Before, students would receive instruction and then move upstairs to find an open computer. Now, they can learn first hand. This is a much more effective arrangement, said Bob Gorman, head of reference services for Dacus. It frees up other computers in the library. More than 3,400 undergraduate and graduate students were trained last year to use the library and given specific bibliographic instruction.
Students learn what each database contains and how to search strategically in the database.
What you use in one database does not necessarily work in another, Gorman said. We want to train the students to become intelligent consumers. The room is among the best in the state for this kind of training, according to library dean, Dr. Mark Y. Herring. He said the library also would use the room in the fall to teach web research access to others in the community, such as art teachers, and possibly host a term paper counseling session for area high school seniors. With more than one billion web-pages on the Internet, and scores of databases, someone has to take the time and patience to teach students not only how to access this great resource, but also, and more importantly, how to evaluate what they find, Herring said.