The link between classrooms and the library is emphasized, and cooperation between librarians and instructors in developing library instructional programs is advocated. A context for academic library instruction is developed by examining its history. The philosophical rationale for library instruction is generally traced to the lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1840s. The concepts of librarian as educator and educator as librarian developed in parallel in American educational history, with increasing demands on the librarian for instruction as the complexity of information resources has increased. The term "bibliographic instruction" had come into common parlance by the 1970s, and job descriptions and announcements began to refer to such instruction. In the current age of technological advancement, instruction is recognized as a library essential. What is actually taught is examined, with a look at the theoretical basis of library instruction. Looking at current trends in library instruction makes it clear that any approach to instruction is by necessity embedded in the subject field. Library instruction is inextricably linked to the classroom. Ways in which librarians can strengthen this link are discussed. Librarians must convince the teaching faculty that they are also serious educators, and to this goal they must increase their instructional skills. (Contains 24 references.) (SLD)