Section Two

2.1 Julien, H., Duggan, L.J. (2000). A Longitudinal Analysis of the Information Needs and Uses Literature. Library & Information Science Research, 22(3), 291-309.

Julien and Duggan (2000) begin the article with a statement made in a review by Hewins . The comment suggests that findings within the field of library science is bifurcating out into many disciplines, focusing on the cognition of the user and is accomplishing this by utilizing a variety of different survey methods (p. 291-292). The pair observe that there is a lack of empirical evidence to support Hewin's claims, and therefore decide to test these assertions. Their study applies "content analysis" (p. 292) to statistically deduce the legitimacy of Hewin's claim. In the end, Julien and Duggan conclude that Hewin's statement is over-exaggerated, as only moderate improvement has been perceived in the literature.

While I am certain that empirical studies are a fabulous way to observe and record factual data, I cannot comprehend the charts and information no matter how I try. Originally I attended college to become a psychologist and it is a direct result of this statistical illiteracy that led me to change my major to English and later pursue librarianship. As this is one of the first pieces of information I encountered when I came to SCILS, it seemed as if perhaps I chose the wrong field after all. I understand that within the school library environment I will not be working explicitly with statistics and charts, but in order to perform my best I must be able to comprehend the latest findings. Despite not being able to properly evaluate all of the data presented, I found the addition of several pie charts helpful.

As previously stated, I will have to keep with current trends and research in order to be the best librarian I can. From the research presented in this article it seems I will have to read more theoretically based journals in order to observe more progressive forms of research (p. 307). I am grateful for an article such as this one that collects data and pinpoints what is most helpful for me so that I can spend my time doing other activities. Knowing which types of journals to pursue makes it easier, as I will have many things I will be required to read in the future. I am grateful for an article such as this one that collects data and pinpoints what is most helpful for me so that I can spend my time doing