A strong position in the institution is vital for any academic library and affects its recognition, resourcing, and prospects. Higher education institutions are experiencing radical change, driven by greater accountability, stronger competition, and increased internationalization. They prioritize student success, competitive research, and global…

Suggests a format to be used to introduce students to the use of reference materials and provides a series of instructional activities. (CP)

Librarians providing individual information instruction need to be able to quickly and accurately assess the student's level of experience and ability and to offer the correct balance between support and challenge. Paul Hersey's Situational Leadership Model can provide librarians with a cognitive framework for assessment; it helps the instructor…

Describes the faculty-librarian collaboration at Towson University in the development and teaching of information literacy instruction. Findings from the faculty survey and information literacy instruction statistics indicated that this close collaboration yields a seamless blend of core subject information and information seeking/evaluation…

Outlines an undergraduate geography research methods course that emphasizes bibliographic instruction. Suggests incorporating selected developmental materials. Recommends that students discover materials pertaining to their own areas of interest through systematic search procedures. Includes several sample assignments. (DK)

Describes a survey instrument developed at the University of Northern Colorado library that compared students' self-assessed library skills with a test component. Findings are reported that indicated no dramatic trend of higher proficiency with increasing academic status, although self-assessed skills showed such a trend. (seven references) (LRW)

Describes a one-credit, theme-based library instruction course for freshmen and sophomores at Fort Lewis College (Durango, Colorado). Discusses benefits of theme-based instruction; assigned work; skills students should acquire during the course; course assessment and development; and future changes in the course. (AEF)

A series of study guides, which were developed to assist students in improving study and library skills, is reproduced for teachers' use. The guides cover test-taking skills; writing business letters; selecting a writing topic; plagiarism; developing search strategies; documentation; and locating dictionaries, periodical articles, books,…

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)

Discusses lifelong learning and the need for information retrieval skills, and describes how Northwest Missouri State University incorporates a heuristic model of library instruction in which students continually evaluate and refine information-seeking practices while progressing through all levels of courses in diverse disciplines. (Author/LRW)

Discussion of academic bibliographic instruction highlights an exercise in developing critical reading skills by reading and effectively reviewing ERIC abstracts. Topics include rhetoric and writing-based approaches in bibliographic instruction, sentence structure, text assessment, and automated bibliographic tools and interpreting text on a…

Describes a process-oriented approach to teaching searching skills for computer-based resources that was developed at the New York University library. A syllabus based on DIALOG's Classmate Program is explained, and the use of active learning theory to help restrict results is described. (LRW)

A workbook acquaints university undergraduates with the library, the basic reference tools of geographic research, and some of the specialized literature in geography. The first of five sections contains an activity for examining subject headings. Questions focus on using the "International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences," Library of Congress…

Examines the literature and explores expectations of undergraduates regarding lifelong learning and the library to propose a perceptual model of lifelong learning and user education. Suggests that a perceptual model can facilitate lifelong learning through education approaches geared to the sequential levels of skills needed by particular library…

The past 5 years have seen enormous change in the style of reference work that is done by librarians at the University of Rhode Island (URI) Library. Before the arrival of publicly accessible online databases and catalogs, there were clear lines regarding "doing reference" and teaching how to use the library. Now efforts are more…