Searcher's Bring Your Credit Card: An Exciting New

Development in Information Literacy or The Beginning of the

End?

Presented by:James Buczynski

Saira Mall

WILU 2007, York University“Teach Every Angle”

Introduction – Teach Every Angle

1. Answering a reference question with:

“You can buy it here”

Remains taboo.

2. Teaching a class that includes commercial sources of information, necessary to succeed in a course assignment, is taboo.

Agenda

• IL Includes “user pay” sources argument.• IL does not include “user pay” sources argument.• Audience feedback, for against.• Rebuttal #1.• Rebuttal #2.• Vote

– Searchers Bring Your Credit Cards– Leave Your Credit Cards at Home

IL Includes “User Pay” Sources Argument.

1. Libraries increasingly don’t have what folks want.

• We’re moving from textual communication to multimedia communication (print, presentations, online).

• As a result, people are looking for images, graphics, sound and video files.

• Libraries are overwhelmingly text based collections.

• Libraries are collecting an ever decreasing piece of the published information/content universe.

Searchers

Bring Your Credit Card!

Music Downloads

Ringtones

Book Downloads

Association Publications

Articles from Publishers

Articles from Publishers

Articles from Publishers

Articles from Publishers

Grey Literature

Google Book Search

“Buy this Book”

Libraries Too!

Images, Yeah right!

vs $3.00 in 1999

Images, low fee

Images, low fee

Universities, low fee

Sound clips

Video by mail

Video Clips

PowerPoint Templates

Type

2. It is Information Literacy Not Library Literacy!

• Information Literacy is the set of skills needed to find, retrieve, analyze, and use information/content. (ACRL)

• We can’t play our role in curricula or communities if we ignore an increasing part of the media marketplace.

3. ACRL Standard #5 “ACRL Standard Five:

The information literate student … uses information ethically and legally.”

• People are looking for images, graphics, sound and video files.

• Folks are illegally sourcing creative materials from print and analog collections via digitization; and from online spaces illegally hosting multimedia materials.

• We can’t ignore this demand because the sources happen to be commercial.

• Using content also increasingly involves copyright related licensing fees.

4. Self Service End Users

• Accustomed to self service.

• Don’t want to go through gatekeepers, with limited contact hours.

• They want it now, not in two days, two weeks, etc. (Library Doc Del, ILL)

5. If Not Us, Then Who?

• Teachers?

• Friends?

• Nobody?

IL Includes $ Argument Summary

1. Libraries increasingly don’t have what folks want.

2. Information Literacy is broader than the library.

3. ACRL Standard #5

4. Self service end users.

5. If we don’t do it who will?

If You Agree with Me That It Is Part of IL…

• We need to stay on top of what is happening in the marketplace.

• Know the content retailers

• Typical business models

• Typical fees for access

• Typical permitted uses

• Typical technical support considerations

• Need guidelines for what the library will acquire and what it will not so patrons will know.

• Promote librarians instead of the library, when appropriate.

IL Does Not Include “User Pay” Sources Argument

1. Protecting Our Brand Image

1. We represent the library.

2. Community expects “free access” to content.

3. Risk undermining our powerful brand image.

4. Opposes our values in higher education.

5. Do we want to be information brokers?

2. Equity Not Knowledge Divide

1. Libraries are founded on the principle of equity.

• Equal access to learning materials.• Equal access to information to support democracy.

2. Two tier services builds a knowledge divide.

• Student achievement limited by financial means.

Price: US $30

$30 USD

x 10 articles

= $300.00 USD

for 1 research paper

3. Supports Commercialization of Information

A lot of online/download content is being sold only directly to consumers.

• License forbids libraries from acquiring it.• Digital rights management/technical protection

measures make acquisition impractical.• No business model for libraries.• Examples are feature film video-on-demand

services, PDF ebooks sold as a one-time download, that cannot be hosted locally, and high resolution image collections.

3. Supports Commercialization of Information

• Supporting User-Pay Search and retrieval empowers publishers and distributors trying to stop libraries from acquiring access to their content.

• Empowers commercial groups trying to modify intellectual property legislation away from its traditional philosophy.

“Teach kids from elementary school and

up to say yes to copyright licensing!”

Bruce Lehman, Copyright Industry Lobbyist

4. Supports Collection Funding Cuts

• We feel the pressure to account for our budgets.

• Migrating library users to external sources will inevitably reduce usage statistics.

• Reduced usage statistics can justify collection and staffing budget cuts.

• Library support fees on student invoices will be challenged if they are paying for more and more content out of pocket.

5. Undermines the Open Access Movement

• Digital divide is not just hardware and networks but access to the best and most recent information published.

• Solutions to the scholarly communication access crisis would be threatened if this “user pay” mindset gets traction.

• Open Access Journals• Institutional repositories of preprints/post prints• Legislation mandating open access to research funded by public

agencies.• Copyright legislation updates, ex. Distance education.• Creative Commons

6. Not Our Role

• We can’t be on top of everything.• Entertainment products• Commercial mobile phone content• eTextbooks

• We have boundaries of knowledge and expertise.

• Support graduates to be responsible researchers and professionals.

Critical Thinking and Evaluation (of ALL relevant sources)• Students must learn to understand distinction between surface

versus deep researching.

• If they do understand limitations, they may only be searching a fraction of these user-pay sites online to complete assignments, this may imperil the quality of student learning.

• Gap between what faculty expect and what students deliver.

• Via the library students make the best search engine choices and to apply the best Internet search techniques.

• $Pay = Value– If you pay for it does that mean it’s good?

IL Does Not Include “User Pay” Sources Argument Summary

1. Opposes our brand image.2. Equity not knowledge divide. 3. Supports commercialization of

information/content. 4. Supports funding agencies in cutting funding

for collections.5. Undermines the “Open Access Movement” for

scholarly resources. 6. We can’t be on top of everything. It is not our

role to cover this area of the marketplace.

Questions from the floor

for both of us…

IL Includes User Pay Sources Rebuttal

IL Does Not Include User Pay Sources Rebuttal

Voting

Searchers Bring Your

Credit Cards

Leave Your Credit Cards

at Home

Thank-You!

James BuczynskiSeneca@York Campus Librarian, Electronic Resource Acquisitions for Seneca LibrariesSeneca College of Applied Arts and TechnologyJames.Buczynski@senecac.on.ca

Saira MallSeneca@York Information Literacy CoordinatorSeneca College of Applied Arts and TechnologySaira.Mall@senecac.on.ca