Chapter 6: Tablets as Powerful Tools for University Research

Abstract

The increasing popularity of tablet computers in recent years is beginning to transform the way that library users, and in particular postsecondary students and faculty, find and engage with digital content. In response to these changes, university librarians are tailoring information literacy instruction to highlight the advantages of these technologies to their constituencies and to ensure that their users understand the myriad issues involved in effectively leveraging these advantages to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their research. Chapter 6 of Library Technology Reports (vol. 48, no. 8) “Rethinking Reference and Instruction with Tablets” examines the creation of university library workshops developed to introduce students and faculty to these concepts, including mobile learning advantages, online connectivity issues, the process of finding and managing content with tablet devices, and the many new and innovative ways of searching for and manipulating digital information made possible by these new technologies.