Recently I helped my last patron find the information she needed for a school assignment. Her initiating question to me was “Can you google some information for me?”
After a bit of reflection (at home) I thought that a fitting comment with which to close my public library service – it epitomizes the developments in not only librarianship but also education.
Most teachers are now accepting the Internet as a valid resource for information. Many librarians are now googling for that information on behalf of their patrons. Some even say it is much faster than showing the patron where to find it in a book.
When I suggested that we could find the answer over here on the shelf the student wondered “What – in a book? Wouldn’t it be faster just to look it up on the computer?” By then we were in front of the shelves holding the book in which we would find her answer.
I pulled down the book, verified the precise bit she needed, turned right to it, and lay the opened book before her on the table behind us. She thanked me, and I returned to my station to finish gathering my stuff for my final leave-taking.
As I walked back to my office the student stopped by to thank me and to say “That book was exactly what my teacher told me to use, but I thought librarians only used Google.” While there are in this incident several aspects of complexity (not the least being the student’s history with librarians), let it suffice for me to say that the comment illustrates what is becoming a major flaw in education be it formal or not.
We are not taking the time to inculcate digital literacy and its necessary component, critical thinking skills vis-a-vis digitized information. Indeed, we seem to be pushing bits and bytes to our users assuming that electronic forms are more trustworthy than are their printed forerunners. In some cases the electronic form is the only one available and so we have no choice. But in so many other cases we have the information in print and yet because it is also available electronically we prefer the bits and bytes. Monetarily this often makes sense because more users will be served (especially simultaneously) than would be if we could not afford multiple copies of the printed version.
It seems, though, that turning to the Internet for a bit of information when that bit is available in print on the shelf behind us shows an infatuation with electronics that ultimately will become a dependence thereon. That dependency is already raising benefactors’ doubting the need for librarians and well-trained professionals. That dependency certainly narrows the options we provide our patrons, and the flexibility that we might need should the power fail.
BTW, what was the question? The student wanted to see a section of the codified state law. The book? A volume in the revised code of the state.
