Several core competencies related to information literacy have been identified by the Association of College and Research Libraries. Students must learn to gather relevant information and communicate their findings effectively. The collaborative activity described here, which could easily be adapted for other disciplines, introduces first-semester…

Middle school is a time of many changes for young adolescents. They are "searching for individual identity, struggling with society's norms, and grappling with moral issues." They are changing and maturing physically, cognitively, socially, and psychologically as they develop their identities; establish, maintain, and end friendships and social…

This article reports the results of the third and final phase of a two-year research study on the impact of New York State's school libraries on student achievement and motivation. Results of phase I and phase II are briefly reviewed to provide the context for phase III methods and findings. Phase III comprised (1) qualitative research that…

The GlobaLIS Project intends to attain the globalization of Japanese library and information science (LIS) professional education by defining the requirements for internationally transparent and harmonized educational programs for LIS professionals. We asked three research questions in a stepwise manner: (1) What are the basic requirements for…

This report presents selected findings from the school library media center data files of the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). SASS is a nationally representative sample survey of public, private, and Bureau of Indian Education-funded (BIE) K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The public…

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is committed to bringing together museums and libraries across the country for conversations dedicated to developing a better understanding of the roles of libraries and museums as providers of public service to communities. The Future of Libraries and Museums in the 21st Century Planning…

The effectiveness of simultaneous and delayed video modeling when used by three middle-school students with moderate intellectual disabilities was examined. Alternating between modeling systems, students were taught to use the public library computer to locate specific book call numbers and use the Dewey Decimal Classification System to locate…

A report of findings from 2,318 respondents to a survey carried out among college students on six campuses distributed across the U.S. in the spring of 2009, as part of Project Information Literacy. Respondents, while curious in the beginning stages of research, employed a consistent and predictable research strategy for finding information,…

Preservice school library media specialists will implement the AASL Standards for the "21st Century Learner" in their new roles. Drafted in 2007, the Standards reflect principles which school library media specialist must impart to learners to prepare them to be knowledge consumers, producers, and communicators in global environments.…

A discussion of a university library's use of Web conferencing (real-time synchronous instruction) which addresses the questions (1) Is Web conferencing a viable option for distance students in online only classrooms? (2) Do faculty and students benefit from this type of instruction? Four different scenarios are presented with assessment results…

Today's academic librarian is frequently called upon to function as a subject specialist, with or without advanced degrees in other disciplines. One method of monitoring trends within a given field is to study its literature; another is to attend conferences in the discipline. Discipline-specific conference attendance by academic librarians…

The study examined the extent of cross-disciplinarity in nanotechnology and transportation engineering research. Researchers in these two fields were determined from the web sites of the U.S. News and World Report top 100 schools in civil engineering and materials science. Web of Science searches for 2006 and 2007 articles were obtained and the…

The library literature contains many discussions on problem-based learning as a means of engaging students in instruction and promoting information literacy. A related but relatively unexplored opportunity is available through client-based projects. Using examples from the business education literature, library literature, and the author's…

A "slow pedagogy of place" in (environmental/outdoor) education has been enacted by the two authors over the past three years in a third year undergraduate semester-long unit named Experiencing the Australian Landscape. An integrated practical and theoretical, de- and reconstruction of fast pedagogies is now needed, we believe, if…

The READ Scale (Reference Effort Assessment Data) is a six-point scale tool for recording qualitative statistics by placing an emphasis on recording effort, knowledge, skills, and teaching used by staff during a reference transaction. Institutional research grants enabled the authors to conduct a national study of the READ Scale at 14 diverse…