Nearly 60 years ago, Freiser (1963, 1122) noted the unfortunate tendency for education to do little more than help students to acquire ‘a relatively useless and non-transferable bag of tricks’ in relation to finding and using information. This remains a danger today, with learners frequently applying the more advanced skills they gained in a particular situation purely to the project that occupied their mind at that time. Two of the biggest tasks for the educator lie in enabling the individual to draw on their new-found abilities selectively and appropriately in other circumstances and then encouraging them to devise their own creative solutions to the information challenges they face once they have become aware of problems that typically arise and what, broadly, may be done to counter them. As I have explained, progress can be made by fostering an understanding of methodology, rather than mere method, and inculcating in our charges a realisation that successful independent learning does not depend on the execution of a sequence of stages within a formula. Even when we are able to identify the core processes associated with finding and using information, we may not necessarily see them arise in a neat sequential progression when they are applied by the young people with whom we work. There may, for example, be frequent recursions. Ultimately, instead of dictating, the role of the educator lies in facilitating good practice and guiding action, within – of course – the overall constraints associated with the task that must be completed by the learner and which are immutable. This book has shown, for example, how we can help students:

• • appraise their existing skills associated with independent learning

• • monitor their progress in developing their skills further

• • form suitable foci for their independent learning

• • widen their outlook in terms of the options available in the modern information world and the means of searching effectively

• • make appropriate choices with regard to selecting the raw material for their learning

• • use the time available profitably

• • work ethically

• • construct effective outcomes

• • learn from their experiences.