Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/233379
Today's libraries offer far more than access to books, periodicals, and digital content. They provide an environment where business students can learn and hone the most crucial skills they'll need to be successful in the 21st-century marketplace. It's not hard to guess what those skills will be. One predictor is a biennial survey from the University of Washington's Office of Educational Assessment, which asks alumni what abilities are essential for students to have five years abilit and ten years after graduation. Over the years, the following abiliaft ties have been identified as most important: defining and solving locating the information needed to make decisions, problems, lo working a learning independently, working effectively with and technology, speaking effectively, and critically analyzing technol written information. Libraries can help students with writte virtually all of those tasks. virtu Another source outlines even more plainly what kinds of skills graduates will need. Project w Information Literacy, a national study about early In adults adu and their information-seeking behaviors, produced a 2012 report authored by its executive director, Alison Head. She notes that employers want college hires S messy situations," "read through stuff they may who can "jump into the m never use" and apply "dogged persistence." She quotes one employer who use," "dogge says that a comprehensive research approach is essential because "it solves immediate information problems and sheds light on related issues critical for future work—the lifeblood of any organization." Head adds, "Workplace research requires a strategy that imagines all possible answers." All possible answers? Again, these can be found at the library. Because students don't always understand how to use the library's resources, it's important for teachers to encourage them to develop information literacy skills. A teacher who does this very well is John Sailors, an associate professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas. In the applied business research class required for UST's full-time MBA, Sailors helps students see that library research has direct application to real-world problems. Because students work with external clients, they must first establish credibility by learning the industry context, history, issues, and specialized language. Students generally begin their projects by meeting with librarians to learn about secondary research. "I tell them to search forward and backward," says Sailors. "Once they find a good article, I suggest that they see who has cited it since publication and to look through the notes and bibliography for earlier sources." In addition, Sailors helps students become more discerning in their research by showing them how to distinguish between scholarly journals and more popular publications or trade magazines. He also helps them understand the importance of publication date—the significance of which may differ by project. And he tells them to consider carefully who collected and published the data, because publishers may have particular points of view. Once they understand how to sort through and assess information, his students will always understand what a powerful resource the library can be. 48 January/February 2014 BizEd must minimize the time they waste in fruitless searching. For that reason, at UST we've created dozens of research guides that address known scholarly research needs. Students can use them to learn more about particular disciplines, including international business, business law, entrepreneurship, marketing, economics, and statistics. The guides also help them find data about specific companies and industries. Each guide points users to starting places and explains how to use the best resources in the libraries' electronic collections. We also tell students that, as soon as they get frustrated or feel like they're not getting results, they should consult a librarian. The guides include photos of the specialist librarians who will be most helpful in the area of business research, an online app that I MAG ESOU RCE /G LOW I MAG ES Developing Critical Skills