In this article, the authors discuss how the University of Rochester's two-year ethnographic study reveals what students do on campus and how the library fits in. Under Nancy Fried Foster's guidance, teams of librarians and staff conducted a two-year investigation. The goal: to improve the libraries' reference services, facilities, and web pages…

Vibiana Bowman enjoys spending time with young adults--which is just as well since she has a few of her own, has done her time as scout leader, and now teaches proper research methods to students at Rutgers University--Camden. She first discovered how much this instruction was needed when she noticed her own kids cutting and pasting copy from the…

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) offers student workshops that range from Cool New Web Stuff (what is on the web that can help make research or just plain life easier) and How To Use Google Scholar. These workshops are brilliant fodder for podcasting. In fact, the initial idea for its podcast project came from a student plagiarism…

Describes a program at the State University of New York College of Agriculture and Technology at Morrisville (SUNY-Morrisville) developed with IBM called ThinkPad University that integrates computers into the teaching and learning environment. Explains a partnership with Raytheon that provides wireless connectivity; and discusses changes in…

Considers the new roles of librarians that have evolved from changes in technology. Discusses new job titles for librarians; changes in bibliographic instruction; training the trainers; virtual branch libraries; teamwork and collaboration; changes in organizational structures; and outsourcing options. (LRW)

Describes the production of a library instruction videotape for college freshmen by the Ohio State University Library System. Funding, script writing, production and equipment, acting personnel, planning and rehearsal, taping and editing, artistic freedom, and distribution are included. (EJS)

Describes the strategies used by the Catalog Instruction Group at the university library which, in less than two months, managed to reverse negative staff attitudes and reach large numbers of library users with information about the combined card and microfiche catalog system. (RAA)

Discussion of the need for information literacy skills in higher education focuses on the development of a Web-based tutorial by the University of Texas at Austin library that can be integrated into first-year courses. Describes TILT (Texas Information Literacy Tutorial) and explains how other libraries can adapt it for their own use. (LRW)

Jennifer Duvernay, a science reference librarian at Arizona State University (ASU), feels it is very important to make sure that the information shopping experience is completely satisfying. "I'd like our students to choose to come to us because they have good experiences with us, trust us, and like us, despite [the availability of] plenty of…

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)

Discusses reference-use statistics in academic libraries. Highlights include new functions and resources, limits of traditional counting methods, ranking the sources, the Internet's impact on instruction, computer-assisted versus one-on-one instruction, and creative solutions to reference services. (AEF)

In this article, the author discusses teaching library and information science (LIS) students about online searching. She discusses the many changes that have taken place over the years in terms of searching and also in terms of the role of the librarian in helping with searches. The author also mentions that although searching now has become a…

Discussion of academic library instruction focuses on helping users learn online resources. Topics include science instruction; integrating short, subject-specific online instruction into the classroom; virtual tours; long-term approaches; integrating online modules into undergraduate courses; corporate librarians' efforts; and vendors' Web-based…

Discusses the Benton Foundation's report on the public's opinions of library leaders' visions for the future. Highlights include public libraries in the digital age; the competitive information environment; education about and access to information; roles of the public library; changing demographics; importance to minorities; collaboration with…

Describes chat reference service to elementary and secondary school students at Baltimore County Public Library and Harford County Public Library (Maryland). Discusses funding; developing an audience and promoting the service; appropriate software; hours of service; technical issues; meeting student needs; relationships to curriculum; and teaching…