Out-of-Class #1: Example #3

Oct. 13, 2017

Library Usage

                When was the last time you visited a library? Was it dark and musty like a tomb filled with curmudgeons who can’t let go of their precious print? 

                Chances are no, because experts, staff, and students all agree that in the 21^st century libraries have not become outdated or obsolete; they have instead evolved to utilize technology and become hubs of learning for universities.

                Dr. Lynn Silipigni Connaway is the senior research scientist and director of user research at the Online Computer Library Center. WHERE/AT WHAT SCHOOL? She said that the library still maintains its presence as a community-based space for meeting, socializing, and studying as it has for many years.

                Connaway said she does see students use the physical space of libraries, but doesn’t know if students realize that libraries offer help online and “you don’t have to be there physically to ask questions.”

                Libraries are no longer only physical spaces that hold books she said, but “virtual environments” that can aid students in finding someone that can help them and “someone they can trust” when they need assistance or have questions.

                Despite the advancements to libraries, students haven’t lost touch with the physical books in the library. Michigan State University Sophomore CLASS TITLES ARE LOWER CASE, PER AP STYLE Chase Slasinski said instead of searching the internet for sources, COLON INSTEAD OF COMMA HERE  “I’m more likely to go find a physical copy of the book just because I feel like that would be more of a reputable source.”

                Slasinski said when utilizing the resources at the MSU Library for research, the resources are easy to access and the staff is very willing to help if you have questions.

                Although Slasinski said he only uses the library about once a month for studying or research; he said, “I think it’s just a good resource for students altogether.”

                MSU Director of Libraries Clifford H. Haka has seen the libraries on MSU’s campus grow and develop since he first started working as a reference librarian in 1982. He said when he was first hired, “99 percent of what we did was paper based.”

                Haka said he has seen the adoption of computers and the rapid advancement of technology. Librarians still have the important task of helping people find information, but they have developed a new job that Haka calls “post-identification assistance.”

                He said this means that librarians are now acting as guides to the best information.

                A simple internet search will give millions of results and the first few are quite often not the best or most useful information. Librarians have the training and expertise to sift through the search results to find the best information. HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS? ATTRIBUTE!

                Haka said MSU students can be using the libraries’ resources and tapping into the expertise of librarians without even knowing simply by getting on the internet through their university account. Through MSU, they have access to the $17 million worth of resources the library leases and buys each year.

                While working in these new areas, librarians face more complex questions from students and faculty, said Haka. People know how to find information, but they now seek help deciphering it.

                He said, “The LOWER ACSE THE START OF A QUOTE WHEN IT DOES NOT START A SENTENCE sophisticated user will be back a lot” and they bring “more difficult, challenging questions.”

                In the late 1990’s, Haka said, there was a “precipitous drop-off” in students using the library at MSU due to the new convenience of having internet capable computers in the dorms. IS THERE DATA FOR THIS?

                This caused the library to do some “introspective looking,” Haka said, to determine the reasons for the decrease in students visiting the library. They decided to change the traditional approach to running the library with relatively limited hours, no food or drink, and noise restrictions.

                Haka said the decision was made to make the library a setting that was more comfortable for students. Students began to start coming back to the library. Then the “Ask a Librarian” campaign was started to let students know that librarians can help them to find better information than they likely could on their own.

                “In about 2000 we started seeing a real climb,” said Haka, of the number of people using the university libraries.

                The library has about 2 million visitors each year, said Haka, and that number is “pretty consistent” and close to the same levels as the age before the internet, when the library was the only source for research information.

                Haka said he is proud of that fact and hopes the current efforts of the library to create opportunities for students to collaborate and learn through multiple mediums brings in even more visitors.

               

                ASSIGNMENT GRADE: (redacted)

INSTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS: A STRONG FIRST STORY. GOOD STRUCTURE, USE OF QUOTES, ATTRIBUTION, ALTERNATIEV LDE SEQUENCE. ETC. WE PROBABLY COULD AHEV SPOKEN TO MORE LIBRARY USERS LIKE STUDENTS, THOUGH. THANKS!