Research is Hard
Steven M. Cohen
Senior Librarian - Law Library Management, Incorporated
917-837-9706
The Reference Interview...
...Is changing.
...Needs constant development.
...Does not involve the term "Google it"
...Makes the user smarter.
...Doesn't end when the person walks out the door.
Keeping up
“To stay ahead, you must have your next idea waiting in the wings." - Rosabeth Moss Cantor
“Keeping a little ahead of conditions is one of the secrets of business.” - Charles Schwab
“It’s better to be ahead of the curve than to be behind it.” - Me
Use RSS to Keep Up
1) Make online searching MANDATORY in library school. Make it a core course.
2) Keep up with search engine news and how to use these tools to their maximum capabilities.
3) Put a glass jar on your desk. Every time you say, "Google it",
4) Reference desk managers: Do the jar thing too,
5) Do not make Google the default page at your reference workstations. If you are going to do this, at least use the advanced page.
6) Understand the invisible web and how it exists. Know about subject-specific engines and directories. Know the best person, home, and e-mail look-up tools.
7) Use your reference book collection. Not all answers are found in the glorified results of a word or phrase search on ANY engine.
8) Don't enable. Not only should we teach better searching skills to our colleagues and users, we should practice what we preach. Don't have a Google search box on your library web page or blog. Don't have canned Google searches on your web page or blog that lead to atrocious results.
9) Don't forget the importance of using the fee-based databases that your library (check that, your patrons) pays for. Remember that "free is as free does."
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