Ralph Waldo Emerson's criticism that libraries lack the profession of "professor of books" represents the central problem of bibliographic instruction: an inadequately formed theoretical or conceptual framework. A history of the ideas, notions, terms, and phrases about bibliographic instruction illustrates this. (MSE)

Information literacy (IL) was introduced as an important consideration when the American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy (1989) touted the "Information Age" as the key catalyst for changes in how citizens view and interact with information. In the mid-1990s, with information technology taking center stage…

The Library Orientation Exchange (LOEX) provides assistance to librarians in developing library instruction programs for college faculty. It offers information and materials, compiles research reports, constructs bibliographies, and gives advice. (MSE)

The use of search strategy as a conceptual framework for teaching research techniques has long been a central concept of library instruction. It involves teaching analysis of research questions, understanding of structural differences in knowledge across disciplines, and evaluation of information. (MSE)

Bibliographic instruction programs at the following colleges are described: Berea, Baruch, Earlham, Lake Forest, Ohio State, SUNY Brockport, Colorado, Toronto, Wisconsin, and Winthrop. Descriptions include program duration, administrative support, faculty support, integration into the campus curriculum, program goals and objectives,…