Students did not examine their topics to identify keywords and related terms. They relied heavily on the language presented to them via the list of research topics and performed natural language or simple keyword or phrase queries. They did not reformulate or refine their research questions or search queries, did not move beyond the first page of results, and did not examine metadata to improve searches. When using Google, students frequently visited commercial sites such as Amazon; content farms such as About.com; and subscription databases such as JSTOR. This study concludes by offering suggestions for search interface improvement and pedagogical opportunities on which librarians may wish to focus or refocus. This article is the second in a series that examines student use of Google and a library (federated) search tool.

Google vs. the Library (Part III): Assessing the Quality of Sources Found by Undergraduates

This study assesses and compares the quality of sources found by undergraduate students when doing research using both Google and a library (federated) search tool. Thirty undergraduates were asked to find four sources (one book, two articles, and one additional source of their choosing) related to a selected research topic. Students used both Google and a federated search (resource discovery) tool to find material they believed to be relevant. Each source was evaluated for topic relevance, authority, appropriateness, and date, and assigned a total quality score. Results showed that the books found via Google were slightly higher quality than those uncovered via the federated search tool. The articles and additional sources students found via the federated search tool were slightly to moderately higher quality, respectively, than those discovered via Google.

The Implementation of an Independent and Self-Paced Online Library Orientation for Freshman Students and the Use of Sakai as a Quiz Management System (QMS)

The Brooklyn College Librarys Reference Unit developed the Librarys Online Orientation Program (LOOP) to provide freshman students with an entirely online, independent, flexible, and self-paced introduction to the librarys resources and services. The implementation of the LOOP gave the reference librarians much-needed time to focus their teaching on classes that require research. The LOOP includes an assessment component that was created and is managed using Sakai. Sakai was found to be effective in creating and managing the assessment, with minimal ongoing maintenance required. Reference librarians with serious time constraints can look to this model as an alternative to in-person library orientation sessions. Since very little has been written about the use of Sakai as a means of creating and managing online assessment, its benefits and drawbacks are outlined.

The Case of the Disappearing E-Book: Academic Libraries and Subscription Packages

One of the standard models for e-book licensing in academic libraries is the subscription package. This study is a one-year analysis of “disappeared” titles from ebrary’s Academic Complete™ collection. During 2013, 3462 titles were deleted. Deleted titles were mainly recent publications (published within the last ten years), with a high number of deletions within the broad subject areas of the social sciences (H), language and literature (P), and history (C, D, E, F). Deleted titles were evenly divided between monographs published by popular presses, and monographs published by scholarly or university presses. It is recommended that deleted titles be closely monitored by subject librarians. Efficient library processes for handling deleted titles must also be implemented. Implications for libraries of changing e-book content are also discussed.