Librarians listen to users

Once again the School Library Journal has provided youth librarians with an article that should make us all think about what we do best. "The Big App" is an account of how New York City librarians tackled the problem of too little use of their thoughtful homework help page. Despite having it filled with useful materials for students, somehow the students didn't flock to it in any great numbers. So, with the help of a grant from IMLS, the librarians decided to ask young people what they wanted. One of the things they don't want, it turns out, is to have to go to the library site for help. They know and use Google; they follow-up their teachers suggestions about websites for homework; but they seldom turn to the library. New York's answer was to provide apps that could be accessed through sites the kids use like Facebook and MySpace. The NY team is working on making homework apps available where the students actually are and integrating the different kinds of help they want, including having recommended websites, the opportunity for online chat with a librarian, and the ability to bring it all together for their research. It looks as though the days of having a knowledgeable library staff decide what their public wants and providing it are over. Today's young people are moving into a collaborative future where help and resources provided by libraries will be designed and made available through channels chosen by the users. Besides giving us a glimpse into the future of the New York libraries, this article provides lots of ideas that might be applied in localities across the country.

What if we lost it?

Teachers, librarians, and students--just about everyone who spends any time online--knows about Wikipedia. When searching on almost any topic, it is the source that pops up with a relevant article. But will it always be around? An article in American Libraries calls attention to the challenges that Wikipedia faces. Rumor has it that the organization of Wikipedia is becoming more bureaucratic (not surprising in any group) and, although funding drives have been successful so far, depending on voluntary giving is always chancy. Now that people have grown used to having an online source to answer almost any question about facts and figures, how would they survive without it? Print encyclopedias are rarely available and no satisfactory model for paying for online access to reference tools has been very successful. Perhaps individuals and libraries ought to consider increasing support for Wikipedia. Imperfect though some of its articles are, the work as a whole is of great value to us all.