The ability to navigate the vast ocean of available information and perform reference services in digital environments is an essential component of the job for most of today's reference librarians, especially those working in academic libraries. Reference librarians face a challenge: they must be highly skilled at searching for, locating, and…

In the first tier of a multi-tier research project, U.S. faculty from the School of Teacher Education and the School of Library and Information Studies seek to create synergies between teacher education and library initiatives in order to understand the best ways to encourage collaboration between teachers and librarians. This article discusses…

Library schools may be teaching some of the theoretical framework necessary to perform the duties of electronic resource librarianship. However, a gap remains "between practical needs, as expressed in position descriptions, and the theoretical way in which library school courses address those needs." To fill this gap, professional associations…

Digital libraries and collections are a growing facet of today's traditional library. Digital library technologies have become increasingly more sophisticated in the effort to provide more and better access to the collections they contain. The evaluation of the usability of these technologies has not kept pace with technological developments,…

Discusses the future of librarians, libraries, and library schools in the age of electronic information. Commentary includes the changing role of the librarian in information selection; organization and access in instruction; and suggestions for revitalizing library education and image improvement. (seven references) (KRN)

Considers probable societal changes in the United States between now and the year 2000, including cultural pluralism, an increasingly older population, increased variety in the configuration of households, changes in the workforce, globalization, and shifts in education. Changes in libraries and in library and information science education are…

Describes the Internet Public Library, developed at the University of Michigan's School of Information and Library Studies. Site highlights include the reference center; the reading room, which includes materials in full text; youth and teen services; professional information for librarians; links to Web search engines; a Multiuser Object Oriented…

Presents results from a survey on the current state of digital library education in academic institutions. Examines the rationale and orientation for digital library education. Suggests several models that have emerged in the teaching of digital libraries and in incorporation of relevant topics into various curricula. (AEF)

Discussion of the professional education of information workers argues the importance of core skills development but also reaffirms the value of library history. Examines the historical dynamics of the birth of the profession, alongside the modern library, in order to gain a critical perspective on contemporary postmodern libraries. (Contains 25…

This paper on World Wide Web-based continuing education begins with an overview of the concept of the virtual university and the creation of a community of scholars in the virtual university. The University of California Digital Library is then described, including: the strategic need for libraries to change; attributes of the traditional,…