Describes focus-group activities designed to generate information for use in decision making about core and elective courses in a library and information science (LIS) curriculum. Discusses how focus-group activity fits with LIS program review. Also includes questions asked and responses; and feeding opinions into a decision apparatus. (AEF)

Discusses the need to motivate students to make information literacy programs successful and demonstrates how a middle school library media specialist used Small and Arnone's Motivation Overlay for Information Skills Instruction to build a set of customized toolkits to improve student research that includes the Big6[TM] approach to library and…

Students in a creative writing class at McLean High School (Virginia) were asked to write an original piece of spy fiction. A four-way collaboration model, which utilized the strengths and expertise of a teacher, library media specialist, business partner (the technology division of the CIA), and vendor, provided students with unusual learning…

The executive director of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) and the president of the Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) answer questions about outsourcing information services. Relevant policy, vendor-client relationships, managerial considerations, and effects on libraries are discussed. Two sidebars offer 19…

Presents a model instructional session that was prepared and taught by librarians to introduce college students, faculty, and staff to the Internet by teaching them how to join listservs and topic-centered discussion groups. Describes the sessions' audience, learning objectives, facility, and course design. Presents a checklist for preparing an…

Describes a study that examined novice online searchers in an academic library as they used a full-text magazine article database on DIALOG. Purposes and motivations for using the database are discussed; affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor search behaviors are examined; and satisfaction with the results are considered. (LRW)

While college libraries embrace new technologies to provide access to a broader range of information, they must also cope with high costs, both financial and legal. In the print medium, access and distribution are governed by copyright laws; in the electronic media, they are dependent on the technology available to the library and on terms of…

Plans to upgrade the nation's telecommunication infrastructure should include provisions for expanding public and affordable educational services. Suggests a "Corporation for Public Telecommunications," modeled after the "Corporation for Public Broadcasting," that could help provide services that would benefit education, health care, social…

Describes the development of a computer-supported cooperative problem-solving environment designed to help librarians and remote access users work together in performing an online search. Results of a study of graduate students indicate that groups using the computer demonstrated more effective skills than those performing the same tasks face to…

Explores the utility of the intersection of genre theory and cognitive psychology in providing a meaningful framework for analysis and design purposes. Reports results of research into the elements of genre that influence users of digital documents and provides examples of the usefulness of this analysis in Web-based environments. (Author/AEF)

Examines the information-seeking behavior of academics in South Africa, presenting a survey conducted at the University of Zululand. Presents results in 9 tables in terms of: rank and position; information resources used; how knowledge of existence of information sources is gained; generation of professional ideas; why academics seek information;…

Investigates criteria correlated with the promotion of public librarians based on questionnaire responses from 90 public librarians. Compares the placement and promotion rates for white librarians and librarians of color, as well as for males and females, and discusses further research needs, plateauing, continuing education, and internships. (LRW)

Presents a methodology for analyzing patterns of usage of a Web-based library catalog and evaluates the methodology with data collected from the transaction logs of the Web interface version of the University of California's Melvyl Systemwide Library Catalog. Results revealed major differences in usage (number of searches, search time, number of…

Provides a comparative overview of manpower development and training for library and information services (LIS) in Africa. Surveys and explores the curricula, programs, accreditation, resources, fieldwork, continuing education, trainees and trainers, and problems, and a list of LIS education institutions in Africa is appended. (Author/LRW)

Identified factors that motivated different types of Canadian high school students in different content areas to complete assigned research projects successfully. Preliminary findings identified access to information, task perception and understanding, the research purpose, and time as factors that encouraged students to complete their…