Internet Culture: What Do We Know About Our Users
Even though I seem to go to a similiar talk at every conference I attend, I really like these "state of the Internet and libraries" statistical things. One thing some co-workers and I discussed was the fact the for years we've been hearing "ref stats are down" and we haven't been run out of a job yet. We just have to adapt to the kinds of questions we do get at the desk and move the ref services where the users are (IM etc). Going where the users will definitely keep us relevant for years to come. When we're in the habit of looking where folks are and going there it will be easy to adapt to migrations of those "spaces".
Yr notes.....
Cathy DeRosa - OCLC:
- 84% start research on Internet - only 1% start at library home page
- Same results in study 50 yrs ago (1% start at library)
- 62% start at Google
- ref stats down, ref stats down!
- behavior: where do users hang out and what do they do?
- dont want passive things (watch TV etc)
- asssociate library with books! "what I will always think!"
- pick electronic sources based on being worthwhile and good info [some fibbing here?]
- just know stuff is good
- "we are the web" by "Scan this book" guy: most content of web built by users
- 62% connect through broadband
- digital info is empowering: net helps get engaged in politics/ government, better informed
- digital info and creativity: 48 million Americas have created/ posted info on Internet
- 18% have done mash-ups
- internet is "swiss army knife" info tool
- does long tail make people more tech savvy?
- essence of service is to help customer allocate attention
- "info doesn't want to be organized"
- 14-15% admit to searching for porn [riiiiight]
- size of US contributes to being behind in international wired ranking: expensive to put broadband in rural areas, more wirder countries (Korea) more densely populated
- US broadband is very s l o w compared to other countries (Korea, Japan)
posted by David @ 9:55 AM
0 comments
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home