Information Literacy for Electronic Resources

A needs assessment research paper and presentation slides are culminating works for the Masterʻs in Education degree in the Educational Technology Program at the University of Hawaii Manoa. A presentation of the project was published on April 17, 2012 at the 17th Annual Technology, Colleges, and Community Worldwide Online Conference.Academic libraries have recently positioned themselves in the twenty-first century with online databases that students can remotely access via the Internet. Online courses and electronic resources are a central component of higher education. Effective library instruction can improve academic performance and was traditionally delivered in a classroom environment. The twenty-first century learner requires a dynamic learning environment with emerging technologies, which may include online instructional modules. In order to determine the need for delivering library instruction with online instructional modules, a needs assessment was conducted to identify common themes, gaps, strengths, weaknesses, and preferences pertaining to student usage of online library resources. The subjects, mostly English 100 undergraduate students at the University of Hawai‘i Maui College (UHMC), voluntarily participated in an anonymous online survey. The results indicate a primary need for library instruction regarding electronic resources. The data gathered may be used by library staff to improve information literacy in the area of electronic resources