This paper, somewhat an incomplete historical overview and personal perspective, outlines a number of key challenges and opportunities in relation to future directions and developments in information literacy (IL) as a field of research and professional practice. It gives attention to significant foundational (selective) scholarship in the field,…

This article introduces psychologist Carol S. Dweck's entity and incremental theories of intelligence and explores the prevalence of these theories in academic librarians who participate in reference and instruction activities. Based on existing research, it is possible that implicit theories of intelligence could affect the ways in which…

As e-resources become more ubiquitous, and the technologies available to access them more sophisticated, libraries have greater opportunities to reach out to global users. However, this same distance means that some users never even set foot in a physical library. This case study will describe how one large academic library started a business,…

As Internet and computer technologies have evolved, libraries have incorporated these technologies into the delivery of information literacy instruction. Of particular benefit is the ability of online tutorials to deliver information literacy instruction to students not physically present on campus. A survey of library and information science…

University at Buffalo undergraduate students are required to complete a non-credit-bearing information competency assessment prior to graduation, preferably within their first year of study. Called the "Library Skills Workbook," this assessment has evolved from a short, print-based quiz into a sophisticated, multi-module tutorial and…

The society relies on institutions of higher education to produce a literate workforce; one that is able to function in a dynamic, technological, information-overload environment. In support of this new thrust, most universities have incorporated the use of new media and ICTs in the teaching learning process resulting in a multi-modal approach…

Teens are impatient and unsophisticated online researchers who are often limited by their poor reading skills. Because they are attracted to clean and simple Web interfaces, they often turn to Google--and now Wikipedia--to help meet their research needs. The Google Game, co-authored by this author, teaches kids that there is a well-thought-out…

Information literacy instruction programs for graduate students can be challenging to develop. One solution is to develop non-course-based, non-mandatory library instruction programs, in order to meet the information literacy needs of as many graduate students as possible. This was the approach taken by the Taylor Library at the University of…

A broadened library and media center orientation program was developed to include those parts of the academic community often neglected by traditional programs of library instruction. Focusing on the perceived need and political advantages of including administrators and support staff as well as "invisible" faculty in library instruction, library…

Twenty-one scholarly papers and fifteen abstracts comprise the content of the tenth annual Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The peer-reviewed proceedings, authored by academic librarians and presented at the symposium, portray the contemporary and future face of…

A three-year study at the University of Alabama compared a traditional lecture method for teaching library research skills with a course-integrated, computer-enhanced approach by assessing each method's impact on the quality of bibliographies from engineering students' term papers. In four of the five semesters, no significant differences were…

Describes an approach to teaching general and subject reference to students early in their academic life. Includes a bibliography of 20 guides. (JB)

THE PURPOSES OF THIS STUDY WERE (1) TO IDENTIFY RESEARCH PROBLEMS IN SCHOOL LIBRARIANSHIP, (2) TO INDICATE THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEMS AND NEEDS IDENTIFIED, AND (3) TO SEARCH FOR AND COMMENT UPON EXISTING RESEARCH IN THE FIELD. OPINIONS ON THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH NEEDS AND PROBLEMS WERE GATHERED THROUGH QUESTIONNAIRES SENT…

Analyzes the citations in 187 articles on bibliographic instruction published in library science journals to determine the extent to which authors cited sources from library and information science as compared to sources from traditional subject disciplines. The results suggest an insularity, not only from other subject disciplines, but from the…

Describes some well-known theories and concepts of student motivation and how they relate to library and information skills instruction. Illustrations of the integration and application of motivation models to library and information skills instruction are given, and some relevant areas for future research on motivation in this context are…