Spoems - Finding Time in the Penn State Libraries

Finding Time in the Penn State Libraries

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This video documents a search for Time Magazine via the Penn State Libraries web site. It was created by Ellysa Stern Cahoy for the 2007 CIC Libraries conference, as part of the presentation 'Interface = Instruction.' Video of the presentation itself is available at: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/CICLib07/2007/03/next_gen_panel_video.html A clearer, bigger version of the video is available at: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/instruction/time.mov If you have questions regarding the video, or if you would like to use the video in a presentation, please do not hesitate to contact me at ecahoy@psu.edu. Thanks for viewing!--Ellysa Cahoy http://www.personal.psu.edu/esc10/blogs/E-Tech/

Channel: Howto & Style
Uploaded: March 16, 2007 at 10:23 am
Author: ecahoy

Length: 0:01:12
Rating: 4.60
Views: 18,613

Tags: ciclib07 libraries opacs

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Video Comments:
calv1n206 (Monday 9th of April 2007 08:54:22 AM)
Hey, we could just walk to the library and pick up a copy off the shelf, right? How long would that take?
rlc62 (Thursday 5th of April 2007 07:48:34 AM)
Forever? I hope you were being ironic. The user had access to the journal in less than two minutes--indeed, less than a minute and a half. The only thing that would have made the process any faster might have been some sort of direct telepathic access via i-pod.
jarchie49 (Thursday 5th of April 2007 07:07:34 PM)
You're joking right? You do realize that wasn't video of an end user, but rather someone from the library who knew the precise path to take to find the content, right?
AltoidsAddict (Friday 6th of April 2007 07:43:16 AM)
I agree. Yes, it's fast; but the user knew exactly where to go, and it's *still* a confusing, nonintuitive interface. I suspect that, for a user who is computer-literate but untrained in The Cat, that the choice they face is not whether they're getting it in two minutes or going to the bound stacks (if Penn State has them available); I suspect many users, when confronted with such an interface, would not be able to find Time at all.
rlc62 (Friday 6th of April 2007 11:02:14 PM)
Yes, that's obvious, but research is not supposed to be so effortless that it can be undertaken in less time than it takes to hard-boil an egg. A search on "the Cat" for TIME MAGAZINE (exact title) takes the user directly to that record, where there is a link to the various electronic resources through which TIME is available. If students encounter difficulties, then they should make the effort to visit the library and consult with a reference librarian.
rlc62 (Friday 6th of April 2007 11:12:37 PM)
I should add that I agree--you're right--it's not perfect,. But that said, we need to recognize that we really are very lucky to have resources such as this available. It certainly beats the old search, pull, and photocopy method.
justinfootexlv (Monday 2nd of April 2007 09:04:46 AM)
Wow, that did take forever, didn't it?