Experience at the reference desk motivated this librarian to redesign a library skills course to meet the basic and practical needs of undergraduates. Activity-based rather than conceptual, this "crash library survival course" resulted in increased student success and enthusiasm. (EA)

Proposes guidelines to promote student-oriented bibliographic instruction programs on college campuses. Urges faculty, librarians, and professional associations to collaborate to develop materials to help students use library resources effectively. Includes guidelines for locating known sources, conducting a literature search, making effective use…

Describes a library research skills course taught at the University of California at Santa Barbara with team teaching. Revision of a previous course is explained; course design is described; class assignments are outlined; an evaluation of the first year is discussed; and the future of the course is considered. (LRW)

Describes how to use storytelling in elementary education to teach the Big6 research process. Strategies for implementation are presented, including modifying a story, writing a story based on the curriculum connection, and using puppets. (LRW)

Discusses an activity called "The Dating Game" that is based on Willa Cather's "My Antonia." Explains that students determine the year Jim Burden, one of the main characters, arrived in Nebraska, using historical events in the novel. Reports students learn about life in the plains and national events and trends in the 1880s.…

This study evaluated changes in college students' expectations following library instruction and how they were related to overall, long-term satisfaction with the library. Satisfaction appeared to be related to student perceptions of information accessibility, staff competence and helpfulness, computer usefulness and ease of use, and skill level…

Describes a study that compared performance differences (perceived, actual, and temporal) for a strategic business information acquisition experimental task when subjects used a library versus using the Internet. It was found that task performance decreased and time to completion increased when using the Internet. (Author/LRW)

Interviews with 55 of 260 adults who completed Access courses and progressed to British universities revealed areas in which they felt the courses left them underprepared: conducting library research, using information technology and the Internet, writing essays, and practicing for exams. They would have preferred a grading system similar to that…

Video programming can provide the Knowledge Connection between students and effective information-skills instruction. Commercially produced video programs for library/information-skills instruction are convenient and easy to use, with no scripts to write, rehearse, or produce. Locally produced videos can be tailored to fit a specific library…

Describes a program at Eastern Washington University that integrates library skills as a component of the English composition program, and is part of a computer-literacy program stemming from a general-education curriculum reform. Discusses program development and design, assessment of student learning, and effectiveness of the program. (LRW)

Through use of two prepared surveys, Power Reader and Power Learner (from the Information Power Action Research Project by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Research and Statistics Committee), high school students can track their library skill growth during a research project and report and reflect on their reading…

Transfer students represent an increasingly important group in four-year schools. To date, only limited information on the research abilities and library needs of this group has been reported. A survey of information needs and skills of incoming transfer students at Western Washington University (WWU) showed that while many reported some…

Difficult to teach and learn, information literacy is a set of skills and knowledge that must be mastered through practice. Advances in the learning sciences reveal that students are not receptacles for wisdom deposits. They decide what they will learn. Problem-based learning exploits that insight. It calls for faculty/librarian collaborations.…

In this article, the author reviews his unsuccessful and successful strategies for teaching research and analytical skills, which illustrate changes in his assumptions about and attitude toward teaching. Older and perhaps wiser as well, the author no longer assumes that students already know how to do what teachers expect them to be able to do by…

Contemporary undergraduates in the biological sciences have unprecedented access to scientific information. Although many of these students may be savvy technologists, studies from the field of library and information science consistently show that undergraduates often struggle to locate, evaluate, and use high-quality, reputable sources of…