Another one for my librarian friends and others with an interest in information literacy and the ongoing debate about authority. The general theme of a discussion with my son was “The other side of the world.”

Dad: Do you know what country in the world has the most people in it?
Lad: No.
Dad: It’s China.
Lad: I don’t believe you.
Dad: You don’t?! Who would you believe?
Lad: Nobody.
Dad: Well, would you look it up in a book? Or we could look it up in the Wikipedia.
Lad: No.
Dad: Would you believe mommy? Or a teacher? Or a librarian?
Lad: I’d ask a librarian!
Dad: Okay, they could help you find the right book.
Lad: Wait a minute…

[Our hero disappears into his room. He returns with a large, red book in his hands. It is the Big Book of Knowledge.]

Lad: I bet this book has the answer!
Dad: I bet you’re right. [Looking…] There it is. China has around 1.4 billion people, the most in the world.
Lad: Now I believe it. [Tucks the book under his arm and takes it back to his bookshelves.] I had the right book.

I’m very interested to discover that a pre-literate child already has a mental model for research. It’s not just that he knew he could look in a book, but he knew which book would probably give him the kind of answer he was looking for. I wonder if there are studies on information-seeking behaviors of pre-readers.

Anyone?