This paper investigated how libraries can support the transition of first-year international undergraduate students to a large research university. The research explored the students' use of libraries, their use of information to learn, and their academic and information literacy learning needs. The methods were a survey (with 135 responses) and…

At California State University, Northridge (CSUN), many students lack the skills needed to locate, analyze, and apply essential contexts associated with primary sources. Using these sources requires critical inquiry, which is a fundamental theme in pedagogy, the California State University system's Core Competencies, and the Association of College…

Faculty and librarians agree on the qualities of a good research question. However, in an exploratory study, they differed on when students should develop their research question. While librarians stated that students should develop their question early, first-year writing faculty advocated for delaying the development of the research question.…

This paper describes two studies conducted with high school students doing library research and writing research papers, with the objective of examining the effectiveness of this type of assignment. The students were all in grade 11, the first group in Canada, the second in the United States. Students were observed in the classroom before they…

Over the past 20 years, library media professionals have worked to move from teaching isolated library skills to teaching integrated information skills. Effective integration of information skills has two requirements: (1) the skills must directly relate to the content area curriculum and to classroom assignments; and (2) the skills themselves…

Faculty often overestimate the scholarly communication experiences, critical-thinking abilities, and information-seeking skills of the undergraduates to whom they assign papers. A stratified methodology is suggested for teaching information retrieval skills in the classroom. A strong curriculum-integrated approach could ease the burden on students…