Stories of the First-Year Experience

Ros Winter (Manager: Library and Media Resources - Faculty of Education)

From our point of view, we wish more of our students understood the nature of the expertise of support staff, and encourage you to consult us as often as you see a need. Librarians and computer staff, especially when we are faculty-based, understand the needs and difficulties faced by students, not only because we have faced them ourselves at some time, but because we know quite a lot about the work you are doing.

We often do not see a large number of our first year students until well into the year, and often in a deadline or crisis situation. Students are often hesitant to ask questions, and our suspicion is that you feel that you should know the answers to the questions you need to ask; one of the commonest things we hear is, "I know this is a silly question, but...". From our point of view, there IS no such thing as a silly question; systems, no matter how hard we try to make them user-friendly, are not as instinctively useable as their designers would like to think, and sometimes tasks are not as clear as they might appear.

Technology, in particular, seems to present problems for you. Most students know their way around a computer, but in a pretty rudimentary way, and in overly sophisticated software packages, this can result in confusion pretty quickly. Most of you know the basics of particular programs, such as Microsoft Word, but do not know common Windows commands which would enable you to move between programs easily. In particular, many do not know how to manage files effectively, and waste a great deal of time in saving/renaming/copying/finding the work you have done. The networked environment is complex, (far more so than most of you have encountered before), and the profusion of pathways and passwords can be very frustrating.

Assumptions often seem to be made by teaching staff about a range of skills students have. One of the most basic is the accurate interpretation of reading lists; students often look up book chapter titles or journal article titles in the library catalogue, rather than the actual book or journal titles, for example. Conversely, not enough emphasis is placed on students finding their own sources, by learning to use CD-ROM indexes to current literature, for instance. Simple style guides may not be presented to you by your lecturers as a matter of course, but they are available from the library. Information literacy is assumed rather than analysed, and you are sometimes expected to use new environments or applications without appropriate introduction or training, and sometimes without real integration into the course. Access to computer facilities is a real problem for many students, which becomes particularly evident in stressful periods such as examinations or re-enrolment.

It may be helpful to realize that librarians like to be asked questions, and rather enjoy a good research hunt. You should not hesitate to ask for help with online catalogues, but should also note that information is often right in front of you. Many help guides are written and left near the computers, but they are often not read, and a lot of time would be saved by looking at them, particularly when it is busy. You can also learn a great deal about what the library and computing areas offer by giving yourselves time simply to browse and familiarise yourselves with what's available - particularly separate collections, such as journals and multimedia - and take pamphlets away to read.

Support staff are happy to give time and advice, and sometimes we can help you sort out your thoughts; sometimes, it isn't a simple question that you need to ask.