ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 2 4 8 1 C&RL News ■ April 1998 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s Keeping current, keeping sane! A Web tutorial for coping with information overload by Constance R inaldo and Karen O d a to I nformation overload is a common com­ plaint among facility, researchers, and clini­ cians. The combination o f the transition t electronic information and Web technology has exacerbated feelings of being overwhelmed by information. “Keeping Current, Keeping Sane” was conceived when a new member of the pediatrics department stated during a li­ brary tour, “I just want to stay current and keep my sanity. I want to have a life!” In re­ sponse to this and other pleas for help from users of the Biomedical Libraries at Dartmouth College, we planned a workshop focusing on ways to make information-gathering and fil­ tering efficient, cost-effective, and manageable. The idea was to bring together tricks, tech­ niques, and strategies that we, as librarians, find useful for coping with information overload. Id e n tify in g the key prob lem s During the planning process, we identified the key problems users have in locating and or­ ganizing information. We also identified as many types of information management tools and ideas as we could by brainstorming within the library staff and asking users for ideas. Ex­ amples of the types of problems and tools identified include: • paper and electronic reprint manage­ ment; • URL management and organization; • use of paper and electronic table of con­ tents services; • identification of science and medicine news update services; • current awareness services ( “SDIs”); o • interlibrary lending; • photocopy services; • electronic journals; • library workshops specific to a particu­ lar problem; • links to handouts and supplementary materials from library workshops; • tools to evaluate Internet sources; • efficient exploration and searching of Internet resources; and • reasons to ask librarians to do a search rather than end-user searching. Once we had a broad list of possible prob­ lems and tools, we organized the solutions into functional sections: • “Keeping Up with the Medical Literature”; • “Efficient Use of the Internet”; • “Keeping Up with Colleagues”; • “Keeping Up with Patient Education In­ formation”; • “Storing and Managing all of this Infor­ mation”; and • “Getting Help.” T a m in g the p aper beast In designing the workshop, we quickly real­ ized that extra paper would only contribute to our users’ information overload. Thus, we eliminated handouts and planned the course around a Web site that could either stand alone or be used as a teaching tool. The Web site formed the outline for a classroom workshop. The workshop and Web site provide sev­ eral kinds of learning opportunities. Links to staff and internal and external documentation allow users to seek out more information and About the authors Constance Rinaldo is head o f collection services, Biomedical Libraries; e-mail: constance.rinaldo@dartmouth.edu; and Karen Odato is outreach services librarian at Dartmouth College; e-mail: karen.odato@dartmouth.edu mailto:constance.rinaldo@dartmouth.edu mailto:karen.odato@dartmouth.edu C&RL News ■ A pril 1998 / 249 help when necessary. The organizational tips discussed provide help with gathering and filtering information in a wide range o f for­ mats. The Web site allows for self-motivated and self-paced learning; the classroom work­ shop provides interaction with a knowledge­ able teacher. Both the Web site and work­ shop format provide links to human help and possibilities for further investigation. There are numerous benefits to this ap­ proach. First is the consolidation of resources onto a single, cohesive Web page where the sites have been reviewed. Another is that the Web pages are not static; they are up­ dated continuously. Additionally, using only the Web page for the workshop, with no paper handouts, forces the participants to learn about the benefits of Web technology. This can be an effective way to counteract the feeling o f being overwhelmed by Web resources. Much of the information on the Web site is presented as hyperlinks to other resources. Solu­ tions we developed are representative, not com­ prehensive, and are sometimes specific to the Dartmouth environment. However, tlie concepts are applicable— and easily adaptable— to any information-providing environment. O ther libraries and departm ents within and beyond Dartmouth have expressed in­ terest in adapting the Web site to their us­ e rs ’ needs. A ttendees at the w orkshops have b een enthusiastic in their praise o f the organization o f and inform ation avail­ able on the site. Some doctors use the Web site as their startup page in Netscape. Many others bookm ark the page and consult it frequently. W hile the evid ence o f e ffe c ­ tiveness and impact is anecdotal, it is clear that this approach has addressed a seri­ ous need in the biom edical com m unity at D artm outh for co p in g with inform ation overload. We invite you to try out our Web site at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biomed/work- shops/keks/, and send us your ideas for im­ provements. A ck n o w led g m en ts: Many thanks to Bill Garrity for encouraging us to pursue this project and publicize it widely. Thanks are also due to Cindy Stewart, Monique Jon es, Tom M ead, and o th e r m em bers o f the Dartm outh C ollege B iom ed ical Libraries staff, and Barbara DeFelice, Physical Sciences Librarian, for reviewing draft versions o f “Keeping Current, Keeping Sane.” http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biomed/work-shops/keks/ http://www.dartmouth.edu/~biomed/work-shops/keks/