Many of our reference interactions are face-to-face at a desk or in our offices. Unfortunately, not all of our students are on campus. Whether a non-traditional student or a traditional undergraduate, more of our patrons are attending online classes or attending satellite campuses with no librarians on site. It's difficult to reach these students,…

Providing library instruction in distance learning environments presents a unique set of challenges for instructional librarians. Innovations in computer-mediated communication and advances in cognitive science research provide the opportunity for designing library instruction that meets a variety of student information seeking needs. Using a…

This case study presents a cocurricular initiative at the Margery Somers Foster Center at Rutgers University Libraries in New Brunswick, NJ. The initiative resulted in an interview workshop for the course Knowledge and Power, a "mission course" of the Douglass Residential College. This discussion-based workshop uses visual and multimedia…

Librarians designed a biology tutorial not only to address an assignment, but also to make tutorials more accessible to students with various learning styles. The Science Librarian created the content by using aspects of the Information Literacy Standards for Science and Technology/Engineering, an informal survey of biology faculty, and…

For undergraduate students to achieve science literacy, they must first develop information literacy skils. These skills align with Information Literacy Standards and include determining appropriate databases, distinguishing among resource types, and citing resources ethically. To effectively improve information literacy and science literacy, we…

The purpose of this work is to examine Wikipedia's role as a tool for instruction in website evaluation. Wikipedia's purpose, structural elements and potential failings as an authoritative information source are examined. Also presented are rationales for using Wikipedia as an instructional tool, namely the overwhelming popularity of Wikipedia.…

In this article, the author talks about the school librarian as information specialist. She stresses that the school librarian's information specialist role is more important than ever. She offers her personal toolkit that consists of four strategies in helping and teaching students to use content responsibly.

To better understand faculty attitudes and practices regarding usage of library-specific tools and roles in a university learning management system, log data for a period of three semesters was analyzed. Academic departments with highest rates of usage were identified, and faculty users and nonusers within those departments were surveyed regarding…

Statistical reporting of library instruction (LI) activities has historically focused on measures relevant to face-to-face (F2F) settings. However, newer forms of LI conducted in the online realm may be difficult to count in traditional ways, leading to inaccurate reporting to both internal and external stakeholders. A thorough literature review…

The National Medical Library of Cuba is currently developing an information literacy program to train users in the use of biomedical databases. This paper describes the experience with the course "Cochrane Library: Evidence-Based Medicine," which aims to teach users how to make the best use of this database, as well as the evidence-based…

School librarians should consistently build relationships to foster collaborative work. For the school librarian, collaboration begins with both the business side of the library and personal interactions. True collaborations involve varied partnerships with shared planning and responsibilities. A co-teacher is expected to share in all aspects of…

Thirteen years after being adopted, the Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL's) "Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education" are due for a retrofit. The current "Standards" do not account for the post-Google information landscape in which a blizzard of emerging technologies and unprecedented…

This paper presents a descriptive model of the subject matter taught in courses on expert search in ALA-accredited programs, answering the question: What is taught in formal professional education on search expertise? The model emerged from a grounded content analysis of 44 course descriptions and 16 syllabi, and was validated via a review of…

Community and technical colleges have a long-established tradition of instructing students in library use with the goal of increasing information literacy and life-long learning (Branch & Gilchrist, 1996). This article will briefly summarize that history and discuss the impact the information age has had in altering the ways in which that…

Did you ever wish for an easy-to-maintain tool to create course-level or assignment-level instruction for online or distance students? LibGuides can provide the solution! LibGuides provide a versatile and easy-to-maintain platform for delivering step-by-step, scaffolded tutorials that enhance learning outcomes through chunking, reduced strain on…