A diverse group, account-based services include a wide variety of sites commonly used by patrons, including online shopping sites, social networks, photo- and video-sharing sites, banking and financial sites, government services, and cloud-based storage. Whether or not a piece of information is obtainable online must be considered when creating…

Traditional libraries are being redefined. They are not only places to access books in print, but are also rich resources for digital assets. As a result, technology training programs need to progress beyond basic "mouse and keyboard" in order to meet the ever-changing needs and demands of the public. As library collections transition to…

"Embracing the chaos" is an ongoing challenge for librarians. Embracing the chaos means librarians must have a plan for responding to the flood of new products, widgets, web tools, and gizmos that students use daily. In this article, the author argues that library instruction and access services have been grappling with that chaos with…

Creating online options for students has become more of a focus with the growth of distance-education programs. It has also become necessary with the growth of online databases, electronic journals, and electronic books. Teaching classes is one of the few areas where libraries have not all switched to online access. Reference librarians still tend…

Discussion of the Internet highlights its use in libraries and the need to teach patrons what it can and cannot be used for. Topics include the number and variety of existing sources, vendor organization and reliability issues, speed, quality control and regulation issues, and permanence of sources. (LRW)

Describes how a student-based program at the University of Maine at Farmington encouraged students to use the renovated library facilities. Following a needs assessment, Writing Center peer tutors were trained to deliver a library instruction workshop. The key factor in the instructional program was that it was student-led. (AEF)

Discusses mental models for online searching and the importance of understanding the user mental models and their search needs in order to teach searching and to help them effectively. Suggests that librarians should try to match the user's perspective first, not just teach a search strategy that is too complicated. (LRW)

Offers insight from academic librarians into changes that occur when librarians become teachers. Discusses the rewards of developing long-term relationships with and a better understanding of students; effects of librarians having less time at the reference desk because of spending time on teaching; teaching as a focus of professional development;…

Describes a workshop program developed at the California State University Sacramento to familiarize faculty with the library's electronic resources. The broad subject areas targeted were business, humanities, social sciences, and science and technology. Training covered the online catalog, article indexes, and databases. Evaluations of the…

This new column describes Internet and provides a guide to its resources for new users. The hierarchical organization of Internet is explained; library applications including cataloging, bibliographic instruction, government documents, interlibrary loan, reference, and serials are described; access to Internet is explained; common problems are…

Describes the curriculum of free training courses offered at the New York Public Library Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL) that focus on information-seeking skills and information literacy. Classes offered include basic library skills, Internet and World Wide Web, business information, government information, and science information.…

Examines the various activities librarians perform to help patrons find information. Discusses new ideas in cataloging for electronic resources; extending patrons' reference questions to Web resources; reader's advisory services on the Web; online instruction for online searching; and the future outlook for the librarian profession. (AEF)

Discusses the development of networked information services from a user's perspective. Topics discussed include user education; the issue of access to, versus retrieval of, information; the role of the library, including education and training, bibliographic control, and electronic information services; and training and education for librarians.…

Discusses library services at the University of Tennessee to reach off-campus and distance education students. Topics include online research; email; library instruction for faculty and students; Web interfaces; fax; telephone service; chat technology; the library's Web page; virtual classrooms; library links from a course management system; and…

Describes part of a federally-funded project at Kapiolani Community College (Hawaii) that focused on document delivery to enhance library services. Topics include bibliographic instruction for searching; customized searches on commercial databases; locating and delivering full-text articles; constructing a World Wide Web site; and evaluation…