A Hunter College librarian, with public library experience, offered a series of drop-in workshops Saturday afternoons open to all students and questions regarding Web or Windows use in the academic year, 2000-2001. The intention of the workshops was to address the continuous needs of students lacking technological and informational literacy. The success of these workshops led to this investigation of the implications of 21st century technology on non-traditional students from the perspective of bibliographic instruction as well as reference desk service. The perspective is that of the urban educational environment of City University of New York and Hunter College. The histories of open admissions at CUNY and the current efforts to abolish remediation are examined.