Information literacy is a crucial competency for success in the 21st century. Study after study has shown that today's students are lacking in their ability to locate, make sense of, and evaluate information. The proliferation of information on the Internet (much of it biased or misleading) continues to exacerbate the problem. CSM Library seeks to impart information literacy through on-campus research orientations and for-credit classes. However, we are limited in the number of students we can instruct in person. The majority of CSM students never set foot in the library. I have created these screencasts and podcasts in an attempt to reach students who are unable or unwilling to come to the library for person-to-person assistance. They also supplement on-campus instruction, helping refresh students' memories at their point of need (e.g. the night before the paper is due and the library is closed!). The screencasts are currently linked to from the CSM Library Web site, under "Research Tutorials." More screencasts are in the works. The video podcast is available on CSM's itunesU page.

Finding a Periodical: Demonstrates how to look up a magazine or scholarly journal by title to see if CSM Library subscribes to it through its online databases. Opens as a Flash (.swf) file.

Using Expanded Academic ASAP: Demonstrates how to do a basic keyword search in a multidisciplinary article database. Opens as a Flash (.swf) file.

Information Overload: Video podcast of a presentation at a Spring 2007 "Tragedy of the Commons" learning community Friday Forum. I explain that we have moved from a society of information scarcity to one of information overload, and how this relates to Garrett Hardin's essay and the students' lives.