This paper traces library instructional programs available to graduate students in academic institutions in North America from the late 1950s to the present. Three chronological perspectives provide the framework for this analysis. The first includes programs from 1958 to 1989 that offered traditional bibliographic instruction of print resources…

Discusses the needs of remote users of online public access catalogs (OPACs). User expectations are discussed; problems encountered by remote-access users are examined, including technical problems and searching problems; support services are described, including instruction, print guides, and online help; and differences from the needs of…

Describes a microcomputer program that serves as a front-end to an online library catalog and other information sources and provides guidance to students on searching for and evaluating information. Funding, technology, evaluation, impact on other libraries, and future plans are discussed. Sample screens are included. (Contains 75 references.)…

Discusses advances in microcomputer and optical technologies and how these technologies are being integrated into library reference work. Topics discussed include training of library reference staff; library bibliographic instruction; CD-ROMs; videodiscs; hypertext; bibliographies; library catalogs, including online catalogs; indexing and…

Describes a study that was conducted to provide information on the extent of bibliographic instruction in curriculum materials centers (CMCs) or related library/media collections designed for the use of prospective teachers and teacher educators. The study paid particular attention to instruction in the use of online public catalogs. (30…

Three articles discuss the issue of the mediator's role in the library of the electronic age. Topics addressed include computer-assisted instruction; online catalogs; computer networks; professional identity; reference service and bibliographic instruction; CD-ROMs; online systems; personal home microcomputers; Internet and list servers;…

Presents seven articles that discuss reference librarians and technical services librarians; evaluating online public access catalogs; bibliographic instruction and CD-ROMs; interactive multimedia and electronic media in academic libraries; open versus closed stacks for academic library periodical collections; policies and procedures manuals as…

Discusses the development of electronic libraries at Cornell University's (New York) Mann Library and elsewhere and presents an overview of changes in services and staff responsibilities needed to address user needs. Sidebar articles discuss Internet access to government information; changing staff roles; geographic information systems; the Mann…

Traces the development of cooperation between reference librarians and catalogers, highlighting cooperative goals, role of the library catalog in meeting informational requirements of patrons, involvement of catalog librarians in library instruction, and patterns of library organization. Future trends are discussed. Twenty sources are given. (EJS)

Explores issues surrounding efforts to introduce online catalogs to users and presents relevant research results from Northwestern University's "Educating the Online Catalog User" project. Highlights include attitudes and preconceptions about online catalogs and instruction, research on online catalog use, suggestions for online catalog teaching,…

Discusses the definition of an online library catalog; five factors to be considered by the online catalog designer; user-computer communication (error messages, help screens, prompts, unnatural language); online tutorials and offline instruction offered by bibliographic instruction librarians; and the current situation. Nine references are…

This report is designed to raise issues and concerns which will affect the successful implementation of an education and training program once an online public access catalog (OLPAC) has been installed in the Kennedy Library at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), San Luis Obispo. Information presented in the document was gathered…

Describes four major types of learning theories (behavioral, cognitive, cybernetic, and andragogical); examines pertinent literature for each; and traces links between the literature of learning theory and that of the design of online public access catalog instructional systems. (32 references) (Author/CLB)

Briefly discusses types of software available for library and media center operations and library instruction, suggests three sources of software reviews, and describes almost 50 specific application programs available for bibliographic management, cataloging, circulation, inventory and purchasing, readability, and teaching library skills in…

Presents a methodology for describing, analyzing, and evaluating the public service functions of serial file systems, and describes a user study conducted in a university departmental library to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of its system in enabling students new to the library to locate known-items in the serials collection. (CDD)