Page 75 - DLIS102_LIBRARY_AND_ITS_USERS

Library and its Users

Notes 3. Ways in which user education is evaluated.

4. Current problems and barriers to user education programmes.
3. User education and technology.

Self Assessment

Multiple Choice Questions:
5. Who defines user education “as various programmes of instruction, education and explora-
tion provided by libraries to users”?
(a) Fleming (b) Miller
(c) Carlson (d) Gwinn.
6. LPAI stands for:
(a) Library Planning and Action Initiative (b) Library Proposal and Action Initiative
(c) Laboratory Planning and Action Initiative (d) None of these.

11.4 Techniques and Methods

Developments in computers, microelectronics, and communication technologies have radically
changed the library and information environment. Gone are the days of stand-alone libraries, in which
a library was judged less by the quality of its resources and services than by the quantity of materials
it had available. Traditional libraries were dominated by print publications and the access mechanisms
were also by-and-large manual. The paradigm shift from stand-alone libraries to library and
information networks, available via the Internet, can provide end-users with connection to Internet-
based services. Moreover, we are surrounded by automated, digital, and virtual libraries as well as
by networked data, specialized networks, and library networks.

Multimedia and the Internet have further made the job of library and information
professionals more challenging.

Other Developments

• growing recognition of the importance of life-long and individualized learning
• a new enthusiasm for research library instruction and bibliographic control and automation
has emerged
• bibliographic instruction, also called library use instruction, or user education, has grown
over the years from a simple area of interest to a complex area of study
• instruction librarians have begun to examine the complexities of search strategies, the differ-
ing information needs of novices and experts, and the organization of knowledge in various
fields in order to better serve their patrons
• all these contribute to the emergence of an important role for the librarian, that of the teacher.
These dramatic changes in information technology have made a considerable impact on libraries
and their instruction programs. Because of these changes, the library’s mission to teach users how
to become more effective and efficient, and certainly, more independent in their information seeking,

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