Please, Please Be a Brain Burp, Oh Please.

[LibraryLady]

We had a researcher today who was looking up info on an artist. She wasn't writing a paper, it was just for her own information. Fine, we get independent researchers all the time.

She was a pleasant sort but not used to using archival material. Fine, few people are.

She wanted some photocopies made. Fine, we called the Archives since they do the copying for archive patrons. The Archivist was still at lunch but was expected back in a few minutes. Not quite fine but not awful either.

We suggested that our researcher pass the time by looking at the periodical rack. Fine. She looked at the titles which did include esoteric things like the "International Journal of Kurdish Studies" (that one's real, BTW) but also included "National Geographic", "Vogue" and the like. She had a question. Fine, That's what libraries are for.

"These periodicals, are they like, lists of artists or museums or things?"

"They're magazines."

"OK. I had a something once that was a list of Artists and things. Isn't that a periodical?"

"It could be but it sounds more like a directory to me."

[TOLady]

That's just painful.

My Mom was a library technician and she used to have tons of WTF stories.

I'm sure it's only getting worse!

[artifical sweetner]

was she from another country perhaps?? i dont know many people who have never seen a vogue before

[Sheldonrs]

No silly! Directory is where the priest lives next to a church.

[LibraryLady]

Thanks, guys for replying. Your insights are good.

Since I've posted this story I've been thinking about exactly what she said. What I heard from this young College student gets worse and worse in my mind. She looked at the periodical rack and said that she'd looked at things like that before and wanted to read stories but only saw, " A list of authors, titles and numbers.'

No matter where you live in the world, if you're literate, you know about magazines and enjoy them. Even if you're not literate you can enjoy the pictures.

The woman in question was a native-born North American who spoke a decent sort of English spoken in Canada and the United States. She was a College student but, I have to think that she couldn't get past the (organ sting, please)

THE TABLE OF CONTENTS

Please tell me I'm wrong and this couldn't happen! I've encountered College students who don't know how to use an index in a book. I've encountered College students who don't don't know how to read the fancy typography on the dust jacket of a book. Please, please, tell me that there isn't a College Student who doesn't know how to read a Table of Contents!

[LingualMonkey]

Please tell me I'm wrong and this couldn't happen! I've encountered College students who don't know how to use an index in a book. I've encountered College students who don't don't know how to read the fancy typography on the dust jacket of a book. Please, please, tell me that there isn't a College Student who doesn't know how to read a Table of Contents!

Well, I could tell you that, but I think it would be a lie.

Last quarter, I had a student come to me for help. She was not in my class. She was confused by her current assignment in an online class. Her assignment was to create an annotated bibliography.

It didn't take me long to figure out the problems.

Problem #1: She didn't know what an annotated bibliography was. For the uninitiated, an annotated bibliography is the same thing as a regular bibliography, but it contains a short summary of the contents of the source. (This is the only term I will explain, because I trust all of you with the rest of these "highly technical terms.")

Problem #2: She didn't know what a bibliography was. She was convinced a bibliography was the story of someone's life.

Problem #3: She didn't know what the term "source" meant. She had never in her life encountered a situation that involved researching ANYTHING. Ever.

She was in her late 20s.

This has made me realize that yes, there really are people out there who are that sheltered from the most basic parts of everyday life. Like how magazines work.

[LibraryLady]

Dear LingualMonkey,

Thank you for your support.

The Students who visit us aren't all that young. Many of them are in their 20s but they have never been taught how to write a research paper.

They don't know how to write a proper citation. They are totally innocent of end-notes or foot-notes. They think that they can put together a good 4 to 6 page paper on an object from the Museum with a one-page photocopy and a post-card image of the object.

God forbid they go up to the galleries and take a good look at the object they're writing about.

God forbid that they do more than the absolute minimum work for this paper. The Encyclopedia article I've given you has a bibliography at the end of it. You might want to take a look as some of those things. It would make your paper much, much better but that would take another half-hour of work and you'd have to figure out how to write the citation. That's a bit too much work, isn't it?

The problem I see is that these Students will get good marks for minimal work. It doesn't matter what they do. So long as they turn in anything that's that's possible to read, they'll get at least a B+.

Hey, I'm an old Librarian. I'm on my way to retirement but I would like to help young people learn how to learn. I think that's a very important. thing to do and I hope I have the chance.

[Seshat]

Don't worry, there are some in the upcoming generation who love to learn.

Admittedly, the only ones I know personally are my niece and nephew. But at least that's two... that's good, right?


My niece once - at the stage where she wasn't really a reader-for-pleasure - was given a budget and free reign in the shop at the museum we'd just been to. (So was her brother.) She chose a book! This was a girl who didn't read much for pleasure.

She chose a book about gemstones, targetted to the casual stone-collecting adult! (precious, semi-precious, and 'just pretty' stones, possible to find in our country)

I was SO pleased and so proud of her that I bought it for her even though it was over budget.

She was ten.


Anyway: that said, I think learning to learn is the most important single lesson for a child to have. And if you can foster a love of learning, that's even better!

I also think that librarians are the most important scientists of all. If not for library science, every generation would have to start from scratch.
Okay, from oral tradition. But it's possible to stretch 'library science' to include maintaining oral tradition.

[LibraryLady]

Oh, yes, Sheshat. I know that is true.

We've had older students who were enrolled in a local Junior College with an open admission policy. Most of these people were African-American and they were super sharp. They had received their High School diplomas at a time when a NYC High School education meant something. They asked great questions. They knew how to write and they knew how to work around some of the ridiculous assignments they were given by younger Professors with a different agenda. They wanted to learn and they weren't quite sure that, "the Blacker the College, the Better the Knowledge" was what they really wanted.

We've been visited by a group of 12 year-olds who were studying carbon dating. These kids were also African-American students from Public Schools. They were wonderful and the teacher who came with them was a joy.

We've been visited by a group of Teen-aged members of a Coptic Church. They were engaged on a project of a series of video-tapes explaining the tenets and history of their religious belief. they were enthusiastic and, listening to them, I learned a lot about Coptic Christianity.

[Taboo]

LibraryLady, it sounds like you've met my classmates.

I go to an art school, and many of the students feel that since it's an art school, they shouldn't have to take *any* academic classes. Many of them have never done research for a paper in their lives. We were writing a paper for my World Civ class earlier this semester, and one of my classmates - a junior - asked me what the difference was between fiction and non-fiction.

I can't believe that these 'students' will be out in the world with degrees in a year.

[Kiwi]

During my German history classes we were told that we should go to the Film and Media library and watch the Nazi propaganda and speeches to help us get a better perspective on just how charismatic Hitler was and to view primary resources from that time.

First the film and media clerk (a student studying film and media, not an actual librarian) tried to tell me they didn't have "old, weird" films about Nazi's and didn't believe that History students needed to even use the film and media library.... (I guess he thought only film and media students needed it?)

Then he didn't believe that I needed to watch them for class and thought I was some weird neonazi wannabe

Finally as I was writing an essay comparing war propaganda from both sides he didn't believe that the allies put out any propaganda.... and that by me saying they did I was again confirming that I was really a nazi in disguise.

After I convinced him that the call numbers I had were real and he collected them for me (students are not allowed to browse the shelves) he told me not to steal them....

When I told my prof about it she gave me a wtf! look and told me she would look into it.

[ottid]

...Then he didn't believe that I needed to watch them for class and thought I was some weird neonazi wannabe
...
After I convinced him that the call numbers I had were real and he collected them for me (students are not allowed to browse the shelves) he told me not to steal them....

When I told my prof about it she gave me a wtf! look and told me she would look into it.

Why would he think that they were fake call numbers? If he did couldn't he have just "amused" you, gone to look for them and come back and tell you he doesn't have them, if by chance he couldn't find them? Sheesh, I'm and Film and Media Student and I know better, but then again it could be because I do History too

The "Doesn't know how to do referencing" part of this thread is amusing. I assumed that once you are past 1st year College/Uni you should definitely know how to reference, whether it be Chicago, Harvard, MLA or another reference system. But then I'm in Arts. My friend doing a Science degree wasn't sure how to do referencing (3rd year), I figured it was because they haven't had to do any real research stuff, where you actually look in books (or other sources) to get the information and write an actual ESSAY, not just a 1+1=? type series of questions.

I am not saying that science degrees are bad, they are awesome, just please don't diss arts students until you have actually done an Arts paper. I give myself permission to do the opposite as my lovely bf does both and he says the exact same thing

[JoitheArtist]

Finally as I was writing an essay comparing war propaganda from both sides he didn't believe that the allies put out any propaganda.... and that by me saying they did I was again confirming that I was really a nazi in disguise.

Geeez! That guy needs some serious remedial film history if he's never heard of Triumph of the Will. And, in addition, the classic Frank Capra "Why We Fight" films that were made in response to it.

Incidentally, while trying to make the Why We Fight films, Capra was denied access to Nazi propaganda films himself because he "didn't have the proper clearance." He, of course, was a sneaky bastard and found them anyway.

Did I mention that I'm a huge Capra fan?