Undergraduate university students experience a knowledge gap when required to use unfamiliar software applications without the benefit of direct instruction. As a solution, students often turn to online support, particularly video, but little is known about students' perceptions of the effectiveness of support videos. As libraries are a principle…

Extensive Reading (ER) is a popular strategy to improve reading fluency, vocabulary knowledge and reading confidence. The process of ER, traditionally done with paperbacks, is a practice being transformed by smartphone technology. This paper introduces Xreading® (www.xreading.com), an online Graded Reader (GR) library and Learning Management…

This paper presents the full results from a 2008/2009 research study examining the application of a "learning environment" paradigm to the school library setting. The preliminary results from the examination of the Fifth Grade science classes were presented at the IASL 2009 Research Forum. We now report the process of completing our…

Presents summaries of 12 papers presented at the 1990 Computers in Libraries Conference. Topics discussed include online searching; microcomputer-based serials management; microcomputer-based workstations; online public access catalogs (OPACs); multitype library networking; CD-ROM searches; locally mounted online databases; collection evaluation;…

In 1977-78 and again in 1980-81, extensive evaluations of learning resource services at Lake-Sumter Community College (LSCC) were conducted to determine: (1) the extent to which the Learning Resource Center (LRC) contributes to the stated purpose of the college; (2) the extent to which it meets its own objectives; (3) the extent to which the LRC…

Discussion of college students' dependency on the library card catalog as a problem in bibliographic instruction covers student attitudes toward card catalog; catalog shortcomings (portions of books are not indicated, subject headings don't always match user's terms, availability not indicated); a positive teaching approach; and online…

Describes the Term Paper Clinic (TPC), a project in which students in a library reference class at the University of British Columbia offered reference assistance to other students. Appendixes include approaches and sources for the TPC search; instructions for the TPC search; a student library research guide; a report on user evaluations; and the…

Efforts have been made by the Cornell University Libraries (New York) reference staff to assist students with their library research for a popular undergraduate course in human sexuality. Librarians have found the course to be a serious problem for both their reference and stack collections as most students do not understand research strategy,…

This paper presents a brief history of the decline in recreational reading in university libraries and provides suggestions for ways to reverse the trend. The paper argues that students' anxiety about using the university library can be reduced by incorporating library instruction into existing courses. The paper also argues that prominent,…

This paper evaluates the success of a new specialization in library science, Social Information Science, developed by the author at Bar-Ilan University (Israel). The aim of Social Information is to expand the role of the library, to build new Social Information Banks, and to create a new profession, Social Information Scientist. The paper…

A study was conducted at Cincinnati Technical College (CTC) to determine why students were underutilizing the Learning Resource Center (LRC), as well as to assess the opinions of students who did use the collection and services of the LRC. Telephone surveys were conducted by LRC staff members with 142 of 360 randomly selected students in the study…

Based on an acceptance speech given by the author upon receiving the Catholic Library Association's 1995 Certificate of Merit Award, this article discusses surveying teenagers, reviews what teenagers want from school librarians, and offers ways to serve teenagers better. (JMV)

The University of Queensland (Australia) Library (UQL) conducted a pilot study to investigate how the university's leading researchers and postgraduate students gather information and what services and/or collections would create the ideal research environment for them. At focus group sessions, researchers and students were asked about information…

A study of 522 university students was undertaken to determine how often they used their library and why, as well as to develop a general profile of college student library users. Descriptive statistics revealed that the majority of students used the library at least once a week. Obtaining a book or an article for a course paper was the most…

This study investigated the current status of student teachers' library media skills. The primary objective of the study was to replicate a 1966 survey by the Knapp Foundation Project that examined student teachers' knowledge of library resources and services. Other objectives were to expand the population studied to include all teacher education…