Sharlen Kawamura, G12, psy 409a, Fall 1999, My oral Presentation for The Information Navigation System: A web-based Instruction and Reference Tool, Robert. F Skinder

As the gatekeepers to information, today's instruction and reference librarians face new challenges. With the large amount of information out there, librarians are constantly trying to create new strategies to all their customers to navigate easily and effeciently through the huge "maze of material."

This paper describes a reference tool developed at the John Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to assist and meet the information needs of their researchers and also offers practical advice to other librarians interested in providing a similar service to their clients.

From personal experience and conversations with their clientele, the librarians at the APL discovered that there were two major issues making the retrieval of information from the internet difficult for its users. First, the internet, even in early 1994, was very large and growing rapidly. Second, because of its complexity, users were adrift and thereby losing interest in the internet.

The solution the librarians came up with was to design and introduce a personal web-based reference tool aimed specifically at pointing the APL staff to tools availabe on the internet that would help them do their daily work. They also wanted the staff to be able to access the system from their own desks. Because they envisioned this system as one of guidance and because APL's history with navigational devices, they nemed it the Information Navigation System (INS).

The main purpose of the INS is to segregate users from everything on the Internet that is not related to or relevant to their jobs. In addition to having this filtering capability, the materials availabe in each section of the INS is carefully selected by librarians; it contains only the information the librarians feel is relevant to the APL staff.

The librarians also provide order to the system by arranging the materials by subject and/or format. In general, all of the resources available to APL staff on the Internet are broken down into 3 categories: Useful Information Resources, which is divided into smaller sections, Search Tools, and Communication Tools.

The first component of the INS is the Useful Information Resources. In this section, users can find available Library Tools, such as an Electronic Reference Desk and the Electronic Journals Collection, and APL Subjects. The APL subjects is perhaps the most important portion of the Resourse section. It contains various subject categories aimed at filtering out irrelevant information and making it as easy as possible for the APL staff to find what they're looking for. All subject pages are not alike; some fields simply have more resources available, other areas are of less interest and therefore are less focused on, and some areas may overlap.

Important Locations is the final sub-category of the Resourse section. This area began as a collections of links to companies that had a relationship witht the APL. However, the list has since expanded and now includes links to laboratories similar to the APL, universities, archives and professional societies.

The second component of the INS is the Search Tools section. Whereas the Useful Information Resources section points users to known sites, libraries, laboratories, etc., Search Tools allows them to query the entire Internet and discover sites that were not indentified. Realizing that no single search engine can meet all the needs of users, the librarians provide links to several search engines and break them down into categories: General, Subject, Organizational and Government. This section is aimed at educating users about the differences among various search engines, helping them understand the strengths and weakenesses of each.

The final component of the INS, Communication Tools, provides users means to communicate with their colleagues via the Internet. The goal here is to connect information seekers with another resource, with their colleagues, etc., either through listservs or newsgroups.

Although the INS can recover documents from remote sites, its principal value is as a reference tool intended for the researcher, no the reference librarian. If you're thinking about developing a reference tool similar to the INS, there are some things you should consider. A system like the INS is a continuously developing effort; look at it as a complete program involving design, development, maintenance, education and publicity.

Do you think that reference librarians are going to eventually make retrieving information so easy that there will be no need for them?

Reference Librarians focus on developing new systems to make finding information as easy as possible. With technology and the amount of information always changing and growing, librarians will also have to change and develop new systems. I don't think there will come a time (at least not any time soon), when we won't need reference librarians to create new tools to help us sort and navigate through all the information available because technology is evolving so quickly.

A good system is one that is developed with the user and his/her needs in mind. It should be easy to use and understand; not everyone's level of computer and internet literacy is high and the system should be one that anyone can use, whether they're a beginner or an expert when it comes to understanding things like the Internet.

A good system is also one that does what it's meant to do. Systems designed to make finding information you need easier should do just that. If I can find what I'm looking for quickly and easily then obviously the system is doing its job.

Lastly, I think a good system must be flexible. A system that can evolve, remain current and updated along with the growing amount of information and changing technology is better than one that becomes outdated every 2 or 3 years.

What can people do to stay "up-to-date" and educated about new technology or resources?

If we want to keep up with the times we need to make an effort to stay informed. New about new systems and resources are available via newspapers and technology magazine. You can also ask your librarians; it's their job to know what tools are available and the various resources that can be used to access the information you are looking for.

I was kind of nervous about doing this presentation. Basically because there was so much information, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to present it and discuss it in a way that everyone could understand. I wanted to put things into my own words but I wanted to make sure that I didn't forget anything that a lot of times I ended up just reciting what I had written in my notes.

The discussion period was a little easier. People seemed interested in my opinions and what I had to say about the subject. It was less formal than me just having to present the information to them.

My classmates did an excellent job on their reports. It was easy to read and understand; they took the time to explain their topics very thoroughly. The pages are well organized and they looked like they knew what they were doing. I wonder what they'll think of my page.

If you're thinking of studying this report and taking it further, take the time to read the article first. There are also other articles about different systems that have been developed for the same reason; maybe you could compare them. You also might want to talk to a couple reference librarians to see what types of experiences they have with developing reference tools.