| Bibliographic instruction in academic libraries has been assumed to contribute to adults' learning and use of information after they leave college. This investigation seeks to establish a grounded theory of the effects of a bibliographic instruction course, LM 132., on the learning and information use in the adult lives of its former students. Nine of the students who elected to take the course and who completed the course with a grade of C or better were interviewed by telephone; two of those interviewed were consulted a second time for their opinions on the preliminary findings. The constant comparative method was used for analysis of the interview transcripts. Findings were largely consistent with previous theoretical results on adult learning. The overall conclusion of this study is that links can be shown between the bibliographic instruction course and its application to the former students' adult learning. In addition, the findings are an affirmation of the application of at least some college instruction to adult life. Recommendations are for an extension of this investigation to other adults with a background of college library-use instruction and to other college courses with assumed lifelong application. application. |
