"Special Libraries, Special Challenges" is a column dedicated to exploring the unique public services challenges that arise in libraries that specialize in a particular subject, such as law, medicine, business, and so forth. In each column, the author will discuss public service dilemmas and opportunities that arise in special libraries.…

The number of history reference works has proliferated at a tremendous rate in the past few decades. The effective use of these tools is one of the most important research skills of the historian. Bibliographies should be understood as more than just books that list books. The design and workings of these tools are meant to influence search…

Online information services (e.g., DIALOG, ORBIT) and computer databases (e.g., Social Sciences Citation Index, Historical Abstracts) that historians can use in their historical research are discussed. The important differences among representative databases are described. (RM)

Presents a simple four-step method bibliographic instruction librarians can use to teach students how to design an effective search strategy. Using the image of a clock face, students learn how to make explicit connections among the search statement, types of library materials, and access tools in formulating a research plan. (22 references)…

Describes a research seminar required of graduate students at Queens College which focuses on educational research, statistical analysis, and library search skills. Topics covered include the use of bibliographies and review of research, periodical indexes and abstracts, and online databases. (CLB)

Designed as an instructional guide to help students develop library skills for sociological research, this workbook which accompanies an introductory college level sociology course is divided into ten chapters. Chapter one covers the author-title catalog; the Library of Congress classification system; card catalog filing rules; the subject…

Information literacy is an set of acquired skills and strategies which encompass the abilities to recognize a need for information, to retrieve the required information, and to evaluate and utilize it effectively. Teaching students how to structure, acquire, analyze, and synthesize information must start much earlier than at the post-secondary…

This directory lists persons responsible for and materials produced for library instruction at 41 colleges, universities, and community colleges in Pennsylvania. Entries are arranged alphabetically by institution. Each entry provides the library name and address; the name of the contact person for library instruction and his/her telephone number;…

Outlines a project designed to inform students about library reference sources essential to an introductory course in comparative politics. Suggests how the project can incorporate current topics. Stresses the importance of student familiarity with periodical guides, newspaper indexes, standard biographical sources, and yearbooks. (CH)

Intended for use by undergraduate students taking a course in western civilization at Chicago State University, this workbook discusses basic library information resources for history students and introduces a search strategy useful in gathering materials for research papers. It is noted that the workbook is the product of cooperation between…

This paper considers the "why" and "how" of library research as it relates to instruction in a foreign language class. The search for cultural information is viewed as a human and a technical problem. The paper includes steps for guiding student research, discussion of different inquiry contexts, and techniques for literature search. The most…

This paper describes the rationale behind and the development and utilization of a bibliographic instruction course which incorporates formal abstract reasoning skills. The limitations of the search strategy technique of bibliographic instruction are discussed as well as the fact that many college students have not developed sophisticated…

In this pilot study, a group of 41 "gifted and talented" juniors in high school English and social sciences classes used the menu-driven Wilsearch software to gather leads to information sources in order to complete their first major term paper. The study demonstrates that: (1) students had little difficulty in using the menu-driven…