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Discusses recent trends in information literacy and instruction. Topics include the emergence of standards and guidelines; standards in elementary and secondary schools; accreditation standards, certification, and mandates; defining what librarians do, particularly as teachers; plagiarism, copyright, and ethical behavior; and the impact of technology, including digital technology. (LRW)

Discussion of the connection between bibliographic instruction and collection development from a management perspective focuses on a project of data collection and analysis developed at the University of Colorado at Denver's Auraria Library. Information on individual disciplines is compiled and analyzed, and a needs assessment for bibliographic instruction is described. (six references) (LRW)

Reviews trends in composition instruction in two-year colleges, including an emphasis on information literacy, critical thinking skills, and writing across the curriculum; and discusses parallel developments in the field of bibliographic instruction. Recommends an approach to incorporating critical thinking, new technologies, and program assessment into future program design. (DMM)

In the last decade, changes in technology have transformed the way users approach learning and use of the library. Wireless access, laptops, PDAs, and plasma displays are only a few [...]

The organizational and published resources devoted to the assessment of information literacy have been steadily increasing over the last decade. Three major contributors can be thanked for this increase: (1) [...]

Curious' and 'creative' are terms that are often used by educators as adjectives when describing the characteristics of individual students. Unfortunately, they are often also used indiscriminately, with little attention [...]

In the field of instruction and information literacy, we often talk about the need to understand other discipline's research and perspectives in order to better inform our own. This goal [...]

In the last decade, a major trend in instructional delivery on many campuses has been the development and implementation of online courses or tutorials of information literacy. These offerings have [...]

In analyzing the trends discussed in the last column, the editors were struck with the tendency of our profession to compartmentalize information literacy efforts through defining them by distinct constituent [...]

The article addresses the trends and challenges that impacted library instruction at community and technical colleges in the U.S. During the 1990s, collaborations and partnerships have continued to emerge, particularly given the acceptance of information literacy outside libraries. Community college libraries are considered unique to academic libraries they can determine specific feeder high schools and work to bridge the transition between high school and college information literacy instruction. One of the vital factors that allows for information literacy to develop in community colleges is the philosophical commitment to teaching and learning.

The article reviews the state of instructional improvement programs in libraries in the U.S. Instructional improvement is a term found in the literature of higher education to describe professional development opportunities for college faculty aimed at helping them to improve their performance in the classroom. Often, the environment for instructional improvement is discussed as part of the broader question of how to foster the development of a culture of teaching across an academic department, school or campus. There are a variety of approaches to the assessment of instruction increasingly found on campus, including critical self-reflection, peer coaching and evaluation and the use of teaching portfolios.

The article explores issues surrounding instructional efforts related to visual images and information literacy. The advent of the printing press created a new set of challenges for incorporating images. Entering the information age has provided powerful new tools to access and handle these images. Thus libraries are now embarking on a multitude of digital projects, which include all manner of activities, from digitizing picture images and photographs from archives; digitizing images of print materials such as rare books, crumbling books and early newspapers; or creating new text and image content in digital form.

This article examines the library literature for expressions of instruction in reference, and how what is known about reference as a discipline might be applied to the new mode of interaction through online chat reference transactions. Finding literature that explicitly describes instruction at the reference desk can be challenging. Some of the problems in finding articles regarding teaching at the reference desk result because there are so many articles that talk about the relationship of instructional services and reference services. As the use of computers in libraries increased, the literature emphasized the importance of teaching users how to use that technology, and stressed the importance of going to the terminal where the student needed assistance. The need to teach the process of finding materials seems to occur regularly in the literature. Teaching in the chat reference environment is becoming more frequently discussed in the literature. Topics in this area include an increasing interest in transferring teaching skills; identification of methods to help users solve information problems, such as learning to ask better questions; how librarians should guide users to information resources; development of instructional materials such as Web pages, attachments, and scripts; and helping students transfer what they already know to new situations.

This article presents a view of three arenas critical to information literacy learning and assessment--along with questions that might serve as a checklist to stimulate assessment planning and practice--and draws attention to the many organizations and resources dealing with information literacy assessment, so that one can tap into already existing examples of instruments, advice, and professional development opportunities. It is hoped a discussion of these goals will help librarians hesitant to undertake assessment projects have a place to begin. Regardless of one's position title, all librarians who teach information literacy can contribute to their organizations' assessment activities. One of the most common and best opportunities in which assessment can be explored is during the collaboration between the classroom instructor and the librarian when they discuss desired learning outcomes for a presentation or workshop,or when they are developing or revising a research skills assignment. Assessing information literacy learning outcomes and the experiences that lead to learning are part of designing and providing instruction. It is essential for those who want to improve their teaching and instructional materials to continue to learn more about assessment and to participate at some level in planning and conducting assessments. Knowing what questions to ask and where to look for help and answers are perhaps the best places to begin.

The article emphasizes the possibility and necessity to incorporate curiosity and creativity into information literacy teaching and learning. Perhaps the first step in solving the problem of putting curiosity and creativity back into educational content and pedagogy is achieving a better understanding of what they are. According to Evans and Harrar, curious people have five attributes. They nudge conversation with new ideas, take pleasure in learning about other people and show it, focus on the person they are with, use jokes and humor to liven things up, and accentuate the positive about what they like about their conversational partner or the conversation itself. But building an environment that promotes curiosity in isolation does not by itself necessarily promote learning or create new knowledge. Creativity must also be encouraged for learning to occur successfully. In fact, the fostering of creative whys could easily be considered a major goal of education as a whole. Information-literacy instructors can incorporate curiosity and creativity into reference work and classroom teaching practically in many different ways. Fundamental to all of these techniques, however, are the concepts of experience, practice and application. Experience is about bringing what the individual already knows to the learning situation. new and different perspective. The purpose of engaging a student in practice is to ensure personal confirmation that a new concept, skill, or idea has been learned and mastered. This type of practice is not pure repetition. It presumes that if students experience repeated learning situations that are similar although not exact to one another, they will develop personal confidence in their mastery of the action. Application is about taking that which has been learned and applying it to a new or personal situation. It demonstrates the ability to transfer learning to new environments.

This article explores the teaching implications of information literacy. To speak of information literacy is to conjure up a long history of literacy debates in which libraries and rhetoric and composition have themselves been implicated. The skill-based paradigm that surely continues to haunt information literacy has, in turn, its own analog in rhetoric and composition. Recent work in rhetoric and composition has challenged that paradigm by exploring what have been called new rhetorics. These approaches share an interest in writing as a tool for inquiry and as a process for making and mediating meaning. When information literacy is itself conceived of as a process-oriented literacy, it is likewise in a far better position to communicate its inherent intellectual vitality and larger social and ethical relevance. Current work in rhetoric and composition is reclaiming and updating for the 21st-first century the broader scope of classical rhetoric and with it rediscovering both the historical roots and fresh relevance of information literacy.

This article explores the notion that writing theory and pedagogy can and should have a constitutive influence on the conception of information literacy. Given how much classroom practice in rhetoric and composition involves helping students with inquiry and research, it is nothing short of surprising how little that field has written about information literacy and library collaboration. Recent theoretical trends and changing pedagogical attitudes in rhetoric and composition make information literacy initiatives especially timely and opportune. From a rhetoric and composition perspective, the theoretical conceptions that ground efforts to help students access, evaluate, and use information draw from both the classical rhetorical tradition and contemporary discussions. Although the term information literacy may appear innocuous enough, seen from the perspective of work in rhetoric and composition, it conjures up a series of literacy debates that can easily undermine the effectiveness of the term. The first of these two misperceptions is that information literacy is a neutral, technological skill that is merely functional or performative. A second problem is the deficit model that the term literacy might unwittingly adopt. Thus, the concept of information literacy joins long-standing debates on literacy in ways that are both timely and propitious.

Describes the reasons why the library of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge chose to move solely from a face-to-face credit course to one that includes an online course as an option. Current practice of online courses across the U.S.; Reasons for providing credit courses; Instructional media and tools.

Presents reflections on the aspects of information literacy in the context of different forms of library. Role of public library in the development of information literacy skills; Function of school library media center; Information literacy issues in using special libraries.

Analyzes the trends of information literacy in school libraries in the U.S. in 2003. Distinction between the roles of public and school librarians; Standards of libraries in school settings; Evaluation of the learning standards of school libraries and information literacy programs.

Discusses the role of instruction librarians while mentioning the electronic classroom. Description of these classrooms; What challlenges are these librarians being faced with.

Discusses the implications of trends towards strong leadership on the profession of librarians. Definition of leadership; Identification of leadership qualities in librarians; Impact of leadership on instruction librarians; Importance of collaborative leadership and teams; Concept of virtual organization; Challenges for the profession.

Focuses on the two overriding goals for library instruction in the electronic age. Emphasis on preparing users to properly interpret and use information; Teaching users the power of information; Impact of technology on instruction librarians.

Assesses controversies over the critical thinking movement and analyzes their impact in the field of instruction. Leaders of the contemporary critical thinking movement; Lack of practical implementation; Philosophical and psychological traditions; Generic aspect of critical thinking; Reform movement; Tool-based approach to teaching critical thinking skills.

Describes what can happen to services when the library administration takes an active role in focusing the services of what the author calls a user-centered library. Building the user-centered library; Seeking the definition; Connecting with users; Sustaining the library.

Focuses on articles published in the `Library Literacy' column of the `RQ' journal. Beginnings of the column in summer 1980 edited by John Lubans Jr.; Themes on library instruction; Evaluations of teaching practices; Definitions of library literacy; Absence of teachings on specific technology.

Five structures of bibliographic instruction programs have emerged over the past twenty years: orientation; course-related instruction; course-integrated instruction; team teaching; and, separate courses. Defined by the level of cooperation between and among librarians, departmental faculty, and university administrators, the structures can be viewed on a continuum of cooperation when planning and selecting a structure for bibliographic instruction programs. This paper presents the five structures, details the requirements for cooperation, and discusses how the structures can be used to guide the development of bibliographic instruction programs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]