Provides practical counsel for high school librarians for instructing students in basic research methods. Librarians are urged to use a vivid search strategy such as a flow chart and to provide hands-on experience in the classroom. Sample flow charts and a bibliographic search exercise are included. (CDD)

Arguing that providing instruction in the use of common indexes and abstract services is one of the most repetitious, most important, yet most time-consuming activities of the college reference librarian, this guide notes reasons why students fail to take full advantage of currently available guides to the use of common indexes and abstract…

Describes three library activities designed to be used with specific curriculum units on reading and language arts and social studies. Using the parts of a book is taught with the Guinness Book of World Records, and use of encyclopedias and the card catalog with projects on the ancient Greeks and Indians. (EM)

This study conducted at Texas A&M University compares two types of training approaches using ERIC SilverPlatter (ERIC SP). Education students received either: (1) a one hour training session on basic search commands and strategies, or (2) a four page instructional handout that described basic search commands, Boolean logic, and special…

Librarians use subject guides to introduce students to library materials. Surveys, usability tests, and usage statistics demonstrate that students do not relate well to subject guides. We suggest that library resources organized or delivered at a course level are more in line with how undergraduate students approach library research. (Contains 26…

Presents seven library media activities to be used with specific curriculum areas: "Into the Past with Historical Fiction" and "Critical Reading to Figure It Out" (Reading and Language Arts); "Electricity Experiments,""Classifying Insects," and "Fish" (Science); and "Citizenship and the…

Critiques the InfoTrac system and its use in academic libraries in terms of journals covered by the index; indexing accuracy; ease of use and need for instruction; and effects on the research skills of students relying on the system. (CLB)

This document was developed primarily in response to a bibliographic lecture in an upper-division Afro-American survey course that covers the American colonial period to the present. In addition to representative examples of reference works, bibliographies, bibliographic sources, and periodical indexes, a section is devoted to the proper use of…

Presents results of a case study which examined the library skills of graduate students in health education, especially in locating materials using the card catalog, periodical indexes and subject heading searches. Suggestions are made for the development of instructional materials based on these results. (CLB)

This document provides an overview of the concepts and processes behind reference services and the most important sources consulted in answering common reference questions. The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 deals with concepts and theory. It covers ethical aspects of reference service, the reference interview, the principles and goals of…

This packet of materials was developed by the members of a joint task force of librarians from school, public, and college libraries in Ohio as a means of facilitating closer cooperation in defining library instructional goals and activities. It begins with a discussion of the need for such cooperation and suggested roles for classroom teachers…