Are young adult Americans still reading for pleasure? A recent report from the CQ Researcher database discusses this question in depth. On the other side of this issue, a recent public library survey describes young adults as the "heaviest users of public libraries". Using the Factiva database, type in "study and young adults and library users" … Continue reading Opposing Viewpoints: Young Americans Reading
Writers’ Strike–doesn’t it make you want to turn off the TV?
(We are playing with the ability to use polls and surveys. This is our first attempt. See how you like it!) Does the writers' strike affect how much you have been reading lately? Enable Javascript to take this Poll. Survey by Quibblo
Information Seeking Behavior of the “Google Generation”
A recent Chronicle of Higher Education article summarizes the findings of a British study conducted by the Joint Information Systems Committee that studied the information seeking habits of those born after 1993. Some of the key highlights of this report: Young people don’t develop good search strategies to find quality information. They might find information on … Continue reading Information Seeking Behavior of the “Google Generation”
A Decline in Reading?
The National Endowment for the Arts recently published the results of a literacy study, To Read or Not to Read. The study gathered and analyzed "statistics from more than 40 studies on the reading habits and skills of children, teenagers, and adults. The compendium reveals recent declines in voluntary reading and test scores . . ." Some … Continue reading A Decline in Reading?
Study Reveals How College Students Use the Library & Spend Their Time
A recent Library Journal article, Know Your Students, details the methodology used to conduct an ethnographic study at the University of Rochester's Rush Rhees Library. It also provides an overview of the findings from this study and interesting insights into how students use the library and spend their time on campus. A previous post on our library blog, An Anthropologist … Continue reading Study Reveals How College Students Use the Library & Spend Their Time
Social Networking: Opinions & Practices of Library Users & Librarians
OCLC's (Online Computer Library Center) recent report, Sharing, Privacy and Trust in Our Networked World, presents the results of a study conducted to find out both library users' and librarians' opinions and practices in regards to social networking. Over 6,100 users, ages 14-84 from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom were surveyed. Survey participants … Continue reading Social Networking: Opinions & Practices of Library Users & Librarians
An Anthropologist in the Library
The Libraries at the University of Rochester hired an anthropologist to conduct a study on how students do their research and spend their time. An article from today's Chronicle of Higher Education provides an overview of the study's eye-opening results.
Faculty Information Needs in an Online Environment
An interested article from the July/August issue of Educause Review, The Changing Information Services Needs of Faculty, highlights results from a survey conducted in 2006 to assess the attitudes and perceptions of academic collection development librarians and faculty towards information services in the electronic environment. Let us know what you think about this transition away … Continue reading Faculty Information Needs in an Online Environment