The reader will understand the methods by which a regional campus library presents instruction to its students.
The reader will be aware of the methods by which a regional campus presents reference services to its students.
The reader will understand how the college’s library instruction affects its reference services and vice versa.
The reader will be aware of the future plans of the BGSU Firelands Library.
In the early days of the BGSU Firelands Library, reference was a very personal experience because the numbers of students attending the College were very small, giving the Librarians ample time to work with them individually. When a new position of assistant librarian was created, reference was its focus. The atmosphere remained the same for some time, and most of the reference continued to be conducted on a fairly one-to-one level. The advent of computers changed the atmosphere of reference for Firelands; it became more individualized with students able to sit by themselves at computers and conduct their searches. Computers also engendered a difference in how students searched for information. CD-ROMs were becoming more popular as databases that could be searched to find articles. Students could search more directly and more autonomously. Sandrea DeMinco (2002) asserted that students needed personal as well as electronic help in their searches. She says,
Computerized databases are contributing to highly individualized but not independent learning...Students’ intense but short term use of ERIC-on-CDROM does not allow them to develop a sense of mastery over the changeable system or to feel confident in transferring their computer skills to similar databases...More and more, students realize that assistance from both humans and computerized databases produces the most successful result to a search for information. (p. 293)