Power Tools: New Drills for More Thrills
Dale Vidmar -Southern Oregon University

For most of us, Web searching has taken on the form of searching Google. But recently some new search tools have emerged with Google-like simplicity and accuracy, adding context and generating categories to target more relevant sites. At the same time, Google and other search tools have made major strides in finding and organizing information. They are making the Invisible Web more visible by searching .pdf files, images, PowerPoint, Word, Excel, and other materials. This presentation will take a refreshed look at the power tools of Internet searching for the afficianados and the curiosity seekers.

Dale Vidmar is Library Instruction Coordinator/Education and Communication Librarian at Southern Oregon University Library.

Unseen Barriers: Testing Database Accessibility with Adaptive Software Tools
Linda Frederiksen-Washington State, Vancouver

Databases delivered via the internet are designed to be accessible to wide array of users. Images, tables, frames, forms, animations, graphics, colors, and fonts are just some of the tools employed by database producers to make indexes easy to read and navigate. Unfortunately, some of these same design techniques also serve as barriers for users with disabilities. Adaptive software may help reduce some problems with usability. As electronic resources are added to the web pages of libraries, librarians should be aware that making these products available to their users is not necessarily the same as making them accessible.

Linda Frederiksen is the Access Services Librarian at Washington State University in Vancouver. Linda is also the current chair of the ACRL Distance Library Services Guidelines Committee.

UWill: Extending the Information Literacy Workshop
John Holmes-University of Washington Libraries
http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/

The presentation describes and demonstrates elements of UWill, an online learning information literacy resource. The goal of UWill is to provide teaching faculty at the University of Washington with customizable templates, developed collaboratively, addressing information literacy concepts within disciplinary and course contexts. The tailored, interactive tutorials are then embedded in the course syllabus to support student information learning and can be used to generate activities designed to capture conceptual elements of the students' research process. The background and rationale for UWill development; comparison with other WWW-based information literacy tutorials , its relationship to statewide and national information literacy initiatives, and issues and challenges faced during development will be included.

John Holmes is Coordinator of UWill, a web-based information literacy project at the University of Washington Libraries. John is also a reference librarian at Odegaard Undergraduate Library at UW, is an alumnus of the Institute for Information Literacy's inaugural "Immersion" Program, has served as Coordinator of the user education program, and has been the instructor for LIS 560: User Education, in the School of Library and Information Science. Before moving to Seattle, he trained undergraduates to teach information skills to their peers at Michigan State University.

The Role of Intermediaries in Facilitating the Growth of PDA's among Professionals in Medicine and Public Health
Laura Larsson -Oregon Health & Science University

Librarians and Informaticists are playing a large role in assisting their user groups with adoption of new technologies, especially handheld devices. This presentation looks at characteristics of the target audience, discusses barriers to adoption of handheld technologies and why the early adopters have chosen handhelds, how intermediaries can encourage adoption of this technology, and describes current teaching materials and techniques that can be used to assist users.

Beam Me Up and Make Me Smart: New Technologies at Long Beach
Tracey Mayfield -Cal State University-Long Beach

Through a generous donation, a librarian’s dream was born. The Spidell Electronic Classroom at the CSULB Library has revolutionized our library instruction.The room aesthetics are stunning. With modern furniture, carpets, and beautiful color photographs of campus, students continuously comment how “cool” and “Star Trek” the room looks, but technologically is where it shines. The room features 20 flat-panel computers, a flat-panel instructor’s workstation, a state- of-the-art projection system, an interactive Smartboard projection screen and NetSupport School instructional software. This presentation will highlight the design and technology features as well as how this showpiece has transformed the way the CSULB Librarians provide instruction.