[WEB4LIB] Patron Technophobia [was: Re:Important article]

[Jim Harold]

Hi ....

Although I haven't worked on a reference desk in many years, I guess my take on all of this is most folks have lost the ability to play which I believe influences how they approach anything that is either new or seemingly over complex.

The problem we have had here in the agency is that everyone (there are several hundred regular online users at USAID) wants database interfaces (which have several different types of data, including standard bibliographic records) that matches their level of expertise and they always want that as the default.

In light of this, we have five different levels of interfaces, none of them perfect for everyone ('title search', 'basic search', 'advanced search', and 'experimental search', plus command line--not all are available for each type of data).  We also have the problem here that searching is done from the user's desktop, so we can't rely on anyone taking someone's hand and placing it literatlly on the keyboard.  So whatever we do has to be very straightforward.

If I had total control over how we present databases, I would (1) always have at least two different levels or presentations with regard to an interface, and (2) somehow, either though the interfaces or through personal contact, encourage folks to play or experiment (this also means having to make the interfaces and the PC themselves fairly easy to not break or hang).

Thanks.



Jim Harold
USAID Development Experience Clearinghouse
(operated by LTS Corporation)
1611 N Kent St Ste 200
Arlington VA 22209-2111 USA
jharold at dec.cdie.org 
+1 703-351-4006 x109
+1 703-351-4039 fax
http://www.dec.org


>>> "Robert J. Tiess" <rjtiess at warwick.net> 04/01/99 10:19AM >>>

Dorothy Fleishman wrote:
> What we are finding in terms of patron usage of the library
> is that many of the people coming to the libray are too
> technophobic to make use of what is available to them. They
> either stand like statues and wait permissible for the
> librarian to type a title into the computer for them, or
> wander the stacks in total confusion rather than ask for help.

This is a vast problem, and I wonder what steps other libraries,
as a whole, or librarians on their own are taking to reduce or
eliminate the technophobia some patrons experience.  My collegues
and I have been engaged with daily PAC training and monthly
Internet instruction.  I believe a substantial part of the
problem also involves not so much patron "computer illiteracy"
as a mild laziness or simple lack of motivation to learn a new
system or interface.  It's often challenging for patrons but 
necessary, and I sympathize with them, understanding the sharp
learning curves they face, especially when they first move from
card catalogs to PACs.  Patron technophobia is certainly nothing
new, but I am interested in what other unique steps, if any,
libraries are taking to address it, especially with respect to
Internet access.


Robert
rjtiess at warwick.net