ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 224 / C&RL News L ibrary scien ce students d evelop p a th fin d ers By Glenn J. Thompson D epartm ent o f Library Science and Media Education University o f Wisconsin-Eau Claire and Barbara R. Stevens Reference-Bibliographic Instruction University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire An undergraduate library reference class helps w ith BI. Not another paper on abortion! I must have read a dozen of these this year!” was a com plaint refer­ ence librarians at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire often heard from English composition or speech instructors. However the topics which in­ structors viewed as “w orn out” because students chose them year after year were precisely those which continued to be of current interest and con­ cern to students. W hen the reference librarians an­ alyzed this situation, they concluded th at instruc­ tors were not really as concerned w ith students’ choices of topics as w ith their failure to develop the topics properly. Observation of students’ search strategies and analysis of sources being quoted indicated to the reference librarians th at students frequently failed to develop their topics well because they were un­ able to define their topics adequately and because they did not use reference sources of sufficient depth. The Reader’s Guide and general encyclope­ dias were all too often the only sources of inform a­ tion. This strategy either turned up too little infor­ m ation or inform ation th at was superficial. Faced with either situation, a student usually attem pted to cover the entire subject in a short paper or speech which lacked the depth necessary for a significant discussion of the topic. A student w ith access to suf­ ficient inform ation tended to focus on one aspect of a subject and to treat th at aspect in greater depth. Subject pathfinders were considered as a solu­ tion to the problem . R ecurring topics could be identified and relevant sources listed to guide stu­ dents to both general and in-depth inform ation. However, traditional pathfinders were viewed as unsatisfactory because they provided specific refer­ ences to inform ation and did not require students to develop th e ir own search strategies. It was hoped th a t pathfinders could be developed which would facilitate learning rather than using a “cook­ book” approach which provided precise citations. W ith this goal in m ind, a few popular topics were selected and prototypes were developed. Anticipating th a t the availability of a subject pathfinder would initially enhance the popularity of a topic, the reference librarians believed th at at least 20 different pathfinders should be ready be­ fore any were publicized. Since each pathfinder represented eight to ten hours of work by an experi­ enced reference librarian, it was evident th at the preparation of pathfinders would consume a great deal of staff time. In a reference departm ent which was chronically understaffed and already facing demands for increased reference service and biblio­ graphic instruction, tim e to undertake a new proj­ ect of this m agnitude was not available. The reference librarians continued to believe th a t there was a need for subject pathfinders, how­ ever, so they began looking for alternate sources of preparation. This led to the realization th at the preparation of subject pathfinders was a signifi­ cant learning experience and, as such, th at perhaps library science students might benefit from th at ex­ May 1985 / 225 perience. The C hairm an of the Library Science and Media Education D epartm ent, Glenn Thom p­ son, was contacted and he agreed. The preparation of a pathfinder was included as a required assign­ ment in the reference class which he taught during the 1984 Fall Semester. T h e re fe re n c e class a t th e U n iv ersity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire was a core course in an un­ dergraduate minor offered by the D epartm ent of Library Science and Media Education. D uring the 1984 Fall Semester there were 18 students enrolled in the course: two sophomores, eight juniors, four seniors, and four “special” students. Of these “spe­ cial” students who were not enrolled in degree pro­ grams, three had baccalaureate degrees and were working towards state certification. The composi­ tion of the Fall 1984 class was considered to be rep­ resentative of the reference classes. Barbara Stevens, the reference librarian who de­ veloped the pathfinder project at UW –Eau Claire, presented the reference class w ith a list of topics which were popular w ith students in speech and English composition classes. Each student chose a topic at random and Stevens gave reasons for devel­ oping pathfinders, indicated the target audience, and explained the process used to prepare a subject pathfinder. Students were told th at those pathfind­ ers receiving an A grade would be used in the M cIn­ tyre Library and th at the name of the student who prepared the pathfinder would be included on the pathfinder in a prom inent location. Students were given three weeks in which to pre­ pare a first draft. Following the submission of these drafts, Stevens and Thompson met and evaluated the pathfinders. While several were judged to be excellent and were adopted immediately, the m a­ jority were returned to their authors w ith sugges­ tions for improvement. These students then had the opportunity to rewrite the pathfinders and re­ subm it them for reconsideration. Most students took advantage of this option and by the end of the semester 15 of the 18 pathfinders were of such qual­ ity th at they were usable as submitted. All who participated in the Project—students, instructor and reference lib ra ria n —agreed th at the pathfinders were a worthwhile project. The ex­ perience reinforced students’ development of ap­ propriate search strategies and expanded their knowledge of reference sources. The fact th at the students knew th a t their pathfinders w ould be used, th at this was not simply one more classroom exercise, m ade the project especially meaningful. At the same time, the library acquired a series of tailor-m ade pathfinders with a minimum expendi­ ture of time and effort. D uring initial discussion of this project, the in­ structor and the reference librarians estimated th at no more than 50 % of the pathfinders would be usa­ ble. In actuality, over 80% were adopted w ith lit­ tle or no change and the others provided a basis for completion by the reference staff. Because of these successes, future reference classes will be asked to develop additional pathfinders. Few changes are planned in the project as the initial procedure worked well. ■ ■ BIS Preconferences The ACBL BIS Preconference Feasibility Committee is gathering data to determine future con­ tinuing education needs. Please respond to the following questions and return the questionnaire by June 14, 1985, to Judy Reynolds, Library, San Jose State University, One W ashington Square, San Jose, CA 95192-0028. I would be interested in attending a □ pre □ post-conference in □ San Francisco in 1987. □ New Orleans in 1988. □ Dallas in 1989. I would be interested in □ entry level or □ advanced topics th at are □ applied or □ theoretical. _____ other person(s) could attend from my library. Conference fees over $______ would prohibit me from attending. Additional comments or suggestions: