The purpose of these guidelines is to assist librarians in providing students and faculty with appropriate information about computerized sources of information, particularly national online and compact disc (CD-ROM) databases. The guidelines offer ideas for brief, medium-length, and long presentations on the use of online searches, including…

When helping undergraduates assess materials, academic librarians balance the reference interview with instruction in electronic databases. This article describes a method connecting these tasks with a search strategy dependent on the user's information needs. The connection is made by labeling the user's need with a diagnostic tool based on…

This report describes a 1986 survey of procedures and priorities at Indiana University and Purdue University regional campus libraries designed to aid the librarians at the Walter E. Helmke Library at Indiana University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne, in re-evaluating various library procedures. Responses were received from nine of the 11 libraries…

As libraries automate their collections and mount online public access catalogs (OPACs), they face special challenges in educating patrons to use these electronic systems effectively and efficiently. Because users are less familiar with the concept and arrangement of an OPAC than with a card catalog, less successful searches commonly occur.…

Educational research textbooks often portray online computer searching as available only from distant database producers, or as something students can do for themselves without assistance from a reference librarian/search intermediary. User education may be needed in this area to correct users' misconceptions. (Author/EM)

This manual presents the policies and procedures of the Reference Department of Chicago State University's Douglas Library. General information about the reference department's staffing, functions, and services is given in the first section. In the next nine sections information is provided about the following areas: scope and circulation period…

These two brief guides are designed to assist users in searching the GPO Monthly Catalog of Government Publications and the ERIC databases on CD-ROM produced by Silver Platter Information, Inc. Each guide contains step-by-step instructions for: (1) simple subject searching using basic Boolean connectors; (2) displaying and printing; (3) correcting…

Explains the on-line search services of the library at Northern Virginia Community College's Annandale Campus. Describes a statewide conference for librarians held at the college, a campus professional development workshop for faculty and staff, a classroom instruction program on information retrieval, and a one-credit library research skills…

This manual consists of sets of guides for six CD-ROM databases: (1) ABI/INFORM, a business administration CD-ROM published by UMI; (2) Books in Print (an outstanding tool for compiling bibliographies on any subject); (3) ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center), an education database in the version published by SilverPlatter; (4) MLA, a…

Discusses the need to include communication skills as a component of training sessions for library staff who will be serving patrons using online catalogs and databases. Specific points that should be covered in training sessions are identified and training methods are suggested. (eight references) (CLB)

This article outlines an Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) CD-ROM bibliographic instruction (BI) session at an academic library, which is intended to produce knowledgeable and competent ERIC searchers. The 1.5 hour lecture session includes: a basic introduction to the ERIC database; narrowing down a search topic; using the thesaurus…

Stresses the importance of teaching the skills necessary for students to understand computer communications, including microcomputer and remote computer commands; how to get information from human resources through a bulletin board service or information utility; and keyword searching and Boolean logic. (EM)

Describes some of the most active school library programs for introducing elementary and secondary school students to online searching. Highlights include searches performed by librarians and students; skills acquired by students (search strategy, choosing appropriate databases, accessing information online); frequently searched databases; and…

Although this guide was designed to support "Pennsylvania Online: A Curriculum Guide for School Library Media Centers" (1985), the State of Pennsylvania curriculum guide for online searching, many of its components are also suitable for use by school librarians when teaching the elements involved in searching for resources manually. Designed to…

These instructions are designed to help patrons of the University of Missouri-Columbia library perform searches on PSYCHLIT, a CD-ROM (compact disc, read only memory) version of the Psych Abstracts database, and a CD-ROM version of the ERIC database, both produced by SilverPlatter Information Services. Basic information is provided about the disk…