Just came across an excellent research project,
Project Information Literacy, that is currently being conducted to fill in some of the gaps in our understandings of how young adult college students conduct research and engage with information technology and social media. Their latest
report, Balancing Act: How College Students Manage Technology While in the Library During Crunch Time (Oct. 2011) is excellent. It really gives an intimate snapshot of how today's students are using library spaces and resources, technology, social media and sources on the Web for academic as well as social purposes. Very eye-opening, and even encouraging. The report is long, but very readable, with lots of charts that make it easy to skim through the information, so I highly recommend taking the time to look at it. (Another nice feature: the authors have put their methodology information at the
end of the report, so you can read the really interesting stuff
first.)
