Digital nature and digital nurture: libraries, learning and the digital native
| Published date | 10 January 2008 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/01435120810844658 |
| Pages | 67-76 |
| Date | 10 January 2008 |
| Author | Michael Robinson |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Digital nature and digital nurture:
libraries, learning and the
digital native
Michael Robinson
The Hong Kong Institute of Education, Tai Po, Hong Kong SAR
Abstract
Purpose – The so-called “digital native” – the first generation of students and learners who have
been born and raised in a world of digital technologies – is now in our universities and, hopefully,
using library services. This paper aims to survey recent debate about the delivery of information
services to the “digital native”, using Hong Kong academic libraries as a case study to reflect on the
appropriateness of the services offered.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper questions whether academic libraries which have
begun to recognize this phenomenon, and have changed their services significantly in response to this
“digital” generation of students and their approach to learning. It looks at the role that academic
librarians should have in equipping tertiary students to function in the digital information
environment. It also questions whether academic librarians continue to have a role in this, or if they are
in fact lagging behind the students’ understanding of information technology, and their adoption of
new technologies to acquire and use information.
Findings – The paper finds that libraries will be better served in the long run if they consider in what
particular ways they appeal to students, and focus on developing services that are aligned with
student preferences in their access to and use of information. Rather than competing with search
engines, libraries can learn from the way in which they design their services, and through link
resolving software can combine the convenience of the web with the quality of their own resources.
Identifying reasons for using the library which are not satisfied by the internet, and promoting these
through improved virtual and physical access help to define the niche that academic libraries serve
and how they can build a better affinity with their student community.
Originality/value – The paper provides useful information on developing academic libraries to
accommodate the new digital developments in information.
Keywords Academic libraries, Hong Kong, Students,Learning, Information services,Internet
Paper type Research paper
The Net Generation
So much has already been written and said about the Net Generation that – if nothing
else happens – they are in danger of becoming the most labeled generation in history.
Emerging principally from the work of Howe and Strauss (2000) and Prensky (2001a,
b), compelling visions of “millennials” or “digital natives”, who process and manage
information in fundamentally different ways to previous generations, have steadily
permeated the thinking of many librarians and of library service provision to students
at secondary and tertiary levels (Lippincott, 2005).
Prensky (2001a) has defined “digital natives” as:
the first generations to grow up with ... new technology. They have spent their entire lives
surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
Digital nature
and digital
nurture
67
Received 3 April 2007
Accepted 20 May 2007
Library Management
Vol. 29 No. 1/2, 2008
pp. 67-76
qEmerald Group Publishing Limited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/01435120810844658
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