 |
 |
|
Appendices: 
|
Pattern one: decrease in guided access to content
Guided access to content refers not only to humans acting as intermediaries between consumer and information object, but also to the containers of information—databases, reference books and library catalogs. Human guides to content are librarians and teachers, but they are also bank tellers and doctors. All of these people mediate between the enquirer and the information: they interpret information into knowledge. “How much interest did I earn last quarter?” “What are the symptoms of a heart attack?” “Why is the sky blue?” “I need to find three articles analyzing the significance of birds in Shakespeare’s plays.” In the past, teachers, bank tellers and doctors synthesized and interpreted on behalf of enquirers who were, for a number of reasons, unable to get at the information themselves. Much of that specialized, proprietary information may still be under the control of the human guide but some of it is not, and it has made its way to the Web to be joined by literally millions of pages of content that is searchable, findable and usable without assistance from human guides. In a physical world, the actual containers of information themselves guide users. A book, by its shape and size, by its cover and even price, alerts the reader to what might be inside. A popular magazine is easily identified by its glossy appearance and many photographs. No information consumer is going to accidentally pick up a copy of the academic journal Brain Research when it was Entertainment Weekly he wanted. To some extent, the “shapes” of the containers of information have been retained in a virtual world: e-journal pages look just like their print ones, a record in a library catalog or in WorldCat still looks much like the catalog card. But in a world where information and content increasingly are unbound from containers, the containers cannot act as guides. As a result, the information consumer operates in an increasingly autonomous way and is frequently self-sufficient, choosing simple searches and search interfaces over complex ones. Google and Amazon both offer very simple search interfaces. Google, in particular, relies on its search technology to deliver meaningful results, instead of searcher’s knowledge of the search indices. Librarians and information professionals have had ample evidence for years that most searchers use a single term when searching—regardless of the sophistication of the interface. Why, then, do most library content interfaces still contain multiple search boxes? In one sense, the complex presentation is an attempt to guide searchers as they seek information, guaranteeing better search results if the guide is “consulted.” In the “Webby world” described in this report, more and more people do not seek out a mediator in their quest for knowledge, and are happy to pursue their information quest unattended by a guide.3 Even if Information Consumer wanted a guide, there are few available. Libraries and aggregators of content have not capitalized on the chance to “lurk” alongside the information seeker in a seamless Web environment, and appear as an advisor and guide when searching is unsuccessful. “The key is to always be next to the user wherever the user is, invisible when things are working, magically materializing when they are not.”4 At the moment, the information consumer must make the choice to go to an “ask-a” service, or to a virtual reference service offered through a library to seek advice on the Web. The searcher must also come to the service, rather than the librarian coming to the user. No icon exists to add to a browser tool bar that will invoke a wise advisor. It is human nature to seek information and advice as close to oneself as possible. This advice may live within a circle of family and friends, a personal library, and other reliable “close” resources, such as the Google search box that is so conveniently located on many browser tool bars. “There is a lot of groundwork libraries can lay that would be invisible, and we can stand at the ready as a trust circle when further service is needed. The unanswered question is how to move our circle closer, in a person’s network, at the level of their need.”5 Information Consumer is comfortable traveling alone. |
