Thesis (M.S.)--Rowan University, 2009. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin, 1968. / Extension Repository Collection. Typescript (carbon copy). Autobiographical sketch. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-133).

<p> The role and functions of an academic library have evolved drastically as the result of a new social, economic, and technological reality. Libraries are responding to these developments by changing focus from collection and storage of information to becoming active partners in students&rsquo; educational journey. The learning commons model of service is a concept that is founded on the vision of supporting the integrated learning needs of the digital generation. Many institutions have already adopted the learning commons model that may include space re-design and re-purposing learning and teaching support resources and services. However, planning and implementing the transition from a traditional academic library to a learning commons model is a daunting challenge for most of the smaller institutions. A key to successful transformation is identifying strategies that will lead to planning and implementing a productive and thriving learning commons that will motivate students to develop critical thinking and engage in creative learning within an information and technology-rich environment.</p><p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004. / Advisor: Dr. Alejandro Gallard, Florida State University, College of Education, Dept. of Middle and Secondary Education. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed June 16, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Washington State University, May 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 8, 2009). "Department of Teaching and Learning." Includes bibliographical references (p. 157-171).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1967. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Political Science, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Jul 6, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-10, Section: A, page: 4027. Adviser: Edward G. Carmines.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-115).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2005. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 112-115).

<p> Information seeking, a key aspect of information literacy, is relevant to student academic success as well as to leadership, organizational and public policy issues within higher education. Although librarians contend that students should consult formal mediators for help during an information search, students are much more likely to prefer consulting what are defined in the literature as informal mediators. This contradiction suggests the current literature of information seeking may not fully depict the aspects of search mediation that are actually the most important to student information seekers. </p><p> <u>Purpose and Questions:</u> The purpose of my study was to explore lower-division undergraduates&rsquo; thoughts, feelings, and actions as they engage in and reflect on their information search mediation encounters over the course of an information search process. My study was guided by two central questions: 1. What are the characteristics of information search mediation encounters as experienced by lower-division undergraduate students? 2. How do students use search mediation encounters to navigate the information search process? </p><p> <u>Methods and Theory:</u> To explore these questions, I employed Stake's (2006) multiple case study methodology. Each student's assignment-related experiences of information search mediation and information seeking were considered a case for the purposes of this study. After analyzing individual cases in isolation for key findings, I considered them as a set to identify cross-case assertions that describe the essence of the topic under investigation. I then examined and discussed the cross-case through the lens of the Association of College and Research Libraries' (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education, the primary theoretical framework for the study.</p><p> <u>Findings:</u> Six cross-case findings emerged from the data. These findings describe aspects of mediator selection, the mediation encounter, the role of information search mediation in the information search process, the influence of lessons learned via mediation on the final research assignment, and the ways that mediation encounters influenced later information searches, as well as search mediation as a whole. These provocative findings both support and problematize the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy, and have important implications for information literacy theory, research, and practice.</p>