Digital natives, searching behavior and the library

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to show that digital natives are different from older age groups. Design/methodology/approach - The first survey asks questions about general computer searching behaviors. The second survey asks the students to find two items to see if they can find hem. Findings - Digital natives are different in their search behavior, preferring to use web-based search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Bing. Research limitations/implications - There are 120 respondents to the first survey and 27 in the second. Practical implications - More focus needs to be placed on the digital natives' search habits to find out how best to serve this population. Social implications - Unless digital natives are taught how to search academic databases, they will be done a great disservice. Originality/value - The two surveys are unique in data content.