While the library is at the center of many campuses physically, it is often an overlooked and underused resource in improving the learning and success of first-year college students. Librarians, classroom faculty, administrators, and higher education researchers come together to explore the potential of the library in shaping the student experience. Chapter authors explore structures and practices for helping students learn to navigate the college library; use the Internet effectively; and find, analyze, and incorporate information into their academic work--a critical foundation for college success. Thirteen case studies present detailed information on current practice from a variety of campus types. Following a foreword (Alan E. Guskin); preface, "Drawing on the Past, in the Present, to Shape the Future of the First-Year Experience in American Higher Education" (John N. Gardner and Andrew K. Koch), and introduction (Larry L. Hardesty), information is presented in four sections. Section 1, Foundations, includes: (1) Recent History and Definition of Information Literacy and Future Directions (Thomas G. Kirk, Jr.); (2) Engaging Students in the First College Year: Why Academic Librarians Matter (George D. Kuh, Polly D. Boruff-Jones, and Amy E. Mark); and (3) How First-Year College Students Use Their Time: Implications for Library and Information Literacy Instruction (Leticia Oseguera). Section 2, Initiatives, includes: (4) Models of Library Instruction for First-Year Students (Debbie Malone and Carol Videon); (5) The Library and First-Year Seminars: In-Depth Analysis of a 2001 National Study (Colleen Boff and Kristin Johnson); (6) Information Literacy and the First-Year Experience in the California State University System (Ilene F. Rockman); (7) Librarians with a First-Year Focus: Exploring an Emerging Position (Colleen Boff, Cheryl Albrecht, and Alison Armstrong); (8) Strategies for Designing Assignments to Support Information Literacy Initiatives (Larry L. Hardesty); and (9) Engaging First-Year Students: Developing Library-Related Cocurricular Activities That Impact and Empower Students (Ellysa Stern Cahoy and Loanne Snavely). Section 3, Connections, includes: (10) Assessing Library Instruction in the First College Year (Robert Fitzpatrick and Randy L. Swing); (11) Research on Student Retention and Implications for Library Involvement (Cindy Pierard and Kathryn Graves); and (12) The Convergence of Information Literacy and the First-Year Experience: Looking to the Future (Larry L. Hardesty). Section 4 includes 13 Campus Case Studies: (1) The Library and the First-Year Experience over Time at Dickinson College (Christine Bombaro and John C. Stachacz); (2) Collaborative Curriculum Building at Millikin University: The Critical Role of Faculty/Library Collaboration (Susan Avery and Nancy DeJoy); (3) Transformations: Library/Faculty Collaboration in First-Year Programs at IUPUI (William A. Orme and Barbara D. Jackson); (4) Librarians as Change Agents: The Evolution of a First-Year Information Fluency Program at a Small Liberal Arts College (Teresa Fishel, Beth Hillemann, and Jean Beccone); (5) Developing a First-Year Information Literacy Program: The Contexts and Challenges of Change (Randall Schroeder and Judith Griffith); (6) Integrating Information Literacy into a Discipline-Specific Course in the First Year: A Case Study of Sociology 101 (Kathy S. Kremer and Karen Shostrom Lehmann); (7) Reducing Library Anxiety through Career Explorations at Eastern Kentucky (Linda Klein); (8) Reducing Library Anxiety Through Career Explorations at Eastern Kentucky (Linda Klein); (9) Emergence/Emergency? The Earlham Libraries and the First-Year Experience (Neal Baker and Thomas G. Kirk, Jr.); (10) Librarians in the Wired Classroom: The Seton Hall University Experience (Mary McAleer Balkun, Beth Bloom, and Marta Mestrovic Deyrup); (11) The Development and Management of the Online Information Literacy Tutorial at the HKUST Library (Sam Chu); (12) Preparing Pathways to Information Literacy: Combining Research Technology, and Core College Competencies for Select First-Year Students (Joan Campbell, Corrine Taylor, and Pattie Orr); and (13) A Common Grading Rubric: Evolution of Library Assignments for an Orientation Course (Janice Hovis and Diane Savoca); Two appendixes follow: (1) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education (Association of College and Research Libraries); and (2) Objectives for Information Literacy Instruction: A Model Statement for Academic Librarians (Association of College and Research Libraries). Contributor information is also included.