| The use of instructional technology, and in particular course Web sites, has created a new, virtual environment within which teaching and learning takes place. In this virtual learning environment, as in the physical one, professors are the main determinant for whether or not students will use academic library resources and services. As more money is invested in Web-based online resources, it becomes even more important that students and faculty use them.; This study explored faculty perspectives on the use of library resources from within their course Web sites. It found that, even though professors value the library and its collections, they are not linking to library resources from their course Web sites. Instead, they link to their own documents or external Web sites. Professors are somewhat uncomfortable with their students' skills at evaluating external Web sites and are concerned about plagiarism, but they do not discourage students from using the Web in their research. Nor do they support formal programs of information literacy provided by library staff.; The barrier to linking to library resources most frequently mentioned by faculty is lack of time. The professors expressed willingness to include links to library resources and services, but the linking process must be easy and customized to their specific needs. |
