This discussion presented at the 1987 convention of the Catholic Library Association traces the concept of library instruction from the early 1900's to the present, and discusses its place in modern society in terms of the economic, educational, and professional benefits involved. (Author/EM)

Traces selected instances of bibliographic instruction from the mid-17th to the end of the 19th century and puts them into a political context from a Communist viewpoint. Libraries are shown to be part of the class struggle, and to exist by order of and as enablers of the state. (Author/EM)

This paper presents a variety of attempts at evaluation and deals with evaluating the need for library use instruction; user needs in library use knowledge; examples of evaluation studies; evaluation of formal bibliographic skill courses; and, creation of evaluation questionnaries with examples. (5 references) (Author/NH)

How to effectively teach students one of the most important skills they can learn during their college years--how to use a library (any library) to investigate a subject independently--is the concern of this article. (Author/NH)

Instruction in use of the library at the elementary and secondary levels needs to be improved. (9 references) (SJ)

The reference librarians found that the instruction program has stimulated more questions that indicate, not only a new awareness of need, but also at least a basic knowledge of what to ask. (6 references) (Author)

Outlines the history of librarian participation in the teaching/learning process and reviews some institutional programs in which the library has been made the center of instruction. (FM)

Guidelines are offered to encourage cooperation between librarians and adult educators. (AP)

Examines the use of humor in library instruction, highlighting sources of humor (self, others, everyday life, unpleasant situations, travel), putting humor into practice, early demonstration of classroom humor, and pitfalls (demeaning and forgetting the audience). (PEN)

The author, as a library media specialist, admitted that she needed more study on library organization despite three years of teaching Dewey to her elementary students. To be more accurate, she realized she needed a clearer understanding of what Mr. Melvil Dewey had in mind when he devised his plan for organizing books and information in the…

In this paper, the author discusses various articles that offer practical programs, as well as detailed analysis of data, highlighting the breadth and depth of librarians' literature. These are: (1) Albitz, R. S. (2007). "The what and who of information literacy and critical thinking in higher education." "Portal: Libraries and the Academy, 7(1),…

Can we use the methods of Web usability testing to learn about library instruction? This article is among the first in the field trying to establish a link between usability and instruction. The author discusses useful insights that Web usability can bring to our pedagogy as well as to the efficiency of library instruction. The result of a Web…

This article provides a brief history of the development of library subject guides (often referred to as pathfinders) from the late 1800s to the present. During this period, subject guides have changed both their focus and format. The needs of academic institutions at the turn of the 20th century were very different than they are today, and…

Many libraries offer for-credit courses that intend to foster information literacy. These courses will be strengthened if the librarian as instructor has a familiarity with learning theory. This article suggests that Robert Gagne's "Nine Events of Instruction," based on information processing theory, can provide support to bibliographic…

There has been much talk about libraries, including public libraries, being uniquely positioned to act as key agents for developing the critical skill of information literacy in their communities. Yet there is a notable lack of literature addressing information literacy and the public library, especially when compared to the volume of material on…