Searcher's Bring Your Credit
Card: An Exciting New
Development in Information
Literacy or The Beginning of the
End?
Presented by:
James Buczynski
Saira Mall
WILU 2007, York University
“Teach Every Angle”
Introduction – Teach Every Angle
1. Answering a reference question with:
“You can buy it here”
Remains taboo.
2. Teaching a class that includes commercial
sources of information, necessary to succeed in a
course assignment, is taboo.
Agenda
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•
•
•
•
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IL Includes “user pay” sources argument.
IL does not include “user pay” sources argument.
Audience feedback, for against.
Rebuttal #1.
Rebuttal #2.
Vote
– Searchers Bring Your Credit Cards
– Leave Your Credit Cards at Home
IL Includes “User Pay”
Sources Argument.
1. Libraries increasingly don’t have
what folks want.
• We’re moving from textual communication to multimedia
communication (print, presentations, online).
• As a result, people are looking for images, graphics,
sound and video files.
• Libraries are overwhelmingly text based collections.
• Libraries are collecting an ever decreasing piece of the
published information/content universe.
Searchers
Bring Your Credit Card!
Music Downloads
Ringtones
Book Downloads
Association Publications
Articles from Publishers
Articles from Publishers
Articles from Publishers
Articles from Publishers
Grey Literature
Google Book Search
“Buy this Book”
Libraries Too!
Images, Yeah right!
vs $3.00 in 1999
Images, low fee
Images, low fee
Universities, low fee
Sound clips
Video by mail
Video Clips
PowerPoint Templates
Type
2. It is Information Literacy
Not Library Literacy!
• Information Literacy is the set of skills
needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use
information/content. (ACRL)
• We can’t play our role in curricula or
communities if we ignore an increasing part
of the media marketplace.
3. ACRL Standard #5
“ACRL Standard Five:
The information literate student … uses
information ethically and legally.”
• People are looking for images, graphics, sound
and video files.
• Folks are illegally sourcing creative materials
from print and analog collections via digitization;
and from online spaces illegally hosting
multimedia materials.
• We can’t ignore this demand because the
sources happen to be commercial.
4. Self Service End Users
• Accustomed to self service.
• Don’t want to go through gatekeepers, with
limited contact hours.
• They want it now, not in two days, two
weeks, etc. (Library Doc Del, ILL)
5. If Not Us, Then Who?
• Teachers?
• Friends?
• Nobody?
IL Includes $ Argument Summary
1. Libraries increasingly don’t have what
folks want.
2. Information Literacy is broader than
the library.
3. ACRL Standard #5
4. Self service end users.
5. If we don’t do it who will?
If You Agree with Me That It Is Part
of IL…
• We need to stay on top of what is happening in the
marketplace.
•
•
•
•
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Know the content retailers
Typical business models
Typical fees for access
Typical permitted uses
Typical technical support considerations
• Need guidelines for what the library will acquire and what
it will not so patrons will know.
• Promote librarians instead of the library, when
appropriate.
IL Does Not Include “User Pay”
Sources Argument
1. Protecting Our Brand Image
1. We represent the library.
2. Community expects “free access” to
content.
3. Risk undermining our powerful brand
image.
4. Opposes our values in higher education.
5. Do we want to be information brokers?
2. Equity Not Knowledge Divide
1. Libraries are founded on the principle of
equity.
•
•
Equal access to learning materials.
Equal access to information to support democracy.
2. Two tier services builds a knowledge
divide.
•
Student achievement limited by financial means.
Price: US $30
=
for
$30 USD
x 10 articles
$300.00 USD
1 research paper
3. Supports Commercialization of
Information
A lot of online/download content is being
sold only directly to consumers.
•
•
•
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License forbids libraries from acquiring it.
Digital rights management/technical protection
measures make acquisition impractical.
No business model for libraries.
Examples are feature film video-on-demand
services, PDF ebooks sold as a one-time
download, that cannot be hosted locally, and high
resolution image collections.
3. Supports Commercialization of
Information
•
Supporting User-Pay Search and retrieval
empowers publishers and distributors
trying to stop libraries from acquiring
access to their content.
•
Empowers commercial groups trying to
modify intellectual property legislation
away from its traditional philosophy.
4. Supports Collection Funding Cuts
• We feel the pressure to account for our budgets.
• Migrating library users to external sources will
inevitably reduce usage statistics.
• Reduced usage statistics can justify collection and
staffing budget cuts.
• Library support fees on student invoices will be
challenged if they are paying for more and more
content out of pocket.
5. Undermines the Open Access
Movement
• Digital divide is not just hardware and networks
but access to the best and most recent
information published.
• Solutions to the scholarly communication access
crisis would be threatened if this “user pay”
mindset gets traction.
• Open Access Journals
• Institutional repositories of preprints/post prints
• Legislation mandating open access to research funded by public
agencies.
• Copyright legislation updates, ex. Distance education.
• Creative Commons
6. Not Our Role
• We can’t be on top of everything.
• Entertainment products
• Commercial mobile phone content
• eTextbooks
• We have boundaries of knowledge and
expertise.
• Support graduates to be responsible
researchers and professionals.
Critical Thinking and Evaluation
(of ALL relevant sources)
• Students must learn to understand distinction between surface
versus deep researching.
• If they do understand limitations, they may only be searching a
fraction of these user-pay sites online to complete assignments, this
may imperil the quality of student learning.
• Gap between what faculty expect and what students deliver.
• Via the library students make the best search engine choices and to
apply the best Internet search techniques.
• $Pay = Value
– If you pay for it does that mean it’s good?
IL Does Not Include “User Pay”
Sources Argument Summary
1. Opposes our brand image.
2. Equity not knowledge divide.
3. Supports commercialization of
information/content.
4. Supports funding agencies in cutting funding
for collections.
5. Undermines the “Open Access Movement” for
scholarly resources.
6. We can’t be on top of everything. It is not our
role to cover this area of the marketplace.
Questions from the floor
for both of us…
IL Includes User Pay
Sources Rebuttal
IL Does Not Include User
Pay Sources Rebuttal
Voting
Searchers Bring
Your
Credit Cards
Leave Your Credit
Cards
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Thank-You!
James Buczynski
Seneca@York Campus Librarian, Electronic
Resource Acquisitions for Seneca Libraries
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
[email protected]
Saira Mall
Seneca@York Information Literacy Coordinator
Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology
[email protected]