If there's one thing you learn today, let it be this: keywords. Not specific keywords but the idea of them. If you whisper the correct keywords into the algorithm, you will achieve relevance. If you don't achieve relevance on the first try (which is super common), imagine you're an academic with a specialization in a super-niche disciplinary area…

Eleven scholarly papers and six abstracts comprise the content of the twenty-fourth annual Brick & Click Libraries Conference, held annually at Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, Missouri. The 2024 paper and abstract titles include:(1) Love it or Leery? Rapid AI Aided Instructional Design for Library Learning (Sean Cordes); (2)…

As the international student population continues to grow, librarians must adjust their instruction to meet the needs of students who are adapting to a new country, culture, and language. This study assesses first-year international students as they engage in the research process through the completion of concept maps that precede database…

Modern composition instructors often use and teach research methods for Internet search engines and electronic databases. It is not their intent to turn back the clock. However, if they can help students connect the world of Internet searches and the university library, they can promote information literacy in its broadest sense by developing…

This announcement outlines a one-year project in the South Hackney School. Funded by the British Library for one year, the project is designed to collect and organize materials relating to community information sources, and to evaluate methods of teaching pupils how to retrieve and use such information in daily problem solving. (Author/JAB)

Identifies problems inherent in using a "live" database search in initial instruction of online users and discusses the advantages of using prerecorded videocassette database searches as produced by University of California Berkeley's School of Library and Information Studies. A videotape explaining use of the online catalog…

Asserts that one of the increasingly critical skills that undergraduates must master is electronic information retrieval. Maintains that sociologists can readily integrate library instruction into undergraduate courses and help develop student awareness of and ability to use the ever-growing body of library resources and information. (CFR)

Examines what occurred when the mental models of library media specialists teaching electronic information literacy database access interconnected in the complex changing environment of a lesson. Discusses changes to the mental models the library media specialists held with respect to the electronic database, role of the library media specialist,…

Stresses the importance of teaching the skills necessary for students to understand computer communications, including microcomputer and remote computer commands; how to get information from human resources through a bulletin board service or information utility; and keyword searching and Boolean logic. (EM)

Presents a model for medical reference source instruction. Focuses on identifying the potential audiences; conducting user and information assessments; creating and delivering models of training; and future goals. Includes a list of Internet healthcare sites. (AEF)

Focuses on using effective instructional analogies, or explicit, nonliteral comparisons between two objectives, or sets of objects, that describes their structural, functional, and causal similarities. Describes the structure of analogies; common analogies to help younger learners become excited about searching for information in the library; and…

An instruction program that covers search tools on the Web should incorporate a user's information need as the basis for teaching these tools. This article lays the theoretical groundwork for such a query-based approach, deriving its argument from the literature published in the early days of databases in libraries. A review of recent literature…

The benefits of cooperative and/or active learning techniques for academic library instruction have been well established in the literature of the field. However, learning about and finding appropriate techniques can be a time-consuming and frustrating task. The following is a listing of cooperative learning and active learning techniques…

Describes an experiment that examined the relationship between successful searching of CD-ROM databases by undergraduate students and various types of instruction provided by the library staff. The findings indicate that the only level of instruction that resulted in a significant difference was a live demonstration of searches. (six references)…

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…