The results of Deputy University Librarian John Lubans' recent studies of 226 Talent Identification Program participants and 235 members of the Class of 2001 confirm predictions that students are using the Internet more frequently for academic purposes.
Although the seventh- to 10th-grade TIP students are not dependent on the Internet, Lubans found, about two-thirds said they use the web for 30 percent or more of their research. University freshmen used the Internet at a slightly lower rate.
These kind of statistics have some librarians rethinking their traditional roles. According to Lubans' report, "a motivating influence in this research has been the quantifiable and observable drop in the reference desk interactions between librarians and students" since 1992.
A "core task" of librarians in the age of the Internet, according to the study, is to help "connect users to the information they need when they need it." Lubans said that librarians need to continue expanding their roles as the people who know "where the good stuff is."
Librarians, Lubans said, have become well-equipped to point students in the right directions on the web and are increasingly aware of the associated complications, such as determining which sources are authentic.
"When things become more confusing," he said, "reference librarians could help, and authenticate if what you've got is quality stuff."
Trinity senior Mark Gensler said he generally goes to friends when he has Internet-related questions, and that he can usually distinguish which are authentic sources.
"If it's a web site that's legitimate, then they generally have legitimate links," he said.
Through his study, Lubans also found that male students rated themselves as significantly more comfortable using the Internet than did their female peers: Although a majority of the TIP students rated their expertise as "good" or "above average," only male students generally marked off the "best" category.
But Lubans said that these self-designations do not necessarily reflect actual competency levels.
"Men don't ask for directions. We tend to think we know more than we do," Lubans said, noting that in his survey of TIP students, both genders rated their web-learning experiences as about equal.
Lubans said the discrepancies between male and female comfort levels need to be addressed in web-education programs.
"We have a role as educators to figure that out," he said. "If the web is intimidating to women, libraries have something to offer."
Lubans pointed to photocopying statistics at the University as further evidence of the trend toward rising Internet use. He said that although numbers of photocopies made have declined, "the drop-off is matched by an increase in printing full-text articles."
Some students say they prefer to do as much research as possible outside the library. "If I could do all my research from my room, I wouldn't come to the library," said Trinity sophomore Julie Doty.
But Lubans does not expect libraries, or printed materials, to become obsolete any time soon.
"Students still want a building; they look to the library as a space that is intellectually stimulating.... Enough students are saying they like this notion of library space," he said. "They come into the library to engage in intellectual activity."
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