Sometimes the Internet reads the question wrong: children’s search strategies & difficulties

When children search for information on a given topic, how do they go about searching for and retrieving information? What can their information seeking strategies tell us about the development of search interfaces for children's digital libraries, search engines and information repositories? We interviewed New Zealand (NZ) school children to seek insights into how they are conducting information searches during their education

Visualization of database structures for information retrieval

This paper describes the Book House system, which is designed to support children's information retrieval in libraries as part of their education. It is a shareware program available on CD‐ROM or floppy disks, and comprises functionality for database searching as well as for classifying and storing book information in the database. The system concept is based on an understanding of children's domain structures and their capabilities for categorization of information needs in connection with their activities in schools, in school libraries or in public libraries. These structures are visualized in the interface by using metaphors and multimedia technology. Through the use of text, images and animation, the Book House encourages children ‐ even at a very early age ‐ to learn by doing in an enjoyable way, which plays on their previous experiences with computer games. Both words and pictures can be used for searching; this makes the system suitable for all age groups. Even children who have not yet learned to read properly can, by selecting pictures, search for and find those books they would like to have read aloud. Thus, at the very beginning of their school life, they can learn to search for books on their own. For the library community, such a system will provide an extended service which will increase the number of children's own searches and also improve the relevance, quality and utilization of the book collections in the libraries. A market research report on the need for an annual indexing service for books in the Book House format is in preparation by the Danish Library Centre A/S

Library usage by university accounting students : a comparison of contact and open distance learning institution in South Africa

This study examines the current level of library patronage among accounting students both in the distance and a contact learning institution in South Africa. There is a relative absence of studies of academic library usage by accounting students. The low level of library usage, that is, low level of library visits and poor research skills of undergraduate accounting students has been attributed to the difficulty in integrating accounting curriculum with information literacy. However, the challenge facing academic librarians is persuading both academic faculty and accounting students to integrate information literacy into their curriculum and to convince individual students to make time in their schedules for library usage. In South Africa, this problem is compounded when it is a requirement of the accreditation body, The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), which requires academic departments to integrate library usage into the accounting curriculum for their programme to be accredited. The study examines the current level of library patronage among accounting students both in a distance and a contact learning institution in South Africa. The sub-objectives of the study were to investigate the reasons for low level of library patronage among accounting students in South African Universities; to determine what features would make the use of a library for locating information that is relevant and attractive to university accounting students in a contact and a distance learning institution in South Africa; and to investigate what, if any, improvements to library service can be made to make the use of the library of significant importance. Using a survey research method that utilises a structured questionnaire, this study gathered data from a sample of 500 accounting students from a distance and a contact learning institution in South Africa, out of which 379 returned completed questionnaire, representing 76%. The finding indicates that as with most accounting students across the world, South African students are no exception because of the peculiarity and design of their programme curriculum that provides recommended texts for students’ usage. The findings further show that the apathy of library services patronage among university accounting students in South Africa is exacerbated by lecturers who seldom give assignments or tasks that require the students to search for information beyond the recommended textbooks. Findings indicate that the most significant factor that influences accounting students of universities to patronise library resources are the expertise and interaction of the library staff. This is supported by the Expectation-Confirmation Theory framework which posits that patrons will continue to use library services only if their perceived perception of the usefulness of the services are satisfied. In this case, accounting students from both institutions examined in this study confirm the Expectation-Confirmation Theory framework of satisfaction being based on the perception of the library services they receive. The study recommends that in motivating accounting students to patronise library services, library management needs to understand the discipline-specific teaching and learning practices and collaborate with curriculum developers in the accounting discipline to incorporate the use of library services in their programme. Further study is encouraged to include all universities that offer accounting programmes in South Africa for a more robust finding.Information ScienceM. Inf. (Information Science

Perceived Impact of Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC) On effective retrieval of information resources by postgraduate students in Benue State University, Makurdi

ABSTRACT The study investigated the perceived impact of OPAC on effective retrieval of information resources by postgraduate students in Benue State University, Makurdi. The study looked at the perceived impact of OPAC on effective retrieval of information resources, purpose of utilizing OPAC by postgraduate students, search strategies used by postgraduate students for effective retrieval of information resources, challenges as well as strategies to enhance the use of OPAC by postgraduate student for effective retrieval of resources. Five (5) objectives with corresponding research questions guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was made up of 38 postgraduate students who are registered with Benue State University Library. However, the census sampling was adopted for the study due to the small nature of the population. The instrument for data collection was self-structured questionnaire titled “Perceived Impact of OPAC on Information Retrieval Questionnaire” (PIOPACIRQ) which was validated by experts and a reliability coefficient of 0.947 was obtained. Data was collected and analyzed using frequent count and means. Findings of the study revealed that, there is a high perceived impact of OPAC on effective retrieval of information resources by postgraduate students in Benue State University, Makurdi. Finding also revealed that, postgraduate students in Benue State University, Makurdi utilize OPAC for various purposes such as to know the available resources in the university library, to locate books by author, title and subject, assists in obtaining books from the university library, among others. Finding also revealed the search strategies used by postgraduate students for effective retrieval of information resources in Benue State University Makurdi to include by author, title, subject and edition. The study further revealed the challenges hindering the use of OPAC for effective retrieval of information resources in Benue State University, Makurdi to include: lack of skilled library professionals to assists students, lack of orientation from library staff, lack of time to retrieve the vast information, slow internet connectivity speed, among others. Findings finally revealed some key strategies to enhance the use of OPAC for effective retrieval of information resources by postgraduate students in Benue State University, Makurdi which include: employment of skilled/competent library staff, need to design user-friendly OPAC template, improvement of internet connectivity speed, and organizing user education program to orientate postgraduate students on the use of OPAC, among others. Recommendations were also made based on the findings of the study

Teaching, not telling: Proceedings of the 2nd UK Information Literacy and Summon Day: Summon, information literacy and ‘Step Up To HE’

This paper, originally presented by Eleanor Johnston as a Prezi, outlines how Staffordshire University's ‘Step Up To HE’ programme encourages students to become more effective critical thinkers in their studies

Thinking about keywords and searching Summon as in-class group activity

This paper describes a short practical activity used at Middlesex University to teach students about the importance of keywords and thinking about alternative terminology before searching Summon. This activity is used at all levels and is a whole-class activity. It deliberately uses an image unconnected with Computer Science or Design Engineering, the areas in which we teach