ACRL-NY (Greater New York chapter of ACRL) presented a program in 1994 which drew librarians from a tri-state area to discuss the emerging institutional partnerships as technology evolved in an institution. Librarians had responded to a survey ahead of time, and the responses were used as part of the lively discussion.

The following responses, collated in 1994, pooled the collective experiences of librarians who would be designated as "pioneers" in learning Internet at their Institution. While the survey may be simply an instance, a snapshot in time of learning technology, the questions and kinds of answers are re-echoed today as new technologies emerge. The same kinds of partnerships described in the survey continue.

Survey and Program preparation: Lise Dyckman (Bobst Library, NYU), Elena Cevallos (Hofstra), and Pat Libutti (Fordham @ Lincoln Center.

Responses: 60 librarians from over 50 institutions sent in filled out surveys.

SUMMARY: SURVEY RESPONSES BY QUESTION:

1. How did you learn Internet? Possibly give sources, or stories re learning Internet:

The responses fell into these categories, with most respondents using two or more sources of knowledge. Most dominant was the first response category:

*SELF TAUGHT

FROM OTHERS (PEERS)

ONLINE COURSES, WORKSHOPS, TUTORIALS

HAD TO! (Job requirements: training, documentation, handout preparation)

MOTIVATION: "The best way to learn something is to HAVE to learn it. ( A small number of respondants gave similar statements.)

PEOPLE: peers, experts, children, gurus...

INTERNET ITSELF: " Just DO it."

3. What are your favorite Internet Resources? The following categories appeared most often:

GOPHERS (Rice U., Big Ten, NYSERNET)

SUBJECT GUIDES (U. OF MICH.)

GOPHER JEWELS

LISTS (Yanoff's, December's)

LISTSERVS (NETTRAIN, PACS-L, BI-L)

PEOPLE :"other Internet trainers I know through networking"

In 1996, whole new classes of resources would emerge: WWW, search engines, etc.

4. Rate your expertise with Internet on a 1-10 scale (1=novice, 10=cybernaut)
THE RATINGS RANGED FROM 1 TO 10! SIX WAS THE AVERAGE SELF-RATING.

______________And about the Internet training offerings at your institution:

1. Who is your intended audience (librarians, faculty, graduate students, students in a particular class or department, etc.)?

ALL OF THE ABOVE WERE MENTIONED, AS WELL AS ADMINISTRATORS.

2. Which aspects of the Internet and its resources do you cover in your programs (i.e., electronic mail, listserv discussion lists, UseNet, telnetting to library catalogs, using gophers, WAIS, WWW, Mosaic, FTP and Archie, etc.)?

THE RESPONSES RANGED FROM TEACHING THE CONNECTIONS (FTP,GOPHER, TELNET) TO RESOURCE-BASED OR SUBJECT-BASED TEACHING. SEVERAL RESPONDENTS WROTE OF SESSIONS BEGINNING WITH CONNECTIONS (AWARENESS OF) FOLLOWED BY APPLICATIONS IN SUBJECT AREAS. In 1996, new patterns including new capacities and evolving instructional incorporatin into curriculum would be visisble.

3. Who presents your program? (Is it a one-person endeavor, or a collaboration, or a shared responsibility, or...?)

LIBRARIANS: ONE PERSON, TEAMS, SEQUENTIAL TEACHING BY EXPERTS IN ONE AREA, ETC. COMPUTER CENTER: E-MAIL, CONNECTIONS, OPERATING SYSTEMS COLLABORATION BETWWEEN BOTH LIBRARY AND COMPUTER CENTERS: " "All parts of the institution should be involved."

4. What is your format - one-shot presentation, or a sequence of sessions, or a multi-session class, or...?

CONSULTATION: one-on-one, for e-mail and specific information problems. Length of time varies.

ONE SHOT: Length of time: range from 45 min to 90 min,covering the "basics".

MULTI-SESSIONS: offered as discrete topics. Length of time; ranged from two hours to full days.

COURSES: varied from ten sessions -to whole semesters, usually with classes running about two hours. Content in the courses was reported as covering both kinds of connections & tools, and subject specific explorations.

5. What are the goals and objectives of your program? THE RANGE OF RESPONSES COVERED "NOT IN PLACE YET" TO MISSION STATEMENTS:

"To get faculty and students onto it"

"Assuming that user understand the basics of navigation and retrieval"

" I would like our entire staff to be able to comunicate electronically at one site; sense of community"

" To enable our clients to locate and use information...with confidence and enjoyment"

" To give them just enough information to explore the Internet on their own".

6. What was the genesis of your program? Were you breaking new ground, or filling a gap? To what extent was this on your initiative, and to what extent were you responding to your constituents' needs?

MOST RESPONDENTS INDICATED THAT THEY WERE BREAKING NEW GROUND, USUALLY IN ANTICIPATION OF USER'S NEEDS.

7. Where do you teach or present your program?

LIBRARY

COMPUTER CENTER

CLASSROOM

7A.Can you offer 'hands-on' training, and do you think this necessary?

HANDS-ON PRACTICE WAS UNIFORMLY CONSIDERED ESSENTIAL.:

"A demonstration or lecture is less satisfactory"

HOWEVER, ABOUT HALF OF THE RESPONDANTS REPORTED THEY COULD OFFER HANDS ON TRAINING DURING THE SESSION. OTHERS RELIED ON DEMOS WITH AN LCD OR OTHER PROJECTION DEVICE.

8. How much follow-up support do you offer (can you offer) the audience for your programs?

NONE, MINIMAL
E-MAIL
DIRECT PHONE CALL
CONSULTATION
HELP DESK

9. How do you structure your programs - is the material organized by type of resource, or by Internet function, or by scholarly function? Or according to another framework?

THE MAJORITY ORGANIZED THEIR INSTRUCTION AROUND INTERNET FUNCTION, AND INCLUDED TYPE OF RESOURCE. SEVERAL REPORTED SCHOLARLY FUNCTION.

10. Briefly describe the training that has been provided for LIBRARIANS in your Institution.....
NONE
PEER TRAINING
SELF-EDUCATION WITH WORKBOOKS, TRAINING MATERIALS
WORKSHOPS (IN HOUSE AND EXTERNAL)
COURSES OFFERED BY COMPUTER CENTER OR TRAINED LIBRARIANS

11. [The controversial one] Whose job is it, in your opinion, to teach Internet

*LIBRARIANS
COMPUTER CENTER
COLLABORATIVE: "All parts of the institution should be involved"

An afterthought: How would you answer the questions above in 1996?