Library Juice » The real reason students like Google better than our databases
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Library Juice » The real reason students like Google better than our databases
The real reason undergrads like Google is that it gives them more reading material that they are actually able to understand. And this is not a reflection on our students’ intelligence or general preparedness - it goes for the brightest of our undergrads. We tell our students to go to our databases for articles that are “scholarly and reliable,” but we don’t often tell them that most of the articles they will find there, in addition to being scholarly and reliable, are not really intended for an undergraduate audience. These journal articles are mostly narrowly defined studies intended for an audience of scholars who are advancing their fields at the highest levels of learning. Our students can’t even understand the titles of half of these articles. It’s not our students’ fault; many of the articles in our databases require a high level of disciplinary background knowledge. But what does it say to them when they are not able to comprehend the materials that we tell them are “scholarly and reliable?” If they are unaware that these articles are intended for an audience of professors and graduate students, it probably makes them feel dumb and somewhat resentful toward the library.
*Knocks head on desk*
[edit 1/9/07]
Rory kindly pointed out to me that’s not the clearest comment. I meant to express how obvious it seemed once she had pointed it out and how stupid I felt for not seeing it for myself.
Library Links — laura
