Portals for Undergraduate Subject Searching: Are They Worth It?

Abstract

In spring 2005, a task force of Oregon State University librarians investigated whether undergraduates would gravitate toward subject portals tentatively named "virtual college libraries." A literature review and Web site inventory shaped our definition of a virtual college library. A preliminary needs assessment consisting of an online survey, focus groups, and a usability study showed how students approach their information needs, what searching methods and technologies they typically use, and whether they use personalization features. The results changed the course of the project. We concluded that subject resources presented at the course level better meet undergraduate needs.

Preparing Students to Join the Global Public Sphere

“…While searching once implied the physical exercise of sorting through objects in a collection, or words on a list, it is now the starting place for research, and increasingly it is understood as the only tangible method in research. Nichols and Mellinger () share what librarians observe anecdotally when working with students: “Millennials have a mental model of putting keywords into a search box” (481), and this leads them to underestimate the importance of browsing, monitoring, and being aware.…”

The dark side of documentation?

“…It was pleasing therefore to see an example of the contextualised information access, albeit serendipitous, of which I am sure Emily Walshe would approve in this issue of Portal. The preceding article (Nichols and Mellinger 2007), reporting a study of information behaviour of undergraduate students ('millenials' again) notes how this study, and others cited, showed that students repeated search strategies which had been successful in the past (even when they failed on this new occasion), avoided unfamiliar resources and different techniques, and generally relied on 'trusted sources', where trusted simply means used before.…”

Development of Library Portal– In Print and Non-Print Era

“…Though the term 'Library Portal' appears new in this digital era, it has found that it's deeply rooted from print era when in traditional library users were using Card Catalogues to cater their information needs. In historical days Card Catalogue was acting as a 'Portal' or 'Single Stop' to find desired printed information [11]. Card catalogue was an effective tool for information discovery in the library.…”