My First Podcast

My first experience with podcasting.

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User's Needs

I completely agree with Rupali’s Lessons for libraries from the Brown reading post. Our first concern is basically to answer the questions. Many libraries do not spend much time understanding the user’s needs.

I liked how Brown mention “we have answers” or “solutions” – it seems we spend
too much time answering and too little time understanding what a user needs –
lesson learnt in last semesters reference class seems especially relevant – the
libraries need to ensure that the reference interview is an integral part of the
interaction with the patrons.

Last semester in reference class, we answered users questions as part of the IPL project with little information about the user’s specific needs. As Rupli mentioned the reference interview needs to be a part of the interaction with the user. Therefore, I think libraries need to spend more time training staff, interviewing and understanding the user’s needs, before giving an answer with taking into consideration the overwhelming amount of information.

As Tina mentions in Information Overkill:

Brown's "Limits to Information" can be considered a lesson to libraries that we
need to take care that patrons are not feeling overwhelmed with the abundance of
information and media formats available.

It is the libraries’ duty to simplify the process of information retrieval by answering the users needs according to their level of understanding.

Brown's "Limits to Information

Accoridng to Brown's "Limit to Information" the massive amount of inforation might overwhelm people. Some people are ready for the overload of information and have a clear vision of the influence of the Net; and some conservative people, who are not used to changes, are not ready for the amount of information available, which is growing gradually. Those people might suffer if we do not get them the right kind of training and that is the job of libraries. The libraries need to have sence of balance to satisfy all kinds of users. Libraries need to know how to use and benefit from technologies by adding more training that would make it easier for people to absorb the information available and how the information should be used while taking into consideration people who are hard to change.

The 6-D, demassification, decentralization, denationalization, despacialization, disintermediation, and disaggregation are the vision of librarians. They simplify things or guide society. They interpret and explain central developments in society.