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Purpose -A recent for-credit, library research class at the University of Florida experimented with the use of the social networking site Facebook as an online course management software solution for their research methodology class. This paper seeks to examine this issue. Design/methodology/approach -Using Facebook Groups to set up a class page, instructors made a case study of the flexibility, functionality and utility of using Facebook as an academic communication channel with students. Findings -The resulting paper reviews the literature of Facebook's academic uses to date. Originality/value -This lies in the innovation of pushing forward with incorporating portions of social networking sites into the classroom and the University of Florida librarians' experiences during the semester.

This paper reports on a library instruction needs assessment conducted with incoming doctoral students (n=34) in two online programs in education. The differences in the prior skills and experiences of the two groups highlighted the importance of needs assessments and learner analyses as well as course-or program-specific instructional design in information literacy instruction for online students. Based on students' reported skills, education librarians structured both the content and format of instruction to help students succeed in their programs and build lifelong skills. 91[ARTICLE]

Purpose -The paper aims to describe the technological approach used by the Digital Library of the Caribbean project to build an international collaborative library across many separate institutions with varying degrees of expertise, technological abilities, and motivations. Design methodology/approach -Several methodologies were employed which helped build the successful collaborative effort. A freely-distributed digitization toolkit was developed to assist with tracking and digitization of the distributed resources. In addition, on-site training was provided for most partners and was open for anyone in the area to attend. Progress and sustainability were ensured by making this development process integral with the University of Florida Digital Collections initiative and by continuing to perform usability studies on the web presence. The strong emphasis on branding and presenting the same data within differently branded interfaces in the web presence encouraged greater participation of international partners. Findings-Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), a joint project of the University of Florida, University of Virgin Islands and Florida International University in partnership with institutions in the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean, serves as the access point for scholars, students and citizens of interdisciplinary Caribbean and circum-Caribbean research, gathers together a critical mass of cultural, historical and research materials originally held in archives, libraries and private collections. This unique digital library provides content submitted directly from dLOC partners and members and allows users to browse materials or search the text through multilingual interfaces. Each of these items are generated in distributed manner by each of the partners, and then submitted to a central server. This pattern has worked quite well in a region where constant internet access is often lacking. An emphasis on partner needs, such as institutional branding, has greatly contributed to the success of this project. Involving partners in the process of usability studies, as well as conducting internal usability studies, have also assisted in the creation of a successful project web interface. Practical implications (if applicable) -One concrete practical implication is the availability of a standards-based digitization toolkit, which can be freely used by non-members as well as members. Findings also suggest a course for digital library development in collaborative ventures. In addition, this case shows the benefits of the recurring, iterative process of performing usability studies during the development phase. Originality / Value -This paper has value for anyone looking to build collaboration in under-represented regions. Article Type: Case study

Academic librarians often provide information literacy support for specific courses or topics in the form of research guides, one-shot training sessions, library orientations, or by embedding library content into online courses. Less frequently, they provide continuous program-level support on-campus or online. This paper highlights the value of sustained involvement of librarians at the program level to provide information literacy in an online environment. The description of implementation, research results, and strategies for sustainability will be useful to other online programs engaged in equipping online graduate students with essential information literacy skills to succeed in their academic endeavors.