Information Seeking Pattern and "Googlization" of Information: the Issues Facing Libraries

With the advent of the information revolution and the shear bulk of information that are freely available on the Web, many of our user\´s perception of information is that if it is not easily accessible, it\´s not worth the effort. It is therefore imperative that librarians and information providers find out why this preference is so dominant especially among undergraduate students and use this information in a way to design parallel information systems. This paper presents the results of two case studies and identify (1) information-seeking behaviors of life sciences and chemistry students in the fast-paced digital environment and what is meant by "cool" as it relates to information retrieval, and (2) users\´ preferences for scholarly material via traditional electronic databases and search engines, especially Google Scholar. In so doing, it presents the findings of the undergraduate students\´ preferences and discuss implications for library instruction, the design of Web pages and offerings of databases that would encourage lifelong learning skills.