ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 5 2 6 /C & RL N ew s ■ M a y 2001 THE W A Y I SEE IT Bibliographic instruction A corporate trainer’s take by Kenneth D. Fink W hen I was a corporate trainer for Great Western Bank, there w ere several key principles in delivering and designing train­ ing programs for employees, many o f them college students working part-time for the company. These guiding principles, borrowed from adult learning gum Malcolm Knowles and other training professionals, include several key ideas useful to librarians who conduct computer- based bibliographic instruction (BI). They embrace the notion that adults learn by doing; that adults learn from each other’s experience, as well as from the instructor; that adults want to know upfront why what we teach is worth learning1; and, finally, that learning often happens in direct relationship to the amount o f intellectual excitem ent cre­ ated by the materials— and the instructor. It takes p ractice The principle that adults learn by doing sug­ gests that teaching research skills via the com­ puter requires computer practice to transfer those skills. Indeed, one could see this prin­ ciple at work in a typical training session for employees. W hen I dem onstrated on the bank’s computers a deposit with cash back, for example, new customer service represen­ tatives (CSR) could not develop this skill with­ out repeated hands-on computer practice. It was the train er’s responsibility to d e­ sc rib e the tra n sa ctio n , d em o n strate the transaction on the com puter, and finally give students the opportunity to p ractice the tran saction and receiv e constru ctive feed b a ck from the instructor about their perfo rm ance. Providing co n stru ctiv e fe e d b a c k is a subject that deserves a separate article, but briefly, it m eans d escribin g for students f i r s t w hat they did w ell and th e n w hat might b e im proved upon. Also vital to stu­ dent su ccess was giving them the o p p or­ tunity for p ractice as clo se as p o ssib le to the instruction. It did not b o d e w ell for the instructor or the students if the o p p o r­ tunity to practice a b an k transaction cam e hours after the initial dem onstration. T im e : B l's g r e a t e s t e n e m y So if on e is dem onstrating how to search the library’s OP AC to a large class, p ro ­ vide a quiz, an ex e rcise , or a gam e they can do in pairs b e f o r e you go to on to a new d atabase dem onstration. D o n ot wait until the end o f the B I sessio n to give stu­ dents an opportunity to practice. I say this b e c a u s e the g re a te s t e n e m y o f b ib lio ­ graphic instruction is time. There is simply not enough o f it, and librarians (this one in­ cluded) are sometimes guilty o f rushing on About the author Kenneth D. Fink is librarian at Pepperdine University and California State University, Northridge, e-mail: kdfink@pacbell.net mailto:kdfink@pacbell.net C&RL News • M ay 2 0 0 1 / 527 to teach another database before the lessons o f the previous ones have b een reinforced. The idea that adults learn from each other as much as from the instructor may seem like unconventional wisdom. Studies have shown that adults bring different levels o f experience to the classroom. This is plain to see in the varying degrees o f com fort stu­ dents have in searching the Internet, not to m ention the university’s subscription data­ bases. W hen the instructor honors, even solicits students’ Internet experience, ideally at the beginning o f a BI session, students are m ore likely to honor the librarian’s rec­ ommendations. Also, let students know at the beginning o f the session that you w el­ com e their participation and that you will be calling o n them. Then they know they are accountable and they’ll be prepared. Li­ brarians may also want to distinguish b e ­ tw een searching the Web and searching the university’s subscription databases on the Web, with which students tend to be less familiar. Give students the big picture. The big pic­ ture is the larger context into which a sp e­ cific BI session fits. It provides a reason for students to invest their time and energy in mastering what w e have to teach. This b e ­ longs at the beginning o f every BI session. What is the “big picture” librarians can share with students? At the beginning o f the BI session ask how many o f them have ever felt clueless about where and how to begin an instructor’s research assignment. Tell them that the skills and resources you hope to impart over the next two hours will change their entire col­ lege exp erience. Guarantee that by the end o f the session they will understand at least two electronic and print resources they can use to begin research on their subject— tak­ ing the first steps to mastering the resources that will turn anxiety into confidence. The training principle that learning hap­ pens in direct relationship to the amount of intellectual excitem ent seem s almost an in­ sulting notion. After all, learning should be rewarding in itself and not dependent on the instructor’s ability to provide a good time for students. Yet few p eo p le would deny that BI includes engaging exercises, some friendly com petition, lots o f student praise, maybe even a prize or two at the end can G iv e s tu d e n ts th e big p ictu re. The big p ictu re is th e la rg e r c o n te x t in to w h ic h a sp e c ific BI se ssio n fits. It p ro v id e s a rea so n fo r stu d e n ts to in v e st th e ir tim e and e n e rg y in m a ste rin g w h a t w e h a v e to te a ch . turn a first-rate instructional session into a m em orable one. There are many b ook s de­ voted to designing relevant exercises, ice­ breakers, and games for training sessions. The C o m p lete G a m e s T ra in ers P la y , by Ed­ ward E. Scannell is an excellen t resource li­ brarians can use to energize bibliographic instruction.2 Finally, a heretical suggestion: abolish the term “bibliographic instruction” which causes the eyes o f students to glaze over. It is a term that is fine as jargon used by and for librarians, but avoid m entioning it in front o f those w ho receive it. At Great Western B an k , training classes for the traditional “b an k teller” functio n w ere never called “teller training”. It was more accurately called “Customer Service Training” for em ployees called Customer Service Representatives. Was there anything wrong with being called a teller? Not at all, excep t it was a limiting term in describing a position that included con ­ siderable people and problem-solving skills, as well as product sales goals. “Bibliographic instruction” is a limiting term, as well. It does not adequately describe f o r stu d en ts the variety o f skills required to effectively search and record both print and online sources o f information. What should w e call bibliographic instruction? The possi­ bilities are endless. A few that spring to mind include, “Research Methods for Student Suc­ ce ss ,” “Internet and Print Resources for Stu­ dents,” “Internet and Library Search Strate­ gies for College Success,” “Investigative Skills for College Su ccess.” Perhaps at the w eekly staff m eeting, librarians could brainstorm other creative alternatives. Lastly, creative bibliographic instruction is just good customer service. CSRs had customers to (c o n tin u e d o n p a g e 5 3 5 ) C&RL News ■ M a y 2001 / 535 • “C ooperation an d C oordination o f In ­ form ation an d C om m unication Services at G erm an Universities” described current ef­ forts o f G erm any universities to co o p erate m ore w ith o n e an o d ier using technology for research an d education. • “The Six W ebs o r W hy O n e Web W on’t D o ” w as p resen ted by Sun Microsystems. • “Top Performance and Partnership,” was presented by another vendor, Fujitsu Siemens Co. • “Portals an d E-business in H igher Edu­ cation,” w as p resen ted by EDUCAUSE from the U nited States. Speakers from various E uropean countries, the U nited States, an d Canada also p resen ted 124 different p ap ers related to the confer­ en ce them es:1 • C o o p era tio n b e tw e e n E u rop ean U n i­ v e r s itie s . In the 21st century, E uropean u n i­ versities will benefit from cooperating across b o u n d aries an d various exam ples o f c o o p ­ eration w ere presented. • I n fo r m a tio n T e c h n o lo g y a n d N et­ w o r k C o m p u tin g S e c u r ity . U niversities have to face m any potential security p ro b ­ lem s in th e use o f inform ation technology in teaching an d research an d the use o f n e t­ works. P rocedures n e e d to b e established to deal w ith security-related incidents, training a n d e d u catio n in netw ork com puting secu­ rity is n eed ed , a n d n ew trends in inform a­ tion security will affect universities and know l­ e d g e m anagem ent. • C h a n g es i n U n iv e r sity O rg a n iza tio n a n d S tructures. Use o f technology is lead­ ing to m ajor changes in university adm inis­ tration in m ost E uropean universities. Tech­ nology has a m ajor im pact o n the structure o f m anagem ent, security, funding, an d staff­ ing. Technology is enabling E uropean u ni­ versities to co o p erate m ore an d offer m ore learning advantages to their students. • N e w T e c h n o lo g ie s , N e w C apabilities a n d N e w O p p o r tu n itie s. Supercom puting, cluster com puting, com putational grids and m etacom puting, a n d virtual reality are ex­ am ples o f capabilities n o w becom ing m ore an d m ore im portant for scientific com puting at universities. • S u p p o r tin g C h an ge in T ea ch in g a n d L earning. N ew m edia an d international ed u ­ cational dev elo p m en ts have h e lp e d develop n ew a p p ro ach es to teaching in universities. Exam ples w ere p ro v id ed for online learning, W eb-based instruction, an d distance learn­ ing. Discussions cen tered o n effective co o p ­ e ra tio n acro ss n a tio n a l b o u n d a rie s u sin g online learning a n d teaching. Also p resen ted w as inform ation o n collaborative learning in m edicine using th e Internet. • L ibraries in th e D ig ita l A ge. Libraries a n d m ultim edia an d com p u ter centers have o v erlap p in g activities. Some convergence, partnerships, an d n e w structures are being considered. A variety of collaborations can result in positive an d negative effects. Dis­ cussions o n the changing role o f librarians prevailed throughout the track w ithin the con­ ference. Also covered w ere the use o f the Internet for delivery and m anagem ent o f in­ form ation, the UNESCO guide to electronic theses an d dissertations an d a variety o f li­ brary consortia. Note 1. Many o f the papers have b e e n p u b ­ lished as the Proceedings o f the 7b In te r n a ­ tio n a l C onference o f European University I n ­ fo r m a tio n Systems by H um boldt University in Berlin, Germ any. ■ ( “.B ibliographic . . c o n tin u e d f r o m p a g e 5 2 7 ) please; I h a d the CSRs to please. T hey w ere m y custom ers, just as the students are my custom ers/patrons now . And great customer, great p atro n service is w h at bein g a librar­ ian is all about. Notes 1. Malcolm K now les, Tloe A d u lt Learner: A Neglected Species, 3rd ed. (H ouston: G ulf Publishing C om pany B ook Division, 1986). 2. E d w a rd E. S c a n n e ll a n d J o h n W. N ew strom , The Com plete G am es Trainers Play: E xperiential L ea rn in g Exercises (N ew York: McGraw-Hill C om panies, 1994). ■ C o rr e c tio n In th e article “Print b o o k bibliographies o n th e W eb,” (C&RL Neivs, March 2001), th e au th o r refers to a N ew York Times ar­ ticle th a t w a s n o t cited. It is D o reen Carvajal’s “The B o o k ’s in Print b u t its Bib­ liography Lives o n in C yberspace,” New York Times, May 29, 2000, A l.