Library

:Alternative meanings: Library (computer science), Library (electronics), Library (biology)

Library use

With the exception of members of academia and other serious researchers, in today's Internet age, patrons by and large do not give the library much thought.

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Library instruction advocates library user education. Library instruction has been practiced in the U.S. since the 19th century. One of the early leaders was John Cotton Dana, and an example of a more recent leader is Michael Lorenzen. Library instruction is closely related to the study of information literacy.

Related Topics:
Library instruction - John Cotton Dana - Michael Lorenzen - Information literacy

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Libraries inform the public of what materials are available in their collections and how to access that information. Before the computer age, this was accomplished by the card catalog -- a cabinet containing many drawers filled with index cards that identified books and other materials. In a large library, the card catalog often filled a large room. The emergence of the Internet, however, has led to the adoption of electronic catalog databases (often referred to as "webcats" or as OPACs, for "online public access catalog"), which allow users to search the library's holdings from any location with Internet access. This style of catalog maintenance is compatible with new types of libraries, such as digital libraries and distributed libraries, as well as older libraries that have been retrofitted.

Related Topics:
Catalog - Index card - Internet - OPAC - Digital libraries - Distributed libraries

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