Deep Thinking

Search Engines! Why do librarians take antagonistic stands about search engines and databases? I listen to very pious opinions on how students should only use databases for searching. Sometimes I wonder if they are living in an elitist world or truly considering the needs of their patrons.

Look at why people choose google.
* It’s simple to use without a great deal of training. (Some databases require daylong training)
* It is uncomplicated to look at. Lots of white space.
* The name is easy to remember and easily became a verb in our vocabulary. (Did you google it?)
* It covers a wide range of topics and resources.
* It’s fast. Results come back quickly which is what patrons want.
* It’s open for commentary and adjusts to feedback. When flaws are identified such as the flipping of Republican vs. Democratic sites during the 2004 presidential race, developers at Google tackled the problem. They listen to concerns and EVERYONE feels free to criticize the product until it becomes better. How many private company databases are so responsive?
* It’s innovative and keeps trying new ideas. GoogleMaps, Picassa, Scholar, etc. And their labs are open for trial and commentary.

But google alone is not enough. We spend a great deal of time trying to hone our searching techniques so our patrons actually walk away believing they have found what they were searching for. If you were to search the topic choosing the proper search engine, you’d be surprised at the varying answers. I was frankly disappointed with the Internet Public Library’s (IPL’s) article on engine selection. The University of California Berkeley has developed a clearer looking site, but it is narrow and doesn’t include the newer sites that librarians email me to ask questions about (answers.com) Awesome Library has a very child friendly site with some unique links. I spend a great deal of time explaining that KidsClick is not a search engine for the entire internet, so much as a carefully chosen list of sites. Often students do not find what they need because there is a limit to the amount of work a “person” can do compared to “search engines.” The Librarians’ internet index is varied, but when I tried it out with high schoolers, they didn’t attempt more than 2 different areas and didn’t like the arrangement.

One of my favorites when students are ripe for listening to some guidance is Noodle Tools by Debbie Abilock. But even that site hasn’t been updated since May and the needs and computer information abilities of our patrons changes faster than the answers are provided. Since many people have asked me about Answers.com, I did some brief reading about who they are and what their purpose is here when they explain that answers.com is “provides quick, integrated reference answers instead of just search engine links.” Is this what patrons want to know? It seems to take some of the Ask Jeeves desires to a different level. Joyce Valenza provides the best information, constantly changing and directly applicable to the high schoolers we serve on her website. It can be absolutely overwhelming for students when they begin, so librarians need to read ahead, plan, explore and be prepared.

Whichever search engine is used, librarians need to be wary of developing the “sniff”. You’ve seen it. They look over a students shoulder, see they aren’t searching the paid databases, and give the sniff as if only they know the answers. It reminds me of that terrible librarian in Star Wars who claimed that if the library didn’t have the information, it didn’t exist. Students have needs. They are becoming more savvy. If you want to show them the gap between the “accepted databases” of information when they have a problem/search, you must be able to supply QUICK results that are noticeably better.

Why do librarians draw lines in the sand? Is there something indoctrinating during library education programs that creates intellectual warriors or does the profession attract radical militants?

Take one recent issue:
*Wikipedia. Many librarians immediately began a very reactionary rant about how an interactive tool is inaccurate. Of course, there are problems with users creating inaccurate or biased information. That is true with any tool and in any situation. (Look at the blogs and list discussions and search LM_NET’s archives.) Rather than deciding if this is a situation where the line should be drawn and students forbidden to use the tool, we should be looking at these considerations:
…What benefits does this tool offer my students?
…What problems should I anticipate and plan training for?
…How can I take the basic premise behind how this tool works and go further?
…How can I enable access when and where my students need it?
…How can I share this knowledge with others in my profession?

I confess that I now use Wikipedia. Try locating good information on kings & queens for kindergarten students! The print encyclopedia articles are laughable. Publishers really haven’t created interesting materials on this in the nonfiction section for lower readers so everything we find has to be translated. After two years of reacting to the questions generated by a class and relying upon the personal knowledge of my library assistant (from Cambridge) and her personal library, I was relieved to find excellent links in wikipedia. I explained to the students that since we live in a democracy we don’t own enough print materials on monarchies so we have to connect to the world of knowledge. The links were relevant and took us to a wide variety of information to answer their questions:
How do you get to be the king? Where exactly do kings and queens live? How much money do they make? Do knights really battle dragons? What do you have to do to become a knight? What do they call their kids and don’t they have last names? Does the queen wear a crown everyday? Are there kings and queens in different countries? How many prince and princesses are there in the world?

There’s a childrens book called Do Like a Duck Does where a fox attempts to convince a mother duck and her ducklings that he is also a duck. Every preschool and kindergarten class loves this book when they hear it and sometimes they request it again. With the problems that hit us, we need to learn to be like ducks. There are times to let the water and the troubles just flow off our backs. Other times we need to stretch up, shake out our wings, and let out a loud cry hoping that others join in with us. Toni Buzzeo’s book Dawdle Duckling is another pleaser for this crowd.

We know quite a bit about coping techniques in our house: humor, release, finding other activities to compensate, tears, anger, and lifting our voices for help from others. Take today for example. This was my first day off from my second job at a local dept. store since Thanksgiving. I took the job for the extra funds so we would have a Christmas, but also so I could be with adults, get paid to rearrange and straighten items, and be rewarded for being a good team player. Customers spent all weekend telling me that I was cheerful and pleasant. It felt good to be recognized in a different environment for the skills that are taken for granted in a school library. Of course you encounter some ruffled feathers and irate birds in the holiday rush, but when you can simply shake it off, you don’t end up taking home excess baggage and guilt.

While I was enjoying the prospect of an evening to relax, I took 2 sons (#1 and #3) to the doctor. #3 son has been vomiting since Saturday and not eaten since Friday. Stomach bug and he’ll live, but he needed to hear the doctor tell him that, not me. #1 son had been complaining of chest pains periodically since Tuesday’s hockey game. While hubby dear insisted it was a waste of time, that voice that lets a Mama duck know just when something threatens her baby told me to check it out. Turns out he has pneumothorax or a collapsed lung. It seems this can occur for no reason especially if you are a tall, thin young man. He is 6 ft and 133 pounds. So now we wait to see if this medium size pocket of air is absorbed by his body and decreases in size by Wed. or if he suddenly experiences shortness of breath and we race to the ER praying. Doc says to send him to school. He is preparing for a choir concert and has practice during and after school. Wed. a.m. I take him back to re X-ray and hope that it doesn’t grow larger. If so, they’ll stick in a tube and drain it.

Hmmm! How do you cope? Well, I was driving down the interstate when the Doc called and I couldn’t even write down the name of the disorder. Since #1 son had driven off the other direction for a job interview, I began the process of gathering information, using technology to locate him, notifying my backup system of parents to be alert and WATCH him (yes, parents have spy networks), and deciding how to rearrange schedules just in case we have a quick trip to the hospital and 2 day stay. I researched lungs and disorders, tried different search strategies until I located the correct term, gathered information, cooked supper, did dishes, planned a lesson, then dialed my mother to tell her what was happening just as #1 son walked in. I beckoned him to the computer to read with me the best information while I explained to grandma what this meant and where she could go on Google to learn more. I even showed #1 son sites on coping with illnesses. It’s not his first. He has spent 5.5 months of the past 12 with his arm in a cast, broken foot, collarbone, and arm (3 times), had a plate in the arm and taken out, and lacerated his kidney. How? Soccer, wrestling, football, kneeboarding, water skiing, etc. No dolls or tea parties for that child.

How did he cope? Myspace.com He immediately logged on and let his friends know what was going on. They did collaborative searches and then in typical teenage fashion said, “Well, hope you’ll be alright.” Then they played interactive online videogames.