School library and youth services professionals must develop and display a strong sense of cultural competence to effectively serve their patrons. Cultural competence is defined here as one's ability to understand the needs of populations different from their own. This paper reports on the perceptions of school library and youth services students…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

This research investigated the importance of user-library trust in ensuring vital freedom of inquiry in academic libraries, exploring its strength through comparison with attitudes towards the National Identity Card Scheme (NICS) within the various libraries of a large UK university. An online survey of students and interviews with librarians…

This project studies the use of multi-modal media objects in an online information literacy class. One hundred sixty-two undergraduate students answered seven surveys. Significant relationships are found among computer skills, teaching materials, communication tools and learning experience. Multi-modal media objects and communication tools are…

This article reports on selected results of a comprehensive survey of children's reading in England, carried out online in 2005 by the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature at Roehampton University. With 4182 responses from children living in England aged from 4 to 16 years, the survey is a follow-up to a similar study completed in…

This paper reports on a study of the development of information searching expertise by 12 postgraduate research students. Six of the students were studying education, and six were studying engineering. The paper focuses on the students' perception of the importance of searching skills and the growth of their knowledge with these skills as they…

In spring 2005, a task force of Oregon State University librarians investigated whether undergraduates would gravitate toward subject portals tentatively named "virtual college libraries." A literature review and Web site inventory shaped our definition of a virtual college library. A preliminary needs assessment consisting of an online…

Tested the hypothesis that increasing library services would increase returns of a questionnaire generated by that library. Students and faculty were surveyed before and after new services were offered at Wharton School. Results suggest source of sponsorship should be related to user group to be surveyed to maximize return rate. (CDD)

Discusses results of survey of senior high school student attitudes toward reading for pleasure and suggests ways in which librarians, working with students, teachers, and parents, can integrate pleasure reading into curriculum and home; i.e., provide appealing materials, recommended bibliographies, networks for sharing information about books,…

The Reference Department at the University of Colorado at Boulder provides a research consultation service to undergraduates enrolled in the mandatory introductory writing course. The Research Center is staffed by graduate students trained in providing reference assistance. Librarians in the Reference Department administered a patron satisfaction…

Discusses the theoretical foundations of the library media center in education and summarizes the results of a survey of secondary teachers and students at six francophone comprehensive high schools in the Montreal area that examined their use of and attitudes toward the library. Topics for further research are suggested. (CLB)

Describes a survey of high school students and teachers which examined the accessibility of school library resources and services. Discussion focuses on student attitudes and perceptions and the variables that affect them, including school and library rules, inadequate collections, personality of the media specialist, teaching styles, and teenage…

Reports on study examining effect of high school media program audiovisual components on student attitudes and behaviors at 15 public high schools in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Discussion covers service areas, student attitudes and media center use, correlation between audiovisual-related services and student responses, and media center audiovisual…

This 12-article theme section addresses public relations (PR) in junior and senior high school libraries. Topics covered include effective PR events, library advisory board open to students, library patron questionnaire, newsletters, communicating with administrators, marketing ideas, Library People (a junior high school club), and promotion based…

In the fall of 1990, the Computer Services Section of the Department of Public Instruction in North Carolina began a project to study how the use of an online catalog in the media center would influence student academic achievement and provide a vehicle for students to gain the skills needed to access information. For a year, the media…