A Tale of Two Researchers

Innovations in search and retrieval have provided librarians with some of their most exciting challenges as a profession. Yet even as new tools flood the academic library commons, direct, person-to-person information counseling is still needed, some would say more than ever. Consequently, it can be very useful to study how users conduct new research projects, because such study can help reference providers stay aware of the obstacles that users confront. With that in mind, the author shares a tale of two undergraduate researchers, both very smart and highly engaged, and the paths each took as they conducted large-scale projects in the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment (IRLE) Library. First, the author presents a few general characteristics that are shared by many of the undergraduates he encounters at the University of California-Berkeley.