John Horrigan (Pew Internet and American Life):
An American University survey found that 80% of undergraduates use a search engine on a daily basis. The dropoff age for internet use is 70+. 74% of adults have cell phones, and 47% of teens. Daily online searches went from 33 million in 2002 to 59 million in 2005. The primary uses of the internet are (1)email; (2)searches--41% a day; and (3) news. Of high power users (self-defined), 91% search the internet daily. Students are confident in their search abilities; believe search engines are unbiased; 32% cannot live without searching. For young users, the internet supplants tradiitonal media. Prognostications: Search will grow more important; the impact on society will grow (possibly with embedded chips); attention will become scarce in the digital world.
Roy Tennant:
Beginning with the comment that users of the internet are not always rational in their behavior, he then classified most users into Boomers, GenXers, and Millenials. Characterizing GenX & Millenials, they share many core values with Boomers. They use all communication channels. They are collectors—and sharers. They are content creators, especially on such sites as YouTube.Com. Multitasking is a way of life. Some common tasks of GenX/Millenials are instant messaging, unalog; last-fm (music tastes), and using their cell phones to access the internet. (This latter brings up the question, "How can our clientelle use our services?") Mr. Tennant suggested using Google Analytics to find out how do people find your site. His main suggestion: Work to give them what they should have in a way they want to have it. When it came to perceptions of libraries and information resources, they are more familiar with online bookstores than online libraries. How can we attract and support them? Use what they use. Be discoverable–make sure you are crawled appropriately. Use "Google Sitemap" for a database-driver. Use descriptive terms. Be usable: 15% of library users find us easy to use, therefore do a needs assessment, then build collections and services based thereon. Do usability testing, constantly! Finally, market our services well.
Cathy De Rosa, (OCLC Marketing):
84% of users start their searches on the internet, only 1% start in a library domain. How does this compare with previous generations? In a public library inquiry, 1947-1950, 56% went to a professional source for information, 1% went to a library. Today, 62% (out of the 84%) start their searching in Google™. The real changes are in behavior, economies, and technology. Usage of electronic resources: email 74%, search engine 72%, instant messaging, 62%,.... Technologies are about behavior. For library users: 55% borrow books, 41% are seeking research assistance, 51% use reference books, 29% use a computer for the internet. College students are using less traditional media: 40% watch TV, 39% use the library, 24% read newspapers, 19% listen to radio, 12% spend time with their family. Their basis for deciding if a source is trustworthy: 86% "I just know" (feeling); 74% reputation, a much lower percentage depended on cross-referencing with other sources.
John Horrigan (Pew Internet):
Talking about the difference the internet makes to users and what that means for librarians, he mentioned that 62% of home use is via highspeed connections. 47% of teens have cell phones. People who get political information on the internet are more likely to vote. Then he proceeded to repeat the latter half of his earlier presentation, see above.
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