Purpose -To inform readers about the new information and communication technology assessment tool developed by the Education Testing Service and a consortium of two and four-year academic institutions in the USA. Design/methodology/approach -A concise assessment of the tool. Findings -The tool is scenario, performance, and problem-based so that students must demonstrate their knowledge. It is also interactive and recognises that students should be able to integrate various skills to solve real-life problems. Originality/value -Will assist higher education institutions and workforce/career centers about the unique scenario-based, web-based assessment tool which integrates the proficiencies of information literacy with the use of digital and computer technologies, along with the principles of the ethical and legal use of information.
Recently, I went to an international symposium in San Francisco titled,``Emerging visions for access in the 21st century library" presented by the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR), an independent nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC and the California Digital Library (CDL), the 11th university library of the University of California established in 1997 to build the university's digital library. The symposium attracted attendees from around the world and was advertised as focusing on key information issues in information science relating to digital libraries, the economics of information, and resources for scholarship.Prominent speakers, addressing the topic of`T he library and society: emerging roles for the library as a civic institution,'' were chief administrators from the Danish National Library Authority, the Australian National University, and the Queens Borough Public Library.Much to my surprise, and delight, a common theme in each speaker's remarks was information literacy.We tend to think of information literacy as primarily an academic library movement in the USA, but it is truly an international phenomenon with active programs under way in Africa,
Keeping a reference collection current and useful can be an arduous task. It is necessary to establish principles of collection development and determine a method for periodically reviewing the titles in the collection. This review, if systematically conducted on a title‐by‐title basis for all reference sources, can have far‐ranging benefits. Among these are a reduction in the size of the collection in terms of titles, volumes, and linear shelving space; an increase in the manageability of serial and non‐serial titles; a staff more proficient and knowledgeable concerning the scope and depth of the collection; and a clientele better served through improved reference assistance.
PurposeProposes advocating that reference librarians have a distinct and important role in the development, management, dissemination, and sustainability of institutional repositories.Design/methodology/approachSuggests working with faculty and students to encourage them to share their research and instructional products, and to contribute to the extension of their discipline's knowledge base in new and meaningful ways.FindingsNotes that reference librarians are natural partners to be involved with institutional repositories because of their service orientation, subject experience as knowledge managers, and communication skills.Originality/valueMakes important recommendations about the role of the reference librarian in contributing to the success of institutional repositories.
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