ALA | vol7

Table 1. Comparison of Electronic Databases and Internet as Information Resources (Percent of Faculty) [Back to Article]

	Electronic Databases	Internet	No Difference	Don’t Know
Greater Scope of Information	20.1	34.8	4.3	40.9
More Current Information	12.9	34.4	7.4	45.4
Ease of Use	17.8	31.9	12.3	38.0
Faster Response	16.0	26.4	6.7	50.9
More Reliable Information	53.0	4.3	4.3	38.4
More Focused Information	52.4	5.5	3.7	38.4

Table 2. Percent of Faculty Directing Students to Specific Resources [Back to Article]

	Never	Sometimes	Often	Always
Internet	13.0	39.8	37.9	9.3
Media Specialist	22.6	37.7	22.0	17.6
Library Catalog	29.6	39.0	20.1	11.3
Print Reference Materials	31.9	36.3	24.4	7.5
Electronic Databases	41.8	27.2	18.4	12.7
Multimedia Resources	33.5	37.9	21.1	7.5

Table 3. Directions to Students for Using Electronic Resources (Percent of Faculty) [Back to Article]

	Never	Sometimes	Often	Always
Tell Them to Choose Their Own Resources	12.3	40.1	25.3	22.2
Tell Them to Consult the Media Specialist	18.8	41.3	25.0	15.0
Tell Them to Use Electronic Databases Before the Internet	18.8	22.8	9.9	10.5
Tell Them to Use Print Resources Before Electronic Resources	60.9	29.8	6.8	2.5
Tell Them to Use the Internet Only	68.5	27.2	3.7	0.6
Tell Them Not to Use the Internet	69.6	29.2	1.2	0.0

Table 4. Faculty Ratings of Their Computer Skills (Percent of Faculty) [Back to Article]

	Overall Computer Abilities	Electronic Databases	Internet Skills
Beginner	4.9	23.8	6.1
Basic	31.9	40.2	29.4
Proficient	50.3	29.9	51.5
Expert	12.9	6.1	12.9

Table 5. Comparison of Teachers’ Electronic Database Skills and How Often They Direct Students to Use Electronic Databases in the Library Media Center (Percent of Faculty) [Back to Article]

	Never	Sometimes	Often	Always
Beginner	78.9	15.8	5.3	0.0
Basic	39.7	39.7	17.5	3.2
Proficient	23.4	19.1	31.9	25.5
Expert	0.0	30.0	10.0	60.0

Table 6. Age Group and Reported Faculty Database Skills and Directions for Student Use (Percent of Faculty) [Back to Article]

	20–29	30–39	40–49	50–59	60+
Rate Themselves Proficient or Expert at Using Databases for Information Searching	55.1	35.0	31.7	31.0	0.0
Direct Students to Sometimes or Often Use Databases Before the Internet	41.3	40.0	34.2	22.4	0.0

Table 7. Value of Method for Learning about Media Resources (Percent of Faculty) [Back to Article]

	Poor	Average	Good	Excellent
Workshops/Inservice	4.4	27.0	50.9	17.6
E-mail Communication	6.1	28.8	47.9	17.2
Instructional Handouts	5.6	32.9	50.9	10.6
Online Tutorials	8.3	48.7	35.3	7.7
Class or Group Instruction by Media Professionals	3.1	19.5	50.3	27.0
One-on-One Instruction	1.3	11.3	40.9	46.5
Audiovisual Training Materials	6.3	42.4	44.3	7.0
Collaborative Teaching (Media Specialist and Teacher)	1.3	21.9	46.5	30.3