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…

This article reports the results of a survey that targeted reference and instruction librarians who work at libraries that are members of the Asso- ciation of Research Libraries (ARL). Respondents were asked to indicate whether or not they teach students to use the one-box tool, and why or why not. Based on the responses of the 352 librarians who…

In summer 2008, a small group of Santa Clara University librarians were charged with exploring ways of making online library research guides more user friendly and interactive. In order to know how to enhance our guides, we first asked the question, "What makes a research guide useful?" What follows is a detailed process of discovery.…

The authors implemented a survey of faculty attitudes toward library research instruction that is closely related to two previously published surveys. After reviewing their results, the authors raise questions about the significance of some of the results of all three surveys.

Academic and research libraries have been increasing their efforts for a number of years to demonstrate their contributions to student learning outcomes in support of the institutional educational mission. Whether through one-shot instruction or credited classes, libraries invest a great deal of time and effort in instructional programs. A key…

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…

Accreditation is critical to the viability of institutions of higher education. Each of the six regional groups that accredit two- and four-year institutions has standards specifically addressing online or distance learning. In general, these standards require institutions to show that distance learners have adequate access to appropriate library…

This paper describes the process whereby a university library investigated the value of its subject guides to its users. A literature review and surveys of library staff, library users and other libraries were carried out. Existing library subject guides and those of other higher education libraries were evaluated. The project team reported…

Perhaps the most important finding of this review of research in user behaviour is that it has yet to be demonstrated that the use of lbiraries has any definite influence on anything else. (111 references) (Author/NH)

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…

Discusses academic library instruction and describes a study using the IDNA (Instructional Development Needs Assessment) survey where librarians at Penn State rated teaching tasks based on their assessment of task difficulty, importance in the learning process, and frequency of performance. Produced a prioritized list of instructional development…

Contemporary undergraduates in the biological sciences have unprecedented access to scientific information. Although many of these students may be savvy technologists, studies from the field of library and information science consistently show that undergraduates often struggle to locate, evaluate, and use high-quality, reputable sources of…

This report describes a research project designed to improve the University of Wisconsin-Stout (UW-S) Library Learning Center services to students with learning disabilities. Three groups were surveyed to gather the information needed to improve services. Learning disabled students at the UW-S campus were asked to identify problems encountered in…

Describes a study conducted at the C. W. Post Campus of Long Island University (New York) that measured librarians' opinions of and attitudes toward a self-paced bibliographic instruction workbook. Survey results were compared for librarians who used the self-paced approach and those who followed a traditional approach. (Contains six references.)…