For my visual, I decided to include a GIF from the Pixar movie, Wall-E. In the GIF, Wall-E is placing a plant down in a world that is wasted by pollution. While I don’t think technology is a waste, I think this GIF is representative of searchers putting our ever-growing, never-ending searches into a rapidly-changing, technologically-savvy information landscape.
GIF source: http://disneypixar.tumblr.com/post/141380090508/the-smallest-seed-can-make-the-biggest-difference 

Because of all the complexities involved, this class really emphasized the importance of knowing where to start or asking for help when it comes to search. The meme I chose was “the most interesting man in the world”. Even the most interesting man in the world knows to ask for help when it comes to doing research!
https://imgur.com/rTZ1PP8

For my visual, I decided to make a meme that captures the feeling of both the searcher and the librarian assisting them.  Sometimes it is really hard to find research and sources that fit into what the searcher is using the information for, so when a great source is found everything is perfect.  Pacha from Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove sums up this feeling of victory and is representative of searchers finding something that they can use not only in their research, but forward-chain it to find new information that will hopefully expand their work.

I am grateful to be able to say that I have been applying my learning on a daily basis! I have conducted reference interviews and database searches; taught classes of students and colleagues about library resources and the research process; and made decisions about resources to renew, add or discontinue. Search matters in every discipline and every career path; knowing how to find reliable information and then knowing how to use that information allows people to make informed decisions. Search is what connects humans with information and allows information to impact individuals, families, schools, businesses, communities, and government. 

My information landscape is a river. It is predictable in that it is always moving and always changing. It goes through periods of rapid movement and change, and at other times, is calmer and slower. It is an exciting system, and I am happy to be in my canoe, paddling along!

 

 

I really enjoyed our section on search strategies. There are many different ways I search but I hadn’t really understood the language around them. I usually start all my searches with a “Shot in the Dark” search just to get a lay of the land and see where what I’m looking for might fit into information in general. Do I have to dig to find one or two things or are there pages of results on the first try? This gives me a good idea of how to build a search strategy, because I know if I need to cast a wider net or try and narrow things a bit, both of which are useful approaches in doing systematic reviews. 

 

As for my image, I had a very clear picture in my mind of how I wanted to represent search. I envisioned traveling through a maze, where there’s a path to the exit, but not always a very clear one and you can hit a few walls along the way. Then I wanted that maze to reflect the image of the pyramid of the hierarchy of evidence that I’m so fond of in systematic reviews. The maze travels from the bottom of the pyramid to top as the evidence becomes more specific.

 

 


    

 

 

I will continue to apply what I’ve learned in teaching research to my students. The best way to remember these strategies is to keep honing them through use/practice. I think this matters deeply in a lifelong learning kind of way. I want to be someone who approaches all questions with a level of seriousness that maybe has nothing to do with professionalism at all. I just care about information, and I want that to be reflected in my work as well as the way I find and evaluate information for personal throughout my days.

I thought for a long time about this image assignment. I’ve settled on the idea that search is a kind of isomorphic puzzle, like Pick15 or advanced tic tac toe. In tic tac toe, there are 138 ways to win. Now imagine surrounding that tic tac toe grid with more connected grids. And then expanding the grid. And expanding the grid some more. And adding players. Suddenly, connections and solutions and strategies are fraught with new patterns and possibilities. Winning is but temporary; when you finish you add more to the game board and make it harder. Satisfaction is contingent on the comfort of the player.

Also, tic tac toe boards look like hashtags. It’s kind of perfect!

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I think Roy Tennant’s statement applies to the majority of people. They don’t appreciate the process of search, they simply want the answer. I am coming to appreciate the process more and more, but still feel that I need a lot of practice. Last week I experienced the joy of the search. A class on race and class has a project to propose the creation of an early education program on our high school’s campus. One of the specific ideas for the program is the mixing of young children of different socioeconomic backgrounds. Students were looking for statics on free and reduced lunch populations in different towns, studies on early education and state licensing requirements for day care programs, etc. So fun! In some cases I was suggesting individuals as resources. The students and I spent time brainstorming, predicting where information might live. I think we were excited about the authenticity of the project. I heard the teacher say a few times, “I’ve never done this before, so I’m not sure…” We were all experiencing the search together.

I feel that learning about controlled vocabularies and thesauri stepped up my research game. I’m not sure how often I will apply this knowledge, but I suspect it will come in handy, for example MeSH (Medical Subject Headings).

Make predictions! Predict what could go wrong with your search based on the terms you have entered, like IRA (do you want Irish Republican Army or Individual Retirement Account) or Giants (football, baseball, supermarket, mythological creature). Also predict your ideal source and think about where it might live and what it might look like.

I was introduced to Google Books as a great place to search.

Take action! Take charge of your privacy in search. Report to databases and search engines if they are giving bad or biased results. Make suggestions for improvements to databases.

“Don’t bake your answer into your search query.” Similar to not leading the witness. Don’t put what you think is the answer in your question.

My metaphor for the information landscape is an intersection with two options: Your big name search engine versus a librarian guided database experience. The big search engine looks a happy clown who is promising a fun, easy, entertaining race car ride that you get to control. However at some point you realize that you aren’t driving the car at all, you are on a track being led. During and after the ride you are faced with offers of souvenirs and expensive photos of your ride. The librarian looks like a healthy, encouraging, trail guide who is offering a hike to a summit.. The hike will take a bit of work, but offer amazing, unparalleled views. Some people are skeptical, so it takes some convincing to get them to start hiking. Sometimes people know that they probably should go on the hike, but sitting down being fed cotton candy sounds pretty good. Once you’ve had a successful hike with a good guide and experienced the views, it’s more likely you will repeat.

This class made clear for me some vague, sort of peripheral-visual notions I’ve had about search. For example, that I trade my privacy for convenience and personalized responses to queries. It also reinforced how fun and fulfilling search can be, especially with a good guide. I love watching and listening to the search professionals we’ve been exposed to over the course of the semester. I would love to have more exposure to the way they approach their questions, they way they think about search. 

Total amateur work, but I was entertained by attempt to mash pictures together to creation my information landscape. Photo credits:

“Balloons” public domain

“Candy” Elisa  Azzali [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

“Clown” Frank Kovalchek from Anchorage, Alaska, USA [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

“Country road” rdavis443 [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)]

“Hikers” Hjálmar Sveinsson/norden.org [CC BY 2.5 dk (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/dk/deed.en)]

“Race Car” Kimjun [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

“Signpost’ CC0

Though I’m unashamed to admit being something of a sentimentalist, one of my biggest takeaways from this course is how many kind, intelligent, thoughtful people are either working as or endeavoring to work as informational professionals. The skills, techniques, tactics, and other information conveyed in readings and viewings became so much richer when inflected by the diverse opinions of our discussion boards, and I feel I learned just as much, if not more, from these interactions than I did interfacing directly with the source material. Moreover, the folks in this class have been nothing but kind, supportive, and accommodating to one another. Whatever the reason, stereotypes about librarians and techies abound, but I have yet to encounter somebody in the field who in any way conforms to these somewhat derogatory conceptions. Experiences like this only buoy my sense of hope and elevate my expectations. 

I’m not sure there’s a concise or coherent way of explaining how I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this course. The process of improving my search skills is a moment-to-moment prospect, taking two steps forward and one step back where and as I remember to employ certain strategies. My practice is a librarian is all fieldwork, so conditions are never ideal; that said, the more that I learn, the likelier I am to unconsciously employ this information on a day-to-day basis.

Though he deployed his turn-of-phrase with his tongue neatly ensconced in his cheek, Roy Tennant was, and is, right: most people are far more concerned with finding what they’re looking for than enjoying the journey to that resource. My job is to share that enthusiasm with whomever I’m assisting. 

As for a metaphor... Well, indigenous peoples living in the Andean regions of South America relied on khipu, or corded knots, to store and retrieve immense quantities of coded information long prior to colonization. Khipu could consist of a few disparate stands or thousands of cords, each of which proved illuminating when interpreted by a trained professional. Though there’s much debate over the specifics of use and overall sophistication of the system, all interested parties concede that khipu are a remarkably effective means of preserving knowledge. This, in many respects, is akin to the information landscape we all face, laden with information if we only know how to access it. More than anything, those who understand how the system functions must ask: how will we share this know-how?

 

I also enjoyed the segment on curation and utilizing different formats to market and apply to different audiences to bring in traffic to your facility as Billy Parrot does at NYPL through Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube (love this site), Twitter (still a bit of a mystery to me, but I’m learning), etc. 

The Databases of the Week provided many enjoying articles for me in terms of what is currently trending in technology, science and healthcare. The NYTimes website is now a love of mine. AHAs included deeper Boolean searching, not being afraid to use limiters to narrow my searches. I also am using the suggested keyword combinations provided by the database/search engine that appears at the bottom of an existing search. It provides word combinations and suggested vocabulary that I hadn’t considered that usually gets me closer to my desired search results. 

The way on search matters because being concise, knowing how your database works, its hidden tips and tools such as the thesauri or controlled vocabulary will lessen your time searching through false drops or inadequate results. 

 

What does the information landscape look like to me? I feel like the information landscape can take me in many different directions to learn as many subjects as possible. With every new inquiry, searching the information landscape will sharpen my eye on what is necessary what is desired by the patron. I want to give a patron as broad or as narrow a focus as is desired. I like the idea of taking someone down a path not considered, but that also meets their needs. I don’t want to search for a patron for the sake of searching, but provide options is cool too. 

 

The following images represent how I see the information landscape: 

https://goo.gl/images/UqApZq 

As the librarian, I’m the white string the skiers are holding on to for guidance. 

https://goo.gl/images/YyVLuj 

In the mountain biking pic, I’m the helmet/gloves, navigation equipment, the protective gear, that helps the biker perform throughout the ride, without getting lost or injured. 

In terms of career aspirations I want to be working as an IT Consultant so being able to understand a client's needs can be very similar to a library being able to assist a patron with their information need. I have to be able to research and present information in a meaningful way so a client can take some kind of action or make a decision. I know being able to leverage tools like social media, portals, curators, etc. will be valuable. Also, continuing to practice my searching skills will help the research process for client projects. 

The information landscape is vast and ever-growing. It'll be important for people to understand how information is created, evaluate who or what is creating it, be able to effectively retrieve what is required, and ultimately make use of it in a meaningful way. As technologies evolve so will some of these aspects of information landscape. It will be up to us to keep up with the developments and not get lost within an endless sea of information. 

For me, the information landscape is every-changing. I’m excited to see how it changes as new search tools and methods become available and widely used. While the landscape is changing, I feel like patrons at their core will always be (much like I was before this course) a simple “first search is best search” searcher (without the proper help/instruction from a librarian, of course!). As such, I made the following meme to align with this: