Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Why Some Students Continue To Value Individual, Face-To-Face Research Consultations In A Technology-Rich World, Trina J. Magi, Patricia E. Mardeusz

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

For decades, academic librarians have provided individual research consultations for students. There is little information, however, about why students schedule consultations, the kinds of assistance students feel are provided by librarians during consultations, and what students find valuable about face-to-face consultations, even with the availability of online research help. This exploratory, qualitative study of individual research consultations at the University of Vermont gathered students’ views on these questions. The findings will help librarians better understand how individual consultations serve students and what role consultations should play in the mix of reference services offered.

Cultivating The Librarian Within: Effectively Lntegrating Library Lnstruction Into Freshman Composition, Jesse Ulmer, Nancy E. Fawley

Nancy Fawley

It has become common practice for library instruction to be included in lower-level college composition courses. Students are typically required to visit the library once or twice a semester to receive instruction on how to find books and journal articles for an upcoming writing assignment that incorporates formal research. But does this current model of instruction truly address course outcomes that seek to produce students who are information literate, critical thinkers and life-long learners? Faculty who teach such courses are often reluctant to surrender precious class time to a librarian, but this paper argues that the merging of bibliographic instruction …

Information Literacy Opportunities Within The Discovery Tool Environment, Nancy E. Fawley, Nikki Krysak

Nancy Fawley

Discovery tools such as Primo, EBSCO Discovery Service, Summon, and WorldCat Local aim to make scholarly research more intuitive for students in part because of their single interface for searching across multiple platforms, including the library, fee-based databases, and unique digital collections. Discovery tools are in sync with the way many undergraduates look for information because they offer a more “Google-like” experience in contrast with previous methods of research that required first knowing which database to use, then searching each one differently according to its specifications. However, broad searches across multiple formats with different systems of controlled vocabulary force instructors …

A Km-Based Strategic, Global Current Awareness Service, Stuart Basefsky

Stuart Basefsky

This presentation focuses on a global current awareness service designed to meet the knowledge needs of the institution from which it originates. In so doing, it also meets the needs of journalists, researchers, faculty, students, professional practitioners, and policymakers concerned with the same issues globally. It provides the institutional links between partnering institutions that sustain the relationships for the future. This serves as a model for how libraries can become supporting pillars of their organizations by tapping into and meeting KM needs.

What Students Need From Reference Librarians: Exploring The Complexity Of The Individual Consultation, Trina J. Magi, Patricia E. Mardeusz

University Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

The article reports on an exploratory study that identified the skills used by reference librarians during individual research consultations with undergraduate and graduate students in a wide range of disciplines. The skills fell into eight categories. As expected, librarians needed knowledge about information sources and their effective use, but the project revealed that consultations often involve higher-order skills, as well, such as knowing how to approach and organize the research endeavor, shaping a topic appropriate for the scope of a project, making connections among various pieces of information and applying them to the problem at hand, and identifying alternative research …

A Tale Of Two Health Sciences Libraries Working To Improve Health Literacy [Poster], Margot G. Malachowski Mls, Kate Saylor Msi

Margot G Malachowski, MLS, AHIP

The Role Of Librarians In Academic Success, Claudia J. Dold

Academic Services Faculty and Staff Publications

Librarians address all levels of information needs for the university: its acquisition, its production, its storage, and instruction for its safe and gainful use. Most of today’s college students have a high degree of computer literacy but are weak in their abilities to determine the quality of the information that is so readily available. Students need to be taught to find, evaluate, and use information in an academically-oriented manner in order to solve complex problems. Good library skills are integral to academic success. In conjunction with research and teaching faculty, librarians create a framework for knowledge acquisition in the evolving …

Whose Job Is It Anyway?, Lori Ayre

Collaborative Librarianship

No abstract provided.

Review Of “Can Library Use Enhance Intercultural Education?”, Jimena Sagàs

Collaborative Librarianship

No abstract provided.

Maine’S Btop Information Commons Project: The Building Block To Statewide Digital Literacy Efforts, Janet Mckenney

Maine Policy Review

Although Maine is a rural state, it has had success in keeping pace with technological changes since the rise of the Internet 20 years ago. In this section, authors describe some of these successes and the challenges faced by both consumers and libraries in the new digital environment. Janet McKenney discusses the recent BTOP [Broadband Technology Opportunities Program] federal grant that has increased the number of computers, workstations, and videoconferencing units in Maine libraries and is providing training and online learning resources to unemployed, low-income and senior citizens, along with assistance to local librarians to increase their technology skills.

Digital Literacy And Public Policy Through The Library Lens, Marijke Visser

Maine Policy Review

Virtually every aspect of our lives now has a digital dimension. Our first interaction with an employer is online; our education occurs online; we collaborate online with colleagues in different countries in real-time; and we keep in touch with friends and family online. It is essential that everyone has the skills necessary to be part of this digital reality. Libraries play a pivotal role in supporting the development of digital literacy skills of their patrons and are a key partner in digital literacy activities in communities across the county.

Embracing Into: Library Plans And Campus Collaboration To Serve An Increased International Student Population, Shannon L. Farrell, Catherine L. Cranston, Jeffrey Bullington

Collaborative Librarianship

Universities are using private recruitment agencies to fast-track internationalization initiatives and realize tuition-based revenue increases. Colorado State University (CSU), with this dual aim of increasing the proportion of international students on campus and generating income via out-of-state tuition, signed a contract with INTO, a British organization that works to recruit international students to attend partner institutions from countries across five continents. International students, although not a homogenous population, as a whole do bring unique challenges. Our study examined how both campus and the library could prepare for the expected large influx of international students. Seeking to understand the INTO model …