Hampshire College offers a vigorous bibliographic instruction program as a principal means for introducing undergraduate students to library use. Its major purpose is to teach library research strategies: how to proceed from an idea to a useful bibliography and acquire the needed materials. (Author/MSE)

The editors of School Library Media Activities Monthly discuss the debate between advocates of a strong instructional development or design role for library media specialists and advocates of strong library media skills programs. They suggest that well-planned and interesting lessons can incorporate both library media and classroom objectives. (EM)

This essay offers suggestions to make online public access catalogs (OPACs) less idiosyncratic and more usable. Discussion covers qualitative difference between online catalog and predecessors, challenge of debunking assumptions, skills for success, maintaining an instructional perspective, catalog development for the people by the people, and the…

Three concepts that emerged from qualitative study exploring feelings of college students about using libraries for research--students generally feel that their library-use skills are inadequate; inadequacy is shameful and should be hidden; inadequacy would be revealed by asking questions--led to formulation of a grounded theory of library…

Discussion of techniques of response to the reference query from public librarian's point-of-view covers patron's need-motivation; structuring library instruction program (teaching skills related to encyclopedia use, library instruction on special subjects-health); and assisting patron in gathering materials on-site and through use of…

Identifies six successive stages in model of the library research process developed from the findings of study of high school seniors using library for two assigned research papers: initiating research assignment, selecting topic, exploring information, forming focus, collecting information, preparing to present. Assessment of the research process…

Describes a three-week library assignment--designed to acquaint freshman students with a large library and with research techniques--that was focused on the topic of censorship. (EL)

Colleges and universities have much to gain from developing a teaching library, whose core component is a comprehensive bibliographic instruction program. The library's active involvement in academic programs leads to improved student skills and faculty productivity, and thus to the institution's educational quality and faculty and student…

This paper focuses on critical factors regarding the effectiveness of the course-related or course-integrated mode of bibliographic instruction: administrative problems (cost in time and personnel, coordination and scheduling materials development); critical role of faculty; consistency of instruction; transference of library knowledge from one…

Results of survey measuring university faculty attitudes toward bibliographic instruction indicated that: frequency of respondent's library use related positively to decision to offer bibliographic instruction and its delivery by librarians; part-time faculty were less aware of library services than full-time faculty; 29 percent of faculty…

The effect of technological change on library users and its implication for library instruction are examined; two courses which provide library instruction for students enrolled in graduate methods history courses are described; and an annotated bibliography of materials which can be used in a course in bibliographic instruction is provided. (RM)

This study examined the relationship between reading comprehension and reading vocabulary and five dimensions of library anxiety (i.e., barriers with staff, affective barriers, comfort with the library, knowledge of the library, and mechanical barriers). Participants were 45 African-American graduate students from various disciplines who were…

Central Washington University (CWU) Library has set up an interactive web tutorial, named CWUILT (CWU Information Literacy Tutorial), to help students develop the skills needed to select and locate appropriate information for research projects. CWUILT contains three modules, with a quiz at the end of each module. It takes about 90 minutes to…

Changes in pedagogy, technology, and resources have forced tremendous change in library instruction in the United States over the past few years. One educational factor has changed even more than learning theory or the technology we use to apply and explore it, and that factor is the characteristics of our user populations. Increasing diversity in…

This paper describes the changing state of the distance education environment, characteristics of distance students in higher education and their problems in using library resources and services. Information literacy instruction as the key role of distance education librarians is described based on a case study on Sukhothai Thammathirat Open…