Super Searchers Go to School: Sharing Online Strategies with K‐12 Students, Teachers, and Librarians

This book is about information literacy primarily in the USA, but with lessons that are applicable in most other countries. It is a collection of thought provoking articles and interviews by Joyce Kasman Valenza. The aim of the interviews was to get specialists (super searchers) in the field to reveal their practical strategies for empowering student learners with searching skills. In addition to the book there is also the bonus of supporting web pages on the Information Today web site.

The book arose from an awareness of the needs of today's students who are faced with a multitude of on‐lie resources that can provide as many difficulties as in the pre‐internet days in finding relevant and current information quickly. Kalman refers to educators as information jungle guides, which is a fair assessment. Information seekers still need to articulate their needs in the same ways: understanding the problem to be solved; evaluating the reliability of information found; using findings to develop original solutions to problems; using technologies to communicate the findings; developing assessment tools; developing a love of reading, researching, problem solving and learning.

The opening interview is with Pam Berger, who is Editor and publisher of Information Searcher and InforSearcher.com, as well as author of a number of books on using the internet for developing school library programmes. She argues that teaching search engine use should be a strategy rather than a tactic. We need to acknowledge student's existing skills of searching, but provoke and challenge them to move to a higher level of problem solving. This could be done by moving away from topic research other inquiry‐based research, utilising such initiatives as mind‐mapping. In this, as in the other interviews, the chapter concludes with a list of super searcher power tips.

Debbie Abilock is the Editor of Knowledge Quest and she stresses the importance of a Piaget‐style “messing‐around” stage for learners and the significance of the child being able to see the need for research. From this point, Marjorie Pappas champions the role of process in children searching for information which she developed into the Pathways to Knowledge model. Her interview is focused on discovery; developing questions; locating information; evaluating, organising and synthesizing; communicating new knowledge; and evaluating processes and outcomes.

From the viewpoint of a teacher involved in using technology to help others become better learners the interview with David Barr looks at knowledge, skills and attitudes for successful searching. He defines information literacy as the basic information skills, with information fluency as the more complex skills of searching. The nest interview is with Deb Logan, who is a librarian and she is obviously passionate about information literacy and the need to empower students to know what they want, how to find it, evaluating the authority of the information and to not settle for anything less than what they really want.

Another former school librarian, Alice Yucht, now teaches an online school library/media program and services course at Rutgers University. Her chapter includes an interesting section on the perceptions of newly qualified teachers about how the library can help them. She reinforces the concept that appears in almost every interview in this book that children must be taught to formulate their information needs before they start searching. Her power tips are summarised in a useful 7 habit PURSUIT model: Plan your search; Understand web terminology; Read the directions; Select the right tools; Use web‐browser tricks; Investigate the authority; Try alternate routes!

Linda Joseph is a library media specialist with Columbus, Ohio, public schools and has developed some good online lessons which will give ideas to other practitioners. The following chapter is an interview with Frances Jacobson Harris, librarian at University Laboratory High School, who discusses the problems of flawed web indexing and how the infrastructure of web design can influence the way we teach searching skills. An interview with Sue Fox of Hatboro‐Horsham High School in Pennsylvania discusses motivating students to become searchers rather than passive users of the Internet, with emphasis on multiple sources and aiming higher in expectations.

Ken Haycock is a former president of the American Association of School Librarians and a former school principal, as well as being an author and Editor of Teacher Librarian magazine. Hence, his interview addresses the issue of convincing schools that information skills should be integrated across the curriculum. He raises the interesting point of not using confusing children's self confidence using the internet with competence. The behaviour of teacher librarians in teaching searching is assessed in an interview with Peter Milbury, a librarian at Chico High School in California. Milbury also stresses that keeping a webliography, is as important as keeping a bibliography.

The final interview is with Kathy Schrock and this develops the theme of moving from information literacy to information fluency, emphasising critical evaluation of sources.

The Appendix to this book is a superb Referenced Sites and Sources which includes search tools (free web), subscription services, associations, general web sites, journals, books and journal articles and papers. The index is useful for an edited book of interviews.

The interviews are very well carried out and Valenza does allow the interviewee to convey their ideas freely, while keeping them on track with succinct questions. Some of the questions are occasionally leading, as if Valenza knows full well what she expects from the interviewee and ensures she gets it. However, the themes developed of ensuring users know what they are looking for before starting, raising standards of searching so students become information fluent, evaluating information and empowering both students and educators are well illustrated by the interviews. This book will be of use to policy makers and those wishing to develop their own information literacy programmes. The enthusiasm and passion of the range of interviewees and interviewer is striking and makes for an enjoyable and informative read.