Despite prospective college students’ fondness for instant messaging and other Web toys, fewer than one in three institutions have "adopted cutting-edge recruiting tools" to attract those students, according to a new survey by Noel-Levitz, a company that helps colleges recruit students using technology.
The report considers blogging, chat rooms, RSS/XML syndication, and podcasting to be "cutting edge" tools. The survey results also indicate that many students are filling out colleges’ electronic applications before making any other contact with the institutions. The report compiles survey results from 231 public and private institutions, including community colleges.
20 Responses to Room for Chats
22048164 - February 8, 2012 at 10:22 am
This is why I LOVE the library. :)
jffoster - February 8, 2012 at 10:53 am
First, congratulations on your publication.
Second, I am not a Humanitiesist but a Linguist and Cultural Anthropolotist on the prickly rather than the gooey end. And I don’t know what the claim that language “is the palette from which we draw all the colors of our life.” means, if it means anything, which I doubt. But
Third, I absolutely second your comments about the value of browsing and thank you for having written it. I have always advised my graduate and advanced undergraduate students to, when they went to the library for a book pertaining to some project or paper, always examine the table of contents and indexen of the three books in the shelf on either side of the book they were there after. It would for certain help them become familiar with what was written in the field about their or related topics, and it would surprisingly often yield a resource even better than the one they had gone there after.
dolllar - February 8, 2012 at 11:39 am
All it will take is for someone to develop the app equivalent of the browsing experience — a virtual bookshelf showing your seed book of interest and its relatives side by side, binding edge on, with the ability to open each one and look at the title page and index. As it keeps track of the ones you open it will place adjacent books of greatest interest to you, with the random book thrown in to allow you to explore non sequitors. I think this will be far better than the haphazard current system of browsing, which relies on similarity of last name of author (in book stores) or catalog number (in libraries).
namnezia - February 8, 2012 at 1:41 pm
@woodycarter The browsing app you describe, though I hate to say it, pretty much describes my experience with Amazon. Plus I also get to see what lots and lots of readers had to say about the book, and what kind of books they were interested in. As much as I support actual bookstores, I find that this aspect of the Amazon website is quite good and has greatly broadened by reading choices. More so than at a bookstore with unknowledgeable and busy staff.
dank48 - February 8, 2012 at 2:40 pm
My experience at online browsing has been that Amazon (et al.) are worse than clueless with their “people who bought this book were also interested in” list of things some algorithm has rounded up, emphasizing once again that AI still has a long way to go.
Personally, if I must buy online, I’d rather go to Abebooks, which at least has the decency to let me browse without trying to force on me some crap I’m not interested in. And in terms of brick and mortar, Half-Price Books employees, in my experience at least, are much more knowledgeable than B&N’s people.
leo_mar1477 - February 8, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Today is my first on the Chronicle’s Blog. I am female and a Reading Tutor at Lincoln U , PA. There is room for much discussion about “browsing” the bookstore. It can be a relaxing experience,as well as a moment to socialize.B&N have provided the positive atmosphere: room layout and indoor Starbucks as well as a variety of prints. I’ll continue to browse and this time around I’ll try to find your latest publication.
moewing - February 8, 2012 at 4:41 pm
Hey, you can browse at any library, too, and libraries are far more common than even the ubiquitous Barnes & Noble. Your brand-new book is already at 90 libraries around the country. (http://csbsju.worldcat.org/oclc/727703199)
Dan - February 8, 2012 at 9:11 pm
On Amazon, learn how to use Wish Lists (private – keep many lists as categories) and the recommendation system which requires input to be of value. I always keep ~200 books in private Wish List categories. I tune recommendations frequently. Most purchases are from these sources. I often find good recommendations in the reviews. Search ListMania for list owners who have something to say.
These are features you won’t find in a bookstore. They do not fully replace serendipity buy they go a long way and add value that bookstores don’t have.
polymath - February 9, 2012 at 3:33 am
You can do both, you know. Go to B&N and buy on Amazon. I do. However, I, for one, do browse and find the Amazon experience VASTLY superior to any physical bookstore. You can not only find books, but for most now, you can review a lot of material inside of them on your screen. If you need to read more than this, you’re just looking for a place to hang out! Best of all, the Amazon site sells books cheaper and also gives you a chance to buy used books as well!
For instance, in your example of looking for a new history of the Civil War, you can bet that your bookstore may a few titles, maybe the newest release, but not much. In contrast, Amazon will automatically link you to hundreds, if not thousands of similar books. You can NEVER do this is a physical context. No bookstore of any size can match their selection. As for the reliability of the reviewers, if you have a question and its a scholarly book especially, just open another internet screen and google it. You’ll get a more objective review. In sum, I’ve had the opposite experience of the author, But, I’m a reader, not an author. Maybe it’s more difficult to get your book to be noticed on Amazon rather than B&N. All I know if that where I used to buy between 100 and 150 books per year before Amazon, I now buy between 200-300 per year. The reason is that after I start looking for one particular book and find it, Amazon suggests a lot of other books on the same or similar subject. Books I never heard of and would never have known about except for Amazon. I will say this. I can read news or technical reports on a computer screen, but I can’t a book. So, I will always prefer a physical book to an e reader. Because of this, although a physical bookstore may be a dying breed, the physical book won’t be replaced anytime soon.
Natalie Hamilton - February 9, 2012 at 9:53 am
Shop at independent bookshops. They love browsers. They support local authors. They still sell books (not cards, gift product, toys, yoga mats, etc). Their staff actually knows about books and can make recommendations. Their stock, although smaller, is more carefully selected. Their business contributes to the local economy. Don’t champion big box bookstores as the only alternative to the devil Amazon.
drburlbaw - February 13, 2012 at 11:32 am
Bookstores and libraries – life’s box of chocolates. Browsing bound volumes of journals gives one access to ideas he/she never considered – this will never (maybe seldom is a better word) happen when searching for articles in ProQuest. Students are so focused on “the” article they miss the fun one page over. Hooray for bookstores and hard copy libraries – card catalogs were great that way also as was the National Union Catalog. No, I am not a librarian, but a historian.
tpacheco - February 14, 2012 at 10:50 am
Consider that people are looking for much more than a book. It’s the experience of being part of a group, perhaps starting up a conversation with a neighbor or a librarian who shares a similar interest in reading and particular authors, and so on. Even an introvert like me enjoys being part of the anonymous hum of pedestrian city life. This is why some progressive communities fight to keep huge chains out of their once-quaint neighborhoods.
One can buy almost anything in Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Amazon.com, etc. so why do people continue to enjoy going out and shopping? Why go anywhere? Why go to the movies? Once all the franchises completely take over there will be no need to travel to a different city because every place will look (and be) the same; even more so than now. Same boring sameness everywhere. There is a perceived “safety” in franchises has been exploding for years and is worse and worse every year. Mayberry has been gone for a long time, but I for one still love poking around in unique bookstores, when I can find them, (AND buying from them) stopping for a cup of coffee at a sidewalk cafe that’s not necessarily Starbucks; being able to walk or ride my bicycle instead of jumping in my car to get anywhere or just wallowing around online.
Small stores and libraries help create a sense of community that is lacking in big boxes AND online. I fear that in the near future, most people WILL shop in one huge warehouse-like store or online, because that will be the only choice for middle-class people. (Dare I say it?) the 1% will still be fortunate enough to have lovely boutiques, coffee shops, funky bookstores, flower shops, hardware shops, local restaurants and so on that give a place an atmosphere that is treasured and cannot be found elsewhere. This type of area is becoming harder and harder to find, and thus, the homes and services in those areas become more and more expensive. What kind of community do YOU want to live in? Shopping online is convenient, but if you want to continue to enjoy living in a “real” place, shop locally, too. Spend a few extra bucks to keep local businesses alive — it’s worth it.
Richard Grayson - February 14, 2012 at 11:32 am
There are no indie bookstores in large sections of our country. The loss of Borders was something to mourn, not to take pleasure in, for many booklovers in the U.S. As a recent NY Times article says, even the indie bookstores are now hoping Barnes & Noble doesn’t die, too. Near my house in Brooklyn, I have wonderful bookstores nearby: WORD, Greenlight, Book Court, McNally Jackson, Bluestockings and many more. But near my house in Apache Junction, Arizona, the great Changing Hands bookstore, my favorite indie in the world, is nearly a 25-mile drive for me. With the loss of a Borders 8 miles away, the closest bookstore to me (that’s not a Christian one) is about 12 miles away. In Davie, Florida, where I still have a condo, it’s the same story.
When I was a kid, the original Barnes & Noble bookstore, a block up Fifth Avenue from my father’s place of business, was to me the best bookstore in the world — for me, it had treasures no bookstore closer to my house in the far-out and suburbanlike part of Brooklyn had (ditto for some of the department store book sections) — so I’ve never had negative feelings about B&N.
Besides, the iced tea in their cafes is good, and you can linger there for hours, reading a book or magazine from the shelves. Big box bookstores beat a bookstore desert. Let’s hope B&N makes it.
renellin - February 14, 2012 at 2:23 pm
The funny thing is I already notice this ability when I shop on Amazon or Half.com–yes it’s not exactly the same, and I too have enjoyed looking on either side of a book shelf to make a more thorough study of the subject of my current interest. But I also love to jump online, browse my favorite author or other subject, and many of the books presented allow you to read into it far enough to get hooked. Then they offer similar books by the same author and on the same subject.
renellin - February 14, 2012 at 2:28 pm
This is true, and I posted a similar comment before reading yours. I had to add, though, an extra emphasis on the staff. Whether Borders or Barnes & Noble, or the other bookstores before they were pushed out, the best I have found the staff able to help me was to…you guessed it, walk me up to a computer where I could search electronically. The staff at the checkout has been singularly unhelpful and often sullen, like I was taking them away from something they wanted to do.
Also I could never get the hang of sitting in a chair in the middle of a store and settling down to read. It’s just not in my comfort zone. Add to that disturbing reports I got of various authors having their books unavailable or hidden about the store due to the political or emotional persuasion of the author vs. the store owner or, more likely, some employees–I just don’t need that.
renellin - February 14, 2012 at 2:41 pm
And then of course we still need the big boxes, and/or online stores for people like me who are unlikely to choose shopping when I want to spend my free time. I see plenty of my friends and neighbors at the gas station, or walking down our streets. I love to browse if I am stuck waiting for somebody and have time to kill, but, frankly, I would rather be reading than shopping. I am all for supporting the local business owner, but where I live and breathe is real also.
tpacheco - February 14, 2012 at 5:32 pm
Renellin – I’m talking atmosphere here, not shopping per se. Anybody who knows me well knows that I am basically a non-shopper, but it’s still fun to go places. When I’m talking about a “real” place, I mean real in the sense of non-packaged, Disneyfied, sameness. A person can eat at Red Lobster, or he can eat seafood. I could play games online, but I choose to play board games face to face with my friends. I don’t know if this makes any sense or not, but as you see, I am on a soapbox. Thank you for your reply. I “liked” yours! Teresa
sand6432 - February 15, 2012 at 10:57 am
Your behavior has short-term benefits for you, but long-term consequences for the rest of us. Once Amazon succeeds in driving B&N out of business and achieves the quasi-monopoly position it has been seeking, how long do you think it will go on being the cheapest place to buy books?–Sandy Thatcher (former university press director)
sand6432 - February 15, 2012 at 10:59 am
I agree with the comment about Half-Price Books. It’s a superior retail operation, mich better than B&N.—Sandy Thatcher
dank48 - February 16, 2012 at 3:26 pm
Hear, hear. Jerry Musich’s store here in Naptown is about two or three times the size of my office, has perhaps one-twentieth the books as a B&N, and he can tell you all you need to know about every one that I’ve asked about. Also, he can decide to give a quantity discount if he damn well pleases. Downside: I always walk out a few bucks poorer, with more than I can carry easily. Some downside . . .