Libraries are repositories for humanity’s knowledge; they are our past, our present, and our future. They are much more than storehouses for books, and include many other forms of data. The information available in libraries must be accessible to all people, regardless of education, age, or economic status. Retrieval of particular types of information requires specialized knowledge and database searches that are beyond the capabilities of many users, and particularly of undergraduates starting their university careers. Librarians need to share that knowledge with users, instructing them on how to use electronic resources and the Internet so they can do research on their own, while pointing out the limits and problems associated with electronic research.
