PRUŽANJE POMOĆI STUDENTIMA U PROCESU TRAŽENJA INFORMACIJA KAO USLUGA VISOKOŠKOLSKIH KNJIŽNICA U REPUBLICI HRVATSKOJ.

Aim. The aim of this paper is to investigate the services of assisting students in seeking information which are provided in faculty and university libraries in Croatia. Also, the aim is to investigate the ways in which librarians provide such assistance to students in the process of searching for information. Approach/methodology. The first part of the paper provides a theoretical overview of the concepts related to the field of assistance to students in the process of seeking information - information services of academic libraries and the role of librarians in providing assistance to students in the process of searching for information. The second part of the paper presents the results of the research on assisting students in seeking information in university and faculty libraries in Croatia, which were obtained on the basis of three methods - interview, observation and survey. Results. The results of the research have shown that in university and faculty libraries in Croatia there are various services and activities that help students in seeking information: providing reference services for students, teaching students to seek information, counselling about seeking information and the so-called dual mode of assistance. The research has shown that the most common way is the help of librarian with the passive presence of student, which is contrary to modern recommendations on providing assistance in the academic context where the focus is on the active participation of students in seeking information. The paper describes ways of providing assistance in searching for information and forms of guiding students in the process of seeking information. Practical implications. The content of this article can help librarians to better understand and assist students in seeking information as well as in planning the development of information services in academic libraries. The originality and value. This research provides an overview of services that provide assistance to students in the process of seeking information in university and faculty libraries in Croatia, which has not been compiled prior to this paper. The research is also specific in that the provision of this assistance to students is viewed in the context of the process of seeking information as part of the academic educational process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]