This article describes how a first-year learning community combining library, archival, and digital literacies facilitated students' grasp of threshold concepts of academic research and writing. It argues that critical-rhetorical processes and pedagogies can help counteract neoliberal educational trends that interpellate students as consumers…

Librarians in many types of libraries frequently find themselves positioned as instructors in formal and informal educational settings. Librarians can help ensure that learner needs are better defined and addressed by gaining basic competency in instructional design (ID), an intentional process used to create effective, efficient educational and…

In this article, the author recollects her memories reading Constance A. Mellon's article, "Library Anxiety: A Grounded Theory and Its Development," when it appeared in the March 1986 issue of "College & Research Libraries." She was a reference librarian at at DePauw University in Indiana at the time, helping students…

This article explains how the South Piedmont Community College librarians educated faculty members about how they guide student use of the library and how it is advantageous for them to require high-quality resources for student papers. As documented by observations at SPCC and in the library literature, students use the tools they know to find…

Distance educators have special library needs. This article discusses the results of a library needs assessment of distance instructors at the University of Wyoming. Access to resources, use of library instructional services, barriers to distance library use, and perceived gaps in service are all addressed. Follow-up actions, based on survey…

Some of the most enduring, and engaging, questions within academic librarianship are those about students and research skills. The vocabulary employed for discussion has evolved, but essential questions--what skills do students need to be taught, who should teach them, and how?--have persisted from the nineteenth century into the twenty-first.…

Extensive engagement with current academic sources is expected of all psychology undergraduates. Thirty-eight undergraduate psychology students took part in a series of focus group discussions of their information-searching experiences and skills. The majority of students had not been required to engage with any form of information searching while…

The response to the countless forms of information delivery and creation has been the catalyst for the development of the new literacies that are being researched and implemented into teaching by educators around the world. This article will examine information literacy courses being taught at colleges and universities and how the courses…

Stoan's distinction between library skills and research skills based on different philosophies of information seeking suggests the value of training in research methodology for the librarian. Such training could lead to more effective patron consultations, committee/administrative work, and personal research. Thus, a convenience sample of…

This paper examines how library educators can implement Web 2.0 tools in their Information Literacy programs to better prepare students for the rigors of academic research. Additionally, this paper looks at transliteracy and constructivism as the most useful teaching methods in a Web 2.0 classroom and attempts to pinpoint specific educational…

Good libraries are a critical part of any university's research and teaching, whether in physical or digital form. But, as numerous accounts have documented, many African libraries have struggled to maintain good collections in the face of falling budgets, rising purchasing costs, and expanding student numbers. This paper draws on a literature…

Queensland Academy for Health Sciences (QAHS) is a senior secondary high school offering the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP). As part of the Diploma, students are required to complete a referenced research essay of four thousand words. For most, this will be their first experience of such a challenging undertaking.…

Based on the concept of user education, this paper discusses the necessity of user education in library under the circumstance of network, describes the contents and forms of user education and puts forward the problems that should be paid attention to during education. [This paper was supported by scientific research project of Qufu Normal…

To introduce students to library research skills, university faculty often encourage them to attend hour-long presentations offered by the library. This face-to-face introduction to research skills can be disappointing, however, if students do not participate during the session. This article reports on a study that focused on improving student…

Mentoring is widely advocated as an educational experience for academically talented students because mentors may provide stimulation for academic growth and serve as positive role models for students in areas of career interest. This study examined the experiences of 72 talented teenagers attending a university-based summer mentorship program.…