Describes a study that compared pretest to posttest differences among three groups of college freshmen: those who took a traditional library tour, those who had no formal library instruction, and those who used a computer assisted instruction (CAI) program. The results indicate that the CAI program was an effective alternative to traditional…

Discusses gradual emergence of reference service in today's liberal arts college libraries through a century of changes in the liberal arts curriculum, in teaching methods, faculty attitudes toward librarians, library facilities, and research tools. The relatively recent acceptance of reference service has obscured difficulties early proponents…