Making an Impact

In this case study, Roger Rosen and Miriam Gilbert describe the creation of Rosen Publishing’s award-winning, critically acclaimed Teen Health & Wellness: Real Life, Real Answers database. They focus on how Rosen was able to offer a unique value proposition both to teens and librarians, craft age-appropriate and credible content, and build an interactive site that offers an engaging, dynamic user experience. They review the process of creating a resource that had no barrier to finding information, made the discovery process fast and easy, and supported different styles of learning and information-seeking behavior. They discuss the challenges of ensuring that Teen Health & Wellness remains relevant and current in today’s crowded digital landscape, and share the successes in building a unique health and wellness resource that is indispensable to teens and librarians alike.

Hidden Greenlands

This chapter considers the role of libraries and educational publishers in the information age. Studies show that, for most college and university students, the trigger for research remains the classroom assignment. Tasks associated with specific learning objectives—writing a paper, preparing an interpretive reading, engaging in historical or statistical analysis—still motivate students to engage in research. What has changed is the fact that students no longer rely on librarians, libraries, or traditional publishers for information resources. They go directly to search engines. Today’s learners are, however, quickly overwhelmed and, despite being “digital natives,” struggle to evaluate information and organize it to build ideas. The ability of publishers, librarians, and libraries to address this issue will determine their relevancy in the 21st century and, perhaps, the success of students themselves in the information age. This chapter reviews a wide variety of literature and experiential data on information literacy, findability, metadata, and use of library resources and proposes how all players can re-think their roles.

The Impact of Electronic Reference Content and Discovery on Publishers

The introduction of electronic reference sources has changed the landscape for publishers of traditional, vetted reference content. Sharing content, simultaneous use, pricing electronic content for a fair reward, accountability for product use, patron-driven selection of content, and the importance of content discovery are several of the issues and challenges that publishers are grappling with. These issues and challenges are presented from a publisher’s perspective and serve as an introduction to the myriad issues with electronic reference discovery and context.

Reference Products and Services

There is a paradigm shift in progress in reference collections affecting the content, format, and use of reference materials. This shift is a result of changing formats for reference products, and it presents challenges to traditional reference services. In order to better understand where reference collections are heading, we must take a look back to see how we got here. This chapter defines a reference paradigm, looks at the history of reference in libraries, and examines the shift from both a reference library product and reference service perspective. It also describes how major changes have impacted traditional reference titles and how libraries and users have adjusted to those changes.

Acquiring, Promoting, and Using Mobile-Optimized Library Resources and Services

Although the reasons vary, it is apparent that the majority of library users prefer electronic reference content primarily because information provided in that format is easier to find and use; plus, much of this content is accessed via mobile devices. This chapter will discuss best practices for acquiring, promoting, and using mobile-optimized library resources and services including reference content -- although most Ready Reference print collections have disappeared because of the ease of finding factual information thanks to Google, Wikipedia, and others. A report on mobile library surveys and vendor usage statistics regarding the use and future aspects of mobile-optimized library reference resources and services will also be discussed in order to provide a snapshot of what is working in this emerging technology that is impacting most everyone today. The chapter also will attempt to answer questions to determine if promoting mobile-optimized content is helping users discover oftentimes hidden library reference content while they are on the go.

Open Web Capture for Libraries

One of the principle purposes of reference, especially subject encyclopedias, is to facilitate a new learner’s approach to a field of study by providing context and vocabulary for the effective use of the rest of the library. Some have even referred to the subject encyclopedia as the “Rolls Royce of the Library” (East, 2010). With the economic pressures on libraries and the dramatic changes in usage patterns brought on by the shift from print to electronic content, subject encyclopedias must be re-invented if they are to embody their intended function. While print reference has been overshadowed by information on the Web, studies on student research habits show that the need for context, which reference provides, is higher than ever before. This chapter will argue for the contemporary relevance of the subject encyclopedia in response to student research needs in the information age and explore current and possible visions for the transformation of the subject encyclopedia to suit digital media and the open Web in particular.

Undergraduate Information Seeking Behavior, E-Reference and Information Literacy in the Social Sciences

As we consider the potential impact of e-reference, librarians should keep in mind another important concern that has received much attention in recent years, namely information literacy. The composition and differential usage of specialized indexes in the social sciences – resources that are not necessarily designed for undergraduate research – and of aggregated interdisciplinary databases present challenges to achieving information literacy. Users have e-reference tools at their disposal to help them navigate information found in such resources, but it is a classic problem of reference and now e-reference that these resources are underutilized. Interviews conducted with twelve undergraduates at New York University form the basis for a case study which is used to illuminate the issues discussed herein.

An Overview of Trends in Undergraduate Research Practices

The resources undergraduates use for research have changed significantly over the past two decades as the Internet has become the predominant conduit for information. Access to academic resources has never been easier; undergraduate papers now include more citations, but more non-traditional, non-academic sources are being cited. Libraries’ initial reactions to the ascendancy of the Internet ranged from mild concern to alarm, but soon libraries were themselves using the Internet as both an access point for academic resources and as a tool for information literacy. Studies also suggest that students’ motivations and research methodology have remained consistent. The key to libraries’ success is understanding the motivations that shape students’ research practices and tying information literacy to the curriculum.

Embedded Librarianship

This case study chronicles the learning experiences of 10th grade Honors Literature/Composition students who participated in a 2009-10 learning initiative, Media 21, at Creekview High School. This program, spearheaded by school librarian Buffy Hamilton and English teacher Susan Lester, provided students a learning environment facilitated by both Hamilton and Lester in which Hamilton was “embedded” as an instructor. Media 21, rooted in connectivism, inquiry, and participatory literacy, emphasized students creating their own research “dashboards” and portals, the creation of personal learning networks to help students engage in their learning experiences, and to evaluate a diverse offering of information sources more critically.

Theory and Practice

Design of mobile applications to deliver reference content and services is a new grand challenge. We present a template of design considerations, ranging from the general theory of content restructuring to strategic planning and tactical execution.