Messages from the Eagle

ABSTRACT

Each year Dacus Library teaches library use to over a thousand freshmen in introductory Writing classes. In the summer of 2000, two reference librarians undertook a revision of the basic methodology of teaching library use to freshmen. This change was necessitated by staff shortages, coupled with increasing enrollment. The resulting virtual tour, which was introduced in fall 2000, combined an existing audio-tape tour with one hour of classroom instruction. The university's mascot, an eagle, was used to lead the students on a tour of all three floors of Dacus Library, with explanations of each location pictured. In addition, the eagle was used to describe and explain the online catalog. The new virtual tour, while still a work in progress, is considered to be a success by students, library faculty and staff, and Writing instruction faculty. You can visit the Dacus Library tour at www.winthrop.edu/dacus/About/Tapetour/Exercises/assignment2.htm.     

Freeway or Tollway?

Abstract

Privatization and commercialization of the Internet is starting to pose challenges for academic librarians. The once government financed “network of networks” is metamorphosing from an information highway to an information toll road. The history, structure, and development of the Internet are reviewed, including the role of the U.S. Government. The rapid growth of commercial users of the Net, especially since 1991 when the National Science Foundation eased its limitations on business use, is noted. The trend toward privatization of Internet connectivity and certain information resources is pointed out. How these changes are coming about and how academic libraries and their administrators might deal with them is discussed.     

A Review of “What They Don’t Teach You in Library School”

SUMMARY

Distance learning students may not think of the “campus” library as the first place to fulfill their information needs and may not even be aware of the services available to them. One way to reach these students is to adopt and adapt marketing techniques from the business world. This article examines the findings of a survey conducted at Emporia State University concerning the awareness of distance learning services. It will also examine marketing techniques and illustrate how they can be applied to increase awareness of reference support services for distance learners.     

The Buck Stops Where?

SUMMARY

University students-whether adult, distance learner, or traditional age-need access to university services and quick accurate answers to their questions beyond traditional “business” hours. Students' busy schedules and changing life patterns dictate that university services meet their needs. At DePaul University in Chicago, student focus groups repeatedly pointed to the need for one central place to get an answer or solve a problem. DePaul Central was created as an information and referral service to satisfy that student need, at the same capitalizing on the value of the librarian skill set.     

The Impact of Serial Solutions’ Summon™ on Information Literacy Instruction: Librarian Perceptions

Web-scale discovery systems, such as Serial Solutions’ Summon? Service, are replacing older federated search technologies as the tool for users to access library resources quickly and easily. The impact of Web-scale discovery systems on instruction is not known. This study of instruction librarian perceptions of Summon's impact on instruction and student information literacy skills is based on a survey. The survey reveals librarians’ ambivalence toward Summon. While some librarians agree that Summon has the potential to change the way librarians teach information literacy skills, it has not been fully integrated into the classroom.     

A Historical Overview of Internet Reference Services for Distance Learners

SUMMARY

The advent of library services and collections on the Internet revolutionized reference services to students enrolled in distance learning programs. Prior to the Internet, reference librarians who supported distance learning programs had few methods, and many of them costly, to provide the equivalent library services advocated by the ACRL Guidelines. Through the Internet, these librarians were able to approximate the services and resources that had always been available to students who came into the library. This article describes the development of reference services on the Internet in a variety of libraries that support distance learners.     

Cross-Campus Collaboration to Produce Camtasia-Enhanced Lessons to Improve Distance Learning

This pilot study examines the use of Camtasia-enhanced lessons to supplement distance education provided to medical laboratory science students. More programs of study are available as distance learning opportunities, creating challenges to find better ways to present material. Librarians provided technical expertise necessary to produce a Camtasia video. This helped instructors prepare engaging lectures for phlebotomy to supplement the PowerPoint presentations and self-directed lessons provided in previous courses. Medical laboratory science faculty collaborated with library staff to produce videos that demonstrate proper phlebotomy technique using training personnel and faculty, whom the students eventually interact with in the clinical environment.     

Designing a Special Library's Intranet for an Engineering Audience

ABSTRACT

Designing a successful library Web site for an engineering audience means researching how engineers find and use information. It also requires the special librarian to conduct usability tests to determine what is and isn't working on the site. The special librarian is more than simply a librarian, he or she must be able to take the research and the test results and either build the Web site or make sure the site is built by a team. The librarian must be able to play several roles: researcher, tester, project leader, and Web manager. The more successful the librarian is at involving users in site design, the more used and usable the site will be. This article describes one librarian's experience with designing a special library Intranet. It also includes an extensive bibliography of related articles.     

The Research Experience for Education Graduate Students: A Phenomenographic Study

This article presents the findings of an exploratory study of education graduate students’ information-seeking behavior and attitudes. Qualitative data included interviews with education students, focusing on their research habits, and analyzed from phenomenographic approach that focused on variations in individuals’ experiences. The quantitative analysis stemmed from participants’ responses to the survey of their information-seeking behavior. A comparison of interview participants and survey respondents’ search skills, research strategies, and attitudes toward previous library instruction illustrate the wide variation in students’ abilities and experiences between the groups. This suggests the need for further analysis of these students’ information seeking behaviors.     

Power up! Using Digital Gaming Techniques to Enhance Library Instruction

ABSTRACT

Incorporating digital gaming into education is an increasingly popular topic in academia. Educators’ views of digital gaming (e.g., computer, video, and online games) have shifted from categorizing these games as an entertaining, yet pedagogically void activity to a promising medium that engages students in the learning process. With over 70% of college students enthusiastically playing digital games, educators are tapping into digital gaming as an effective means to teach millennials problem solving and communication skills. This article investigates gamer characteristics, motivational and engaging aspects of digital games, and the parallels between gaming and the information retrieval process. The authors build on this information to present approaches to incorporate digital gaming techniques into the library classroom since it is not feasible for all libraries to create instructional digital games.