Health professionals frequently do not possess the necessary information-seeking abilities to conduct an effective search in databases and Internet sources. Reference librarians may teach health professionals these information and technology skills through the Big6 information literacy model (Big6). This article aims to address this issue. It also…

Abortion is a highly-charged, emotional topic which often appears in the news, particularly during the confirmation process for a Supreme Court nominee. Community College students continue to ask reference librarians for print resources dealing with this controversial issue. Often we turn to the reliable series "Current Controversies," "At Issue,"…

From popular movies to New York Times bestsellers, organic food is widely acknowledged to be of growing importance. Many community college students are asking: How is organic food different from everything else in the grocery store? What impact does farming have on the environment? How safe is our food? A survey of reference works introduces…

This article examines a cluster of health topics that are frequently selected by students in lower division classes. Topics address issues relating to addictive substances, including alcohol and tobacco, eating disorders, obesity, and dieting. Analysis of the topics examines their interrelationships and organization in the reference literature.…

This paper will examine the learning needs of millennial students, a generation different from any previous generation, so librarians should adjust their teaching methods to accommodate their needs. Should we, as librarians, consider changing our reference services--the way we present instruction and the materials that we order for the library?…

In the course of a weeding project at a small community college library, librarians discovered an unusual nineteenth century literary collection consisting of many obscure titles written by people of color, women and ethnic minorities. Though the materials were not rare, they constituted an interesting and valuable set of materials. These…

Most academic libraries are members of at least one consortium, and many belong to multiple consortia. However, consortia vary widely in the services they offer and in how they are structured. This project, carried out in the fall of 2009, focused on a review of fifteen academic library consortia that: Included two-year colleges, either…

This paper explores the numerous definitions of digital literacy, discusses its relationship to information literacy, and describes applications of digital literacy instruction in institutions of higher education. It also offers opportunities for academic librarians, and especially those in junior and community colleges, to enhance students'…

The purpose of this paper is to examine how physical and mental disabilities are addressed in children's literature. Many authors are able to integrate the issues into their work in a way that enhances the story and benefits the reader. As young readers learn about the issues and struggles faced by children with mental and physical disabilities,…

Community colleges are often venues for flight training programs. Since such programs are often housed off-campus at a local airport, the library may not even be aware of their existence. These programs range from small single courses done in conjunction with a local airport to full-fledged varieties with a fleet of aircraft owned by the college.…

A literature review of articles discussing the information behavior of community college students finds that most of the literature focuses on what libraries and librarians can do to teach community college students information literacy. The articles discuss learning communities, bibliographic instruction, and information technology. Although…

During the Enlightenment of eighteenth-century France, the encyclopedists created a systematic compilation of all human knowledge in order to dispel current disinformation imposed by kings and clergy. The resultant Encyclopedie has been considered the turning point of the Enlightenment, where knowledge became power and the power was made…

In the digital era online tutorials remain especially popular for providing information literacy instruction to undergraduates. This paper provides three approaches for assessing learning from a web-based tutorial. First, a general assessment focuses on patron surveys, usage statistics, and interlibrary loan requests for library-owned materials to…

Beginning in 1994, a series of collection analysis and assessment projects of community college library/LRC collections in Florida has been conducted by the College Center for Library Automation (CCLA). The purpose of the assessments conducted through LINCC, the network for Florida community colleges, was to provide data for improvement of…

Colleges and universities seeking to assess proficiencies in information and communications technology may wish to learn more about new assessment tools developed by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), in collaboration with higher education partners. This article describes the administration of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT)…