Information Behaviour and Me

Daniel Quintal is the current Vice-Chair of the CLA – UWO Student Chapter. He is a third term MLIS candidate at the University of Western Ontario, where he also holds a B.A. in History from the affiliated King’s University College. When not trying to wrap his head around information behaviour concepts and database management, he can be found recuperating in a downtown London used bookstore.

 I have been taking a course this term of information behaviour. A multi-disciplinary field of research, it involves the choices, decisions and behavioural patterns of individuals in the activities of information exchange. Not just about retrieving information, it describes people as active agents in a fluid chain of tasks including seeking, using, holding, sorting, and determining outcomes when dealing with information. A number of theories have been made to explain information behaviour, including Zipf’s Principle of Least Effort; Elfreda Chatman’s Life in the Round; and role theory. 

How the field of information behaviour relates to librarianship works for both librarians and patrons. A patron feels there is a knowledge gap which needs addressing, and within context determined by factors such as time, location and availability of sources a visit to the library is needed. Working up the initiative to walk to the help desk, or is in turn met by a roving reference librarian, the patron engages in a reference interview with the librarian. What follows is a sequence of steps enforced by feedback from both parties; the patron narrows down the request and the librarian falls on professional training to check the request within the library’s collective body of knowledge. This continues until the patron is satisfied; this satisfaction may range from being fulfilled entirely or determined by the patron to be “good enough” because the information is accessible and at least somewhat helpful.

 I have been learning over the last few weeks the different approaches people interact with information – the next several weeks will provide a little more sense to human information behaviour! As an aside in my research on the Shannon-Weaver model of information theory, I found one of the co-authors, Claude Shannon, was the inventor of the “Ultimate Machine” .

It Gets Better: Top Ten Tips for First-Termers

It Gets Better: Top Ten Tips for First-Termers

Tiffany Champagne is in her second term in Western’s MLIS program, and previously received her B.A. in History from Brescia University College. She has survived the ordeal of her first term and is now enjoying the high life that is elective classes.  When not MLISing away, she enjoys reading, writing, drawing, and other solitary pursuits that keep her calm.

I can still remember my first term like it was yesterday: armed with my syllabi and my laptop, I was ready to embrace the world of the MLIS program. The orientation had made it sound wonderful – plenty of chances for discussion, student programs galore, plenty of extracurricular opportunities, and best of all, no exams!

Then the assignments hit.

Perhaps you are like me, and knew some MLIS students prior to entering the program. Or perhaps you came into the program blind, not really knowing what it was about, but having enough of an interest in libraries to try and make it your profession. If that is the case – or even if it isn’t – then let me help you. I’m a (future) librarian, that’s what I’m here for.

10. Facebook: Besides being a lovely distraction tool when you’re up to your eyeballs in assignments and can’t write out another word, having a Facebook group for your cohort can be quite useful in communicating with other students in your term. Need someone to look over your 9003 assignment before you send it in? Post on your cohort Facebook page. Looking for someone to come to your MLIS movie night? Cohort Facebook page. Just found a library-related article you think is neat and want to share it with your classmates? Facebook. Don’t have Facebook? Get it. Your cohort doesn’t have a Facebook page yet? Start one yourself and start inviting all your classmates – initiative is a great thing to have, and your classmates will be grateful to know they have a place where they can chat.

9. Mentorships are useful. Having a peer mentor to chat with about the program can really be useful. It lets you know that you’re not alone, and that there are others who went through the same experience. Come the end of term, they can also offer advice that you won’t find elsewhere, or offer opinions on elective classes. Even just having someone there to vent when you’re stressed can be helpful. And above all, having communication between cohorts is a great thing and a great way to foster a community. (Why, by a fortunate coincidence, the CLA just happens to have a mentorship program!)

8. The Grad Club exists for a reason. It’s a good place to just unwind after class or between classes). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to spend all your time there, but it’s a great way to socialize. By now you’ll notice that the first three of these bullet points talk about social activities. There is a reason for this: you’ll go crazy if you don’t. Even if you’re a massive introvert like me, having some sort of social outlet outside of class – and ideally, one where you’re not discussing class – will do wonders for making sure you’re not completely overwhelmed.

7. Because you will be overwhelmed. This advice might apply more to those who are taking a full-time course load (4 or 5 classes per term) than the part-timers, but the idea is the same. Depending on what background you have, you might be used to courses with only a few, large, assignments per term, rather than a whole host of smaller ones like MLIS offers. I know I was the same way, and suddenly being confronted with a tsunami of assignments was stressful. Sometimes I wondered if I was cut out for the program. Times like those I found it soothing to take a deep breath, calm down, and message my CLA mentor on Facebook. She knew what I’d gone through, and just having someone to vent with can be reassuring.

6. It’s never too early to start thinking about the next term. The first term is where you’re confronted with a little bit of everything, and you can begin to see what you like the most. Do you like cataloguing? Reference services? Theory? Start looking at some of the possible courses for summer term now and see if any really interest you. This doesn’t apply if you want to go on co-op for your summer term, but getting a handle on what you like, and what you might want to do with your degree, can be useful. You might be really interested in academic libraries, for example, and great news – there’s a course for that!

5. Research Methods and Statistics really isn’t that scary. For those with a humanities background, something like Stats can seem intimidating because ewww, math.  I know I was surprised by the fact that it was included, because it didn’t seem to be library-related…but then I learned that stats are actually super-important for libraries. If you don’t like math or research or anything of that stripe, don’t worry – it’s just the one class, and it’s less frightening than you expect. Trust me, don’t be spooked by the thought of Excel or strange Greek symbols you only vaguely understand. It’ll be fine.

4. But speaking of co-op, don’t stress too much about it. This advice might ring a bit hollow, as I didn’t apply for co-op, but I saw many, many people stressing about getting that coveted 75% average for the program. Honestly, just relax. Take a deep breath. Have a cup of coffee. Realize that you had enough smarts and talent to get into the program, so you’ll be fine. I wish I could offer more advice here, but FIMS has a lot of co-op information sessions, who probably know far more than I do. If that doesn’t work, reread what I wrote above about the power of communication: there’s probably someone out there who does know.

3. Don’t stress out too much in general. I know this is easier said than done, but I beg you to hold off punching me through the screen. I won’t lie, I had my fair share of stress dreams involving failing one too many courses and being forced to drop out of the program. Then, when I got my grades back? I did fine. I’m sure you’ll do fine, too. And, for those of you still worried, let me blatantly steal some advice from Lucia Serantes, who I had the pleasure of having as instructor for 9003 last term: employers aren’t going to care if you have a 95% average or a 75% average. It’s the skills you have and how you apply them that counts, so don’t worry about it. (Citing your sources is important!)

2. You’re not alone. It can be tempting to freak out at the prospect of having an assignment due in every class that week (yes, this is an actual scenario that happened), but everyone else in your cohort is going through the same thing. They know your pain. I keep harping on the social aspect of the program, but I can’t stress enough the merits of having friends who understand exactly what you’re going through. Yes, this won’t make the assignments disappear, but there’s definitely some advantage to knowing that others know exactly what you’re going through. You’re all in this together.

1. It gets better. Honestly. I’m personally finding elective classes to be somewhat less stressful overall than the core ones. Which isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy the core ones, but they did have to give a solid grounding in the subject and cover a wide variety of bases. Electives tend to be a bit more specialized, and while they still have assignments, my experience shows me that they tend to have less, or so it feels like. Obviously not all classes will be the same, but it’s a good thing to remember: once you get through this first term, I think you’ll find your second term easier to deal with.

New Year, New Term....and hey, maybe even a prom?

First I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year, and I hope that the start to the new term has been good for you all! And I would also like to welcome all of the new MLIS students, as well as those returning from co-op! This upcoming term will be an exciting one and we have some great ideas brewing!

As the new Chair of the CLA- UWO Student Chapter, I wanted to write the first blog post of the term to express how excited, and nervous, I am to take over the position. Our last Chair, Robyn, has graduated and is now on the job hunt! Robyn worked incredibly hard to bring this student group back from the grave - literally. She is already missed, but we will continue to keep in contact with her. Your CLAers wish you all the best!

When I took over this position I was incredibly nervous about the role and expectations, as well as balancing school work with the work it takes to run a student group. I've been pleasantly surprised so far! Already I've made some great contacts including Chairs of other CLA student groups across the country. I hope to keep in contact with them to share ideas and hear what other groups are doing.

Another major project that Dan, the Vice-chair, and I took on today was cleaning out the CLA lockers in NCB. They were stuffed full of everything you could imagine, but we organized them and we are ready to go! I also found a lot of helpful information from past CLA Chairs which I read while making dinner tonight. The past CLA groups put on some fantastic activities such as networking events, library tours, and an MLIS prom (yes, Prom!). I was also impressed that the student group hosted the CLA President every fall. THIS would be an incredibly cool idea to resurrect. We have a lot of great ideas that we will build on and we hope to finalize the projects that we will take on this term at tomorrows meeting. My executive team has also been amazing, and you guys have already calmed my nerves. I can't wait to start planning events and fun group activities. Check back for more information on activities for the term, and don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Cheers!

Meagan Berry
UWO CLA Chair