The Evolving Educational Mission of the Library

At the 1989 annual meeting of the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) used a think tank as a dynamic mechanism for exploring future directions both in the discipline of library user education and for the Bibliographic Instruction (BI) Section of ACRL. Discussion centered on the following issues: primary user groups and how have they changed during the past decade; how the curricular reform movement affects the content of bibliographic instruction programs; the appropriateness of information literacy as a phrase to characterize BI librarians' instructional programs for the upcoming decade; and how professional education programs in library and information science can respond to changes. The four discussion issues suggested necessary change or transition, particularly for BI, but more broadly affecting reference and public service, library missions and goals, and the educational focus of the library and information science profession. The eight papers included in the collection are: (1) "Bridging the Gap between the Think Tanks" (Donald Kenney); (2) "The Think Tank Papers: Are We in the Ball Park?" (Elizabeth Frick); (3) "Changing Users: Bibliographic Instruction for Whom?" (Lizabeth A. Wilson); (4) "The Changing User and the Future of Bibliographic Instruction: A Perspective from the Health Sciences Library" (James Shedlock); (5) "Curriculum Reform: The Role of Academic Libraries" (Maureen Pastine and Linda Wilson); (6) "Information Literacy: One Response to the New Decade" (Hannelore Rader and William Coons); (7) "Education for the Second Generation of Bibliographic Instruction Librarians" (Martha L. Hale); and (8) "The Future of Bibliographic Instruction and Information Literacy for the Academic Librarian" (William Miller). "Educational Roles of Academic Libraries: State of the Art and an Agenda for the Future" (Randall Hensley and Beth Sandore), a summary document from the conference, is