Little Know-It-All

Librarians are know-it-alls. I know this because I'm a Librarian. We usually say things like "Librarians don't know everything, but we know where to find everything", but this is just something we say to avoid embarrassment. No, we are know-it-alls, and sometimes not the good kind.

I can't just let someone continue believing something I know is incorrect. For example, a co-worker of mine came into work (my other job, not the library) one morning and he was super-stoked because he had reserved a suite at a Las Vegas hotel for his bachelor party. It wasn't just any suite, it was the Rain Man Suite. I was really impressed and happy for him, but there was one problem: The Rain Man Suite isn't at the hotel he booked at, it's at Caesar's Palace. I know this because I remember seeing the movie in 1988 and I stored the information in my elephant's brain in the rare chance I would need to refer to it for Jeopardy! or situations like this one. Before it even occurred to me that this tidbit of information had the capability to bring feelings other than joy to my co-worker I blurted out, in true know-it-all fashion: "That's totally not the Rain Man Suite at all. You're wrong! It's at Caesars Palace. See" ... and I Googled the information on my computer, proudly displaying the imdb results it for all to see. He promptly took me to the website he booked at. There it was, plain as day. His hotel was advertising that they had the Rain Man Suite. So not true! I steadfastly maintained that he was wrong and got totally duped by faulty marketing. My co-worker was very disappointed and it finally occurred to me that I had ruined his bachelor party. He was quick to point out that I had indeed ruined his bachelor party.

Why was it so important for me to be right? Why couldn't I have just let him go to his bachelor party and stay at his hotel and hold the secret til my death? One answer: Librarians are biologically predisposed to disseminate the most correct information at all times. This includes situations that may incur embarrassment for others.

Here's another example from library school. I was in my Cataloging and Classification class. My professor was having trouble remembering the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll. I had my laptop in front of me so I Googled "Lewis Carroll pseudonym" and came up with "Charles Dodgson". I promptly put my hand up and answered the query to my professor's satisfaction. Gold star. Unfortunately, one of my peers also had a laptop in front of him. He raised his hand after I had answered the query and stated: "Actually, it's Charles Lutwidge Dodgson". Uh buh! Are you kidding me? Was it really necessary to correct me and embarrass me in front of all my peers for that? Apparently so, because Librarians are programmed to disseminate the most correct information at all times regardless of other people's feelings. I was mortified! Needless to say, I never raised my hand in that class again and made a lifelong enemy out of my classmate, but I clearly didn't learn how my patrons would feel if I corrected them as the Rain Man Suite debacle happened long after my Cataloging and Classification mortification.

I remember reading an article for Information Sources and Services on the topic of whether the correct answer is the right one. The resolve: Sure, but it might upset the patron. I have learned this lesson over and over during my internship at Stanford Health Library. Giving the correct answer is very difficult especially when the outcome isn't a positive one; however, is the correct answer the right one when you work in a health library? Absolutely. Having the most correct and up-to-date information is critical when it comes to health. Is it difficult to hand over an article about cancer that ultimately spells bad news for the patron? You bet it is, but it might end up saving their life. This is perhaps the reason why I didn't learn the embarrassing lesson in Cataloging and Classification and why I chose to ruin my co-worker's bachelor party. As it turns out, the little tidbit of disappointing information served a positive purpose in the long run. My co-worker called the hotel he had booked at and complained. The hotel ended up comping him a bunch of extra stuff and he saved a boatload of money for his bachelor party. Although he still hasn't forgiven me for embarrassing him and ruining his bachelor party, I'm sure he's thankful that he knows a know-it-all Librarian, at least until the next time I take him to school.

Misinformation and the Importance of Information Literacy

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you are aware of the movie 2012 hitting theaters next month. What you may not be aware of are the methods being used to promote the disaster flick. Of course Sony pictures is using the traditional method of film promotion, a trailer and a website, but they are also promoting the movie in a somewhat insidious manner using an alternative trailer and website. I didn't know about this until one morning when I was sitting on my couch drinking coffee and eating breakfast watching television before going to work and a commercial came on. The commercial discussed the coming apocalypse due to some type of catastrophe and that science has confirmed that rumors about the year 2012 are true. As a result, governments are holding a lottery to ensure human survival. Seriously? This is really happening? Science, the most reputable of all meta narratives? Really?

The commercial stunned me a little because it was so convincing. I immediately checked the website the commercial referred to: http://www.instituteforhumancontinuity.org/. Initially, I fell for it. I found myself making plans for an uncertain future. Should I just throw caution to the wind and pursue my real dream of joining a traveling circus? Or, should I continue on my current path of librarianship even though that scenario might never pan out? I'll probably pursue the latter in any event. Fortunately, I was only convinced for all of five minutes that the world was ending because shortly thereafter I used my information literacy skills to find out what's really up. What do we do with sources to determine their validity? Evaluate using the following: Reliability, accuracy and validity, authority, timeliness, and bias.

It didn't take too long for the site to fall apart. Although it looks polished and "scientific", the value of the information crumbles the second it is tested for reliability. There is no reliable information on the site; however, it is a little unsettling that to the untrained eye, finding out that this site is actually a promotional tool for a movie is difficult. It takes a lot of fishing around to discover this fact.

Accuracy and validity are my favorite evaluation tools. Can the information be verified elsewhere? Although you will find a number of sites dedicated to End Times, the majority of them are maintained by fanatics and they are hardly reliable, non-biased sources. Most are backed by vague and mysterious "scientists", otherwise unidentified and uncredentialed. At the moment, I am having trouble finding a reputable source regarding the 2012 Apocaplyse.

At this point, I don't find it necessary to run the gamut of evaluation criteria. I already know this is an advertising scheme for a disaster movie, but what about the people who are duped by the Human Continuity commercial? Associated Press verifies that although many people will do a little homework for some piece of mind, many will forgo research in favor of panic and fear. Although I cannot either confirm or deny the 2012 Apocalypse (although I'm leaning toward the no apocalypse side of the debate), or any other apocalypse for that matter, I can say with complete certainty that there is a world of misinformation and fear mongering on the topic. The thing that bothers me most is the misinformation, which might as well be fear mongering because I can't really think of any other reason to spread misinformation about the end of the world. What is most unsettling is the fact that this little issue is representative of a much larger problem; however, it reaffirms the idea that librarians serve an important function in the information society.