The Attaining Information Literacy Project has focused on identifying first-year college students with below-proficient information literacy skills, gaining an understanding of those students' self-views and perceptions of information literacy, gaining an understanding of their instructional experiences and preferences, and developing an intervention that will address their instructional needs. Focus groups were conducted with students with below-proficient skills to determine their instructional preferences. The findings from the focus groups indicate that students place a high value on personal relevance in the knowledge and skills they are learning, and they prefer a combination of demonstration and hands-on activities, interaction with the instructor and other students, and the availability of supplemental instructional materials in the form of handouts. In addition, they feel that incentives to participate in instruction are crucial and that a number of communication strategies are needed to advertise effectively the availability of instructional sessions.

This research was designed to address a gap in our understanding of information literacy education by adding student perceptions to the question of how to ensure that all students develop the information literacy skills they need as part of their educational experience. The findings from this study provide important input for the design, development, and implementation of information resources and services, particularly those aimed at reaching students with non-proficient information literacy skills. All AIL workshop materials from this study are freely available for educational use from the Information Skills Workshop Materials section of this site. Proper attributions should be given to the researchers (Melissa Gross and Don Latham) and to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for their support in developing these materials. Commercial use of these materials is not permitted.

This study investigated the value of academic libraries for teaching and research staff. The academic library community has been dealing with the issue of how best to demonstrate its value for years, especially value to students. Yet although a good deal of evidence is collected, much of this is evidence of activity rather than evidence of value and impact, especially value to and impact on teaching and research staff.

. . . we leave out one crucial point: A membership in a professional association is not the same as being involved in professional service. Taking an active role in your professional organization is also a way to cultivate leadership skills you can't gain from volunteer or part-time work. Focus your attentions less on building a resume and more on improving libraries.

At our last board meeting we talked about our commitment to keeping our membership and conference costs for students low enough so they can be part of a professional association. This article suggests we go one step further and have them on our committees to gain "hands-on" experiences. With this in mind, the directory committee is adding a SLIS student to our committee to give her "hands-on" experience in our association.

Ithaka S+R's research in publishing examines the emerging issues at the forefront of this change including new forms of publication, peer review structures, and sources for their support; our consulting work offers strategic and pragmatic guidance for those whose organizations face difficult choices as they navigate the challenges of creating, producing, and disseminating scholarly content in sustainable ways. This site offers links to Research & Publications from Ithaka S&R. With a focus on Digital Resources, Libraries, Publishing, and Sustainability.

This publication was created to serve as a practical guide for instruction coordinators and managers to use in the environmental analysis of their own unique situations. Information provided here includes nationally-established guidelines, suggestions of possible local resources to consult, questions to ask, and sources for additional reading.

Instruction Librarians wanting to understand how to effectively engage in their institution's instructional environment would benefit from using this workbook. The workbook guides practitioners through an environmental scan and provides information such as nationally established guidelines, possible local resources to consult, questions to ask, and sources for additional reading.

"Objective: This study sought to better understand the research expectations of first-year students upon beginning university study, and how these expectations differed from those of their professors. Most academic librarians observe that the research expectations of these two groups differ considerably and being able to articulate where these differences are greatest may help us provided more focused instruction, and allow us to work more effectively with professors and student support services."

This article offers interesting data about expectations of college freshmen and the faculty who work with them.