A first-year chemistry course is ideal for introducing students to finding and using scholarly information early in their academic careers. A four-pronged approach (lectures, homework problems, videos, and model solutions) was used to incorporate library research skills into a large lecture-based course. Pre- and post-course surveying demonstrated…

Since the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) unveiled its WorldCat Local library catalog discovery layer in 2008, library instructors have debated how to incorporate this tool into their teaching. WorldCat Local's faceted searching brings both educational benefits and unexpected challenges to the classroom. Instructors frequently hold formal…

This study explores knowledge bases as extension of reference services for distance learners. Through a survey and follow-up interviews with distance learning librarians, this paper discusses their interest in creating and maintaining a knowledge base as a resource for reference services to distance learners. It also investigates their perceptions…

The relatively high use rates and program attendance highlight the public value provided by local libraries at a time of dramatic economic, technology, and demographic change. The Public Libraries in the United States Survey is one important way of examining when, where and how library services are changing to meet those needs. The data, supplied…

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) has a long history of data collection, environmental scanning, and trends analysis. Its most recent work, "Futures Thinking for Academic Librarians," uses a 15-year horizon to look beyond the worries of the current economic cycle and the short-term future in order to anticipate the changing…

This study investigates the extent the Library factors into college choice; impact of recruitment efforts on Library service is also considered. Much is written about college choice, but a literature review reveals little about Library influence. A survey was administered to students who currently attend college, or have in the past, that asked…

This paper draws on the "accidental" results of a UK national survey of school libraries to explore how school librarians can contribute to student pastoral care. Although the survey did not ask specific questions about student social development, responding librarians identified three key aspects of their contribution: support for…

With both budget dollars and buying power shrinking for academic library collections, the selection of materials is a series of crucial choices. With increases in numbers of online programs, how can we determine if what we are buying is in fact what our users need? E-reserves are an increasingly popular way to provide digital copies of course…

New image citation standards need to be developed for college and graduate students to meet visual literacy standards. The "MLA Handbook," 8th edition, and "Chicago Manual of Style," 16th edition, do not adequately clarify how to caption, attribute, and cite images. Other image captioning and citing resources are available, but…

Copyright concerns continue to bedevil K-12 librarians, who are often called upon to act as the copyright officers in public schools. This article describes recent copyright developments of concern to these librarians in three areas: a recent court case involving a university library, pending legislation supported by ALA, and a regulatory update.…

This study examines the kinds of open access scholarly publication or information resources accepted and adopted by federal university libraries in South East Nigeria. The purpose was to determine the factors that affect open access scholarly publication or information resources acceptance and adoption in university libraries. The study adopted…

This article details an open card sort study administered to undergraduate students, graduate students, and librarians at the University of Colorado at Boulder in order to reveal perceptions of library research guides. The study identifies user group preferences for organization and content of research guides, as well as themes emerging from the…

Regular evaluation of archival reference services is essential to ensure that users have appropriate access to the information they need. Archives New Zealand has been measuring customer satisfaction for many years using self-completion questionnaires but recently trialed two new methods of evaluation, using external research companies. One…

This paper examines the evolution and findings of an on-going longitudinal study that is assessing the satisfaction of distance education students with library reference services through the use of a transaction-level survey. The survey's purpose is two-fold: first, it is used to garner valuable input from these students; and second, it also…

The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the political and strategic skills needed by library leaders in today's library environment. The discussion is based on a small scale research project focused on opinions of skills needed by library leaders. The survey involved a questionnaire of librarianship students and library practitioners as well…