There is a point in every student’s year when he or she must research a topic using the Mason Library’s resources. More often than not, a day of class will be devoted to how to access those resources.
Usually this means a day spent in room 103 of the library listening to one of the library’s subject liaisons present on how to use EBSCOhost and JSTOR.
Seemingly every professor refers to this as “the talk,” which has obvious connotations. I don’t think it’s intentionally paralleled with the other infamous “talk” given by parents, but similarities exist.
Both talks aren’t generally eagerly anticipated by their recipients and both talks tend to be slightly awkward. What’s more, both talks don’t often reveal much terribly new information.
This isn’t to say that the Mason Library is incompetent – anything but! It also doesn’t imply that JSTOR or EBSCOhost are poor resources; indeed, they are fantastic. Both the library and the online sources they advocate are important sources for most college students.
No doubt most students will utilize both during their time at Keene State. No, the problem isn’t the library at all – it’s the students.
I cannot speak for the entirety of the student body but I can say that many of my peers (myself included) have been on the receiving end of a library generated resource tutorial every year since around the middle of high school.
This means that either we, as students, don’t understand the material or librarians like to listen to themselves talk. Considering libraries’ policies on talking, I would be inclined to believe it’s the former. I still don’t buy it though.
There is no way students, who claim to know exponentially more about computers than their professors, need to be taught how to use search engines every year.
This brings me to a third conclusion based on a well-known fact: students are lazy.
Unfortunately, this chronic laziness found in most students manifests itself in the appearance of incompetence. Professors are left to believe their students aren’t properly instructed in how to research, which results in annual class trips to the library.
It has more to do with time than inability. Because most papers are researched and written hours before they are due, sources like Wikipedia and abstracts become more appealing by the minute.
So, students are left with two choices: either research papers in a timely fashion so that they are well written or endure one hour per year spent in room 103, the door right after the resource desk to the left.
William Pearson can be contacted at
wpearson@ksc.mailcruiser.com