Although most college faculty are aware of the problems that students encounter when conducting research using the Internet, fewer recognize why their students lack success when using the electronic databases and indexes to which the institution's library subscribes. In this article, I point to teachers' assumptions about their students' "computer literacy," as well as to the students' lack of hands-on experience in actual libraries, as potential sources of the problem. I provide practical, detailed suggestions, which are useful across disciplines, for overcoming these obstacles.