The GCC Library: Challenges and Opportunities

Overview

No part of the GCC academic community has been more affected by the digital information age than the Library. Challenges arise from the escalating complexity and quantity of information sources, the uncertain quality of information on the Internet, the need to serve all students equally, whether they are on or off-campus, and the statewide mandate for information competency.

The Teaching Library

Until recently, doing library research meant using print resources. As faculty in a teaching library, librarians at the reference desk or in classroom orientations were expected to teach students how to strategize and focus their research, locate relevant reference materials, use periodical indexes and Library of Congress subject headings, and navigate the card catalog and the stacks.

But with the advent of online resources and Internet research, the mission of a teaching library has become more challenging and more complex, and the job of librarians has changed dramatically.

Today many of the information resources used by our students are online. Typically, licensed databases replicate traditional reference books or full-text journals and newspapers. They are usually more current and comprehensive than print, and they can be used by more than one student at a time. Their search engines are more powerful (though less discriminating) than a print index.

But many students are not aware of these licensed resources that comprise the “invisible Web.” They do not know how to use them or evaluate the relevance of what they have retrieved. Nor do they know how to focus their search effectively, given the overabundance of retrieved information. Article Databases are more difficult than print sources to search effectively; strategy and analytical skills are more important. As a result, technology-mediated information resources have a higher learning curve than do traditional reference books and print journals. To succeed in a research assignment using these online tools requires longer and more sustained instruction from a librarian, either at the reference desk or in a workshop. In addition, students now come to us with fewer research skills and less familiarity with any kind of library.

Even more problematic is the reliability for research purposes of the information available on the “visible Web,” i.e. the Internet. Until the mid 1990’s, library research involved materials that had been selected by a librarian. Their authority, validity, and reliability were taken for granted. Now, students turn first to the Internet for research as well as for amusement. The unfiltered content of the Web, the increasing control of information by commercial interests, and the undiscriminating literalness of search engines make it critical that students analyze and evaluate their sources.

Students assume that search engines “search the Web,” but with almost 5 million new sites being added daily, the best search engines track only 16% of the Web, and the top eleven put together only index 40%. Even so, inefficient searching retrieves thousands of “hits.” Most students simply pick the site listed first, not the most relevant one. According to some authorities, as much as 70% of the information on the Web is inaccurate. Students using the unmediated Internet need critical thinking skills to distinguish between good and bad information.

What is at stake here is information literacy, which does not mean computer skills but is defined as a set of abilities enabling one to “recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate and use effectively the needed information.”(1) Its standards, objectives, outcomes have been established nationally and approved by all colleges and universities in California.

In 2001 the Academic Senate of the California Community Colleges recommended that information literacy, called here “information competency,” become a system-wide graduation requirement. Meeting this new challenge will have a significant impact on the Library, completing the transition of library faculty from an indirect and tutorial role into direct classroom instruction and systematic collaboration with disciplinary faculty to ensure that students gain the information competency skills they need.

The “Virtual Library”

Less than ten years ago the physical library with its books and microfiche was the only one available. But for today’s students, remote access to library resources has become a top priority: it now accounts for almost one-third of total library use, the equivalent of a rapidly growing branch library. Yet despite its success, remote access is not replacing physical library visits. Now at 700,000 per year, in-person visits have doubled since 1997, the year the Library was remodeled.

So this “virtual library” is an addition to the physical one, not a replacement. Nor do online resources supplant the need for books. A book is still the best vehicle for knowledge, as distinct from simple information. It is a medium that promotes extended, thoughtful interaction with the mind of another person.

Therefore, the GCC Library has a twofold challenge: it needs to provide enough online resources as well as enough books to meet the intellectual needs of our students, and it needs to offer the same level of service to the entire student body, regular and extended.

Virtual libraries do not come cheap. First, the licenses for online resources are expensive. For example, the ProQuest database of full text journal and newspaper articles costs $22,000 a year. Then there is the cost of the technology itself: the more technology dependent the library becomes, the more critical is adequate technical support, both within the Library and in Information Technology Services.

Bringing the virtual library with appropriate instruction and services to all students is the second part of the challenge. This question of equal access includes online learners as well as adult and community learners at the Garfield campus who currently do not have library services or resources. The library’s enhanced web site currently provides 24/7 services and resources to remote learners. But it does not reach everyone, nor does it offer every student the same range and depth of services.

For example, GCC librarians provide email-based online reference during their hours on the reference desk. However, students are definitely not getting the same level of service as those who come into the library, where students receive sustained interaction. In addition, to provide service during the off hours, the library is a charter site for 24/7 online reference through the Library of California. Response time with this service is certainly better, but the librarians answering questions are not, for the most part, academic librarians familiar with student assignments and academic research tools.

The next wave in remote services will be real-time reference video-conferencing, which will enable students to consult a librarian while they are actually working on their research at home. But this will mean that a librarian must be available at all times to help these off-site students. Also in the future, online courses may link directly to appropriate library resources, connect students with a librarian, incorporate a library tutorial, or involve a learning community with Library 191. “Electronic resources” will offer reserve copies of textbooks and other materials in electronic form accessible through the Voyager online catalog. Already, Web sites and electronic books are being linked to Voyager.

In short, in the “High Tech/High Touch” environment of the 21st century, the GCC Library faces both challenges and opportunities in its dual role as a teaching library and a virtual library.

1) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (Chicago: ACRL, 2000), p. 2.