University Libraries is giving any student who thinks every question can be answered using Google or Wikipedia the chance to prove it this week.
Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library is putting on the first ever Super Searcher contest, which gives students 20 research questions and 30 minutes to find the answers. Students are encouraged to use any resource that they think will find them the correct answer.
“The contest is designed to allow students to not only showcase their existing skills in terms of finding information out on the web, but also to maybe show them that everything can’t always be found through a simple Google search,” said Josh Sahib, research and instructional services librarian at Gorgas Library. “There are some different resources that are out there that they might not be aware of.”
Super Searcher will take place today at 3 p.m. in Room 205 of Gorgas Library. Students who wish to participate in the event can still preregister online at lib.ua.edu/supersearcher.
“We want as many people as possible to be able to participate,” Sahib said. “Preregistration will help things move a lot more smoothly because we are going to have a tight timeline on the day of the contest.”
Preregistering guarantees the student will be enrolled in the eLearning course that has the test. It gives students access to practice tests and FAQs about the contest that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise. There is no cap on registration, but there will only be 46 computers available in the lab, so participants are encouraged to bring a personal computer if they can.
University Libraries modeled the competition after a similar contest a third-party company did on campus a few years ago. Sahib said he hopes that putting the test on eLearning and making a lot of the questions specific to UA library resources will make the test a better representation of students’ options while conducting research.
“A lot of tuition dollars are ultimately spent on these electronic resources,” he said. “It’s sad to say that most students never even realize there is all this great stuff that the library has that they aren’t aware of. Hopefully this gives them a chance to see some of the different ways that you can find information.”
The contest will consist of two types of questions, standard questions worth 100 points for a correct answer and difficult questions worth 125 points for a correct answer. Students will also lose points for incorrect answers, 30 points lost on standard questions and 15 points lost on a difficult question.
After the contest is scored, the top three participants will be awarded prizes. Sahib said they wanted the prizes to be technology-based because that is the basis of the contest. The first place winner will choose between an iPad, a Kindle and an iPod Touch. The second and third place winners will pick the remaining two prizes.
On top of the prizes awarded to the top three finishers, there will be smaller door prizes given away throughout the event, as well as free pizza and drinks.
“What makes this contest different, and the reason we decided to do it, is that normally the library uses lectures to inform people about its resources through class work,” said Chris Schmidt, a Creative Campus intern. “I think the contest is a good idea because it generates interest in the libraries and it shows off the power that the Internet has and the library resources have combined.”
