Tue 29 Nov 2005
Navigating the Library
Posted by pfitz under Libraries
There are two weeks left to the semester. And then Finals. Students are cramming to get papers written (which means that many are just starting to do research). It used to be that when this period of the semester arrived, students were at least familiar by now with where books are located. To even find out about the subjects and what was available, they had already been “browsing the stacks.”
Thanks to computers, students can find books in our libraries without hardly trying. A basic keyword search of the online catalog locates some books that they can use. Maybe not the best books or a complete list, but SOME books that are useful. (Which is a credit to the developers of the searching tools.)
The downside of using computers to find books in the library is that students aren’t IN the library. They aren’t learning that books are grouped by subjects or how those subjects are broken down. They’re not browsing the shelves and seeing what’s there. Maybe this is why I’m getting more reference questions this week asking for help in FINDING the books. The students have printouts with titles, authors, call numbers, but they “don’t know how the whole letter-number thing works.” (Yes, that’s an exact quote from a student today.)
We actually have signs hanging above the entryway to each section of our library that list the call number range in BIG letters. The signs say something like this:
A-D
or
E-HJ
I would hazard a guess that if you look at the call number on your printout, you should at least be able to find the right section in the library. And then the shelf labels at the ends of the rows will break it down even further for you, helping you find your book in a relatively straightforward manner.
So why can’t college students figure that out? Not to knock college students in general, because many are very intelligent users of the library. But then there are some who haven’t been in the library before and need to find a particular book TONIGHT. At least they did the search themselves and got a printout with the citation info all by themselves. But then to have to ask where the book might be kept…. It’s shameful.
Computers may be making things easier to DISCOVER, but it looks like they’re not helping make things easier to LOCATE.
Na
November 30th, 2005 at 17:10:46
I think they would all be happier if they could just click a button and pick it up at the desk. I know I would. The logistics though aren’t easy. I have to say though that coming from a small township to a large university with a library 1000 times as big was quite daunting (elevators!). It was also the first time I saw LC call numbers. Now I didn’t find it hard at all once I found a sheet telling me where the various letters were located but others might be overwhelmed. Add on things that we have like “remote storage”, “reference”, “browsing collection” and various branches and it becomes even more difficult for some.
I’ve come across various libraries that have maps in their OPACs that show where a number is located and find that pretty nice. Ours isn’t one of them. There’s probably other ways to make the OPAC interfact less confusing as well.
December 1st, 2005 at 15:28:31
The University of Missouri implemented a GIS location system into their catalogue the last year I was there. It does wonders for telling the students exactly (within ten or so feet) where the book is in the library and on the shelf. However, we discovered very quickly that, even with detailed directions, maps, and photos, about 25% still couldn;t find the books.
Another more recent anecdote: I helped a patron locate a book in our reference collection today. Now, Idaho State is *significantly* smaller than MU; our Ref Collection is maybe 20 rows. She claimed there was no section of PS. I took her over there, showed her the books, and she said, “Oh. I was on the other side of hte shelf. You mean the numbers keep going?”
What do you do with that?
December 6th, 2005 at 15:05:53
Maybe it’s too obvious to librarians that the stacks signs relate to the call number not the author or the title? Other than that thought I have no suggestion to resolve the problem.