INLS
180 Day 9 Notes
February
5, 2002
Big Points
Time to learn versus time to accomplish tasks/balance
between giving answers and instruction (give fish or teach to fish)
Both librarian and patron play roles in success of
reference interview
Differences between what you
know/need/articulate/system can give
Questions
Can you become an insider without commitment to the
group (is position enough?)
How to get people to express what they don’t know?
What can computers do to help people ‘figure out’
and articulate their needs?
Socio-economic factors in behavior (does Chatman’s
model work in other settings)?
How does the medium influence info delivery/info
seeking? How do images/sound fit into
ASK and systems?
Why don’t libraries promote question asking? How can we get people to think it is ok to
ask? [Asking literacy]
Are rules of query becoming more malleable? [yes]
Will globablization lead to fewer outsiders?
How much are researchers/designers willing to share
with others?
Why interview daycare for LC? [parents, as well as
workers]
Can we conduct perfect reference? Create perfect IR
systems?
LC:
interviews, observations, survey
BLS: interviews, focus groups, email content
analysis (requests), query term analysis, transaction log analysis, usability
studies, online survey
Dervin, B., & Nilan, M. (1986). Information needs and uses.
(Davide Knight)
Harris, R., & Dewdney, P. (1994). Barriers to Information: How Formal Help
Systems Fail Battered Women. Chapter 2. (Maria Paschall)
4. One-minute
paper
What was the big point you
learned in class today?
What is the main, unanswered
question you leave class with today?