Patrons' information consumption behaviors of print materials are influenced by their content and tangible characteristics. This quantitative study incorporates several content-based factors widely adopted in collection management practices as well as two physical dimension-related factors, including book size and number of pages, and applies a…

This paper reports the findings of a survey administered to a large academic university student population, assessing students' self-reported motivations, difficulties, and methods used in finding and using financial information. Results discussed include information types and sources students consult for financial information. The survey also…

While many studies have been conducted under the auspices of calculating academic library value, there are no large-scale studies into the perceptions that college or university provosts have of library value, nor are there studies into how provosts prefer library value data to be communicated. This study addresses that gap through a national…

Recent changes in Canadian copyright law have prompted Canada's educational institutions to reexamine their need for a blanket copying license. Users' rights under the amended Copyright Act now include fair dealing for purposes of education, and the Supreme Court has established that copying short excerpts for classroom use can qualify as fair…

The objective of this qualitative study was to identify and explain challenges encountered by academic librarians when trying to incorporate evidence into their practice. The findings resulted in the identification of five main determinants that act as either obstacles or enablers of evidence use. The identification of these determinants provide…

This study uses three cohorts of first-time, full-time undergraduate students (N = 8,652) at a large, metropolitan, public research university to examine the impact of student use of three library resources (workstations, study rooms, and research clinics) on academic performance. To deal with self-selection bias and estimate this impact more…

Discusses how four historical discontinuities (time and space, mind and body, real and virtual, and humans and technology) relate to new ways of being and thinking about the future of librarians and libraries. Topics include computers and books; entertainment industry growth; information uses; global economy effects; and future library…

Discusses the growing diversity of college students; considers how academic libraries can meet their needs; and describes a study conducted at San Jose State University. This study investigated how students from diverse ethnic groups discover, select, and use information and the impact their cultural and educational backgrounds have on…

Describes a study conducted at the University of Oklahoma that assessed information-seeking, evaluating, and usage abilities before, during and after an upper-level science course. Explains the bibliographic instruction offered during class, and proposes a model for incorporating information literacy into upper-level science courses and an…

Describes a study that investigated whether library instruction could impact undergraduate business students' attitudes and uses of three information formats: print materials, library databases, and Web resources. Results indicate that after library instruction, student held more favorable attitudes toward print resources and used them more than…

Reports on findings from a citation analysis of publications of university molecular-biology faculty that examined materials cited in published articles to determine the nature of information used in their research. Ranked lists of cited journals provide implications for library services, collection development, and the potential for electronic…

This study assessed the impact of a course on information resources for engineers at the University of Michigan. Questionnaires were sent to 60 students who had taken the class and 60 who had not. Results indicated that students who had taken the course identified more resources, rated college and public libraries higher, and spent more time…

Reports on findings from a survey exploring the information literacy of physical science graduate students. Describes the students' perceptions of the physical and psychological components that enhance or detract from their ability to find, appraise, and use information and how they feel during the various stages of an information search.…