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FEATURE
in the project. ‘If institutions can gain an understanding of learner-owned literacies,’ continues White, ‘they can locate where they intersect with quality resources and the academic rigour of the institution in the context of the wider web culture.’
The role of the library
Many university librarians are now embedded in the faculty, and work with both students and staff throughout the year on literacy skills. This is a commendable development but one problem that remains is that students do not always realise that they are using a high-quality, paid-for, curated service because access is so seamless that it blends into more general web resources. Lynn Silipigni Connaway, senior research scientist at OCLC Research, agrees: ‘Research carried out by OCLC Research since 2003 bears this out. Individuals say they never use the library but when you probe a little, they actually use databases and e-journals provided by the library. By branding these resources, the library would signpost the intersection between the web and the institution, as well as promoting the value it is adding.’ Even though institutions are keen to ensure that students make full use of academic information resources, as Connaway points out, ‘In the current climate, libraries cannot offer every conceivable service channel. At the moment, though, one size fits no-one. We need a model for allocating resources to all channels. One of the [Visitors and Residents] project’s deliverables will be a matrix of implementation
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a completely correct answer, is true learning taking place? When asked what would be the ideal way to find things out, most students want a Google search that gives them exactly the right answer in exactly the right volume of information. This implies that what many regard as the traditional process of research is what you have to do because the technology doesn’t actually work properly yet.’
Motivations for technology Little is known about learner motivations for using specific technologies and spaces when engaging with the information environment. In a longitudinal study, the Visitors and Residents project is mapping the activities of 24 individuals across diverse stages of learning in the UK and the USA to the Visitor- Residency and the Personal-Institutional axes (see box). Mapping the full arc of web-based activities will identify where the personal
www.researchinformation.info
‘Many students regard the traditional process of research as what you have to do because the technology doesn’t work properly yet’
and the institutional overlap and where they are distinct. ‘It is clear that institutionally- provided resources and services are not always the first port of call when searching for information, and instead form part of a much larger information-seeking cycle,’ says White. However, the convergence of the personal and the institutional belies a genuine desire for
convenient, trustworthy information, explicitly articulated by students participating for institutions,
based on the user needs that emerge from the mapping process.’
FURTHER INFORMATION
White, D.S., and Connaway, L.S. 2011. Visitors and Residents: What Motivates Engagement with the Digital Information
Environment.www.oclc.org/research/ activities/vandr [2]
[1]
Prensky, 2001. Digital natives, digital immigrants.
www.marcprensky.com/writing
David White will deliver an update of the Visitors and Residents project at OCLC’s conference, Developing a New Blend of Library, which will take place on 28–29 February 2012 in Birmingham, UK. White’s session promises to present a realistic picture of information practices in the digital era, drawing out some of the learner-owned literacies which are emerging from early findings. He will also suggest some ways in which the institution can deploy its resources to maximum effect.
www.oclc.org/uk/en/councils/emea/ meetings/2012annual/
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