food for thought on the “researcher of the future.”

I wanted to include a few quotes from a recent SLAIS/CIBER briefing on the complicated half-myths surrounding the “Google generation.” I also can’t resist showing the TERRIFYING cover on this thing:

Apparently, the researcher of the future is a Vader-hater.

From the Executive Summary:

“Academic [library] users have strong consumer instincts and research shows that they will squirrel away content in the form of downloads… [i]n spite of this behaviour and the very short session times that we witness, there is no evidence as to the extent to which these downloads are actually read.” p 10

“CIBER’s considered view is that the real issue that the library community should be concerned about is the rise of the e-book, not social networking.” p 17

“It seems that a new divide is opening up in the US, with the better equipped students taking the prize of better grades. At the lower end of the spectrum, the research finds that intervention at university age is too late: these students have already developed an ingrained coping behaviour: they have learned to “get by” with Google.” emphasis mine, p 23

“In a real sense, we are all Google generation now: the demographics of internet and media consumption are rapidly eroding this presumed generational difference.” p 21

Learn more about the study at Stephen’s Lighthouse, or view the documentation. A great deal of research and literature review went into these publications, and I recommend taking a look at the five in-depth “work packages” in addition to the brief executive summary.