5.4.3 Using sources of information effectively

Familiarity with sources of whakapapa information can come from repeated use, being shown how to use the resource by a staff member or other person, or by using instructions or an introduction that accompanies that source. Sources can also lead to other sources through footnotes and bibliographies. A degree of information literacy that allows a researcher to use the tools at their disposal to figure out how to more effectively use a source may have repercussions in terms of their degree of dependence on library staff. To determine how effectively whakapapa researchers use the sources they find, they were asked 2 questions about introductions and instructions, and bibliographies and footnotes (Appendix 2, Question 11a & b). Compared with Kuglin’s results, whakapapa researchers displayed much less use of these tools. A sizeable 45% of respondents reported that they never or seldom used the introduction or instructions of a source compared with 11% in Kuglin’s study (Chart 12). Similarly 39% of whakapapa researchers reported that they never or seldom used footnotes or bibliographies compared with only 15% in the research conducted by Kuglin. This suggests that whakapapa researchers are not using sources as effectively as they could be and that there may be opportunities to improve this through user education programmes. Interestingly, the use of bibliographies and footnotes seems to be more frequent than that of introductions and instructions among whakapapa researchers, perhaps as these tools can be very useful in tracking down another source. It is possible that this comparative lack of information literacy may have some effect on how heavily whakapapa researchers rely on library staff for assistance.
Chart 12.