Library Instruction at the Cheng Library: About Library Instruction

Library Instruction for 1000-level Courses

An Opportunity for All Students to Start Off with the Same Information and Skills

Students often have their first real taste of college research through 1000-level courses in your programs. Whether part of their major or as an elective, library instruction can be important in their successful completion of the research projects you assign. The skills they learn through this process are also vital to their success in other classes and beyond.

Library instruction (or information literacy instruction) is more involved than a simple "library orientation" or "library tour". A faculty librarian can meet with your students as a class to introduce relevant resources and strategies to address the requirements of your assignments.

If your course includes an assignment that uses library databases or materials, please contact us to schedule a session with a librarian, today!

1000-Level Mandate

One of the University’s faculty requirements for supporting student success in 1000-level courses is:

Students are to be assigned to visit and/or engage with a student academic support center, inclusive of Tutor.com or the Library Reference Desk. See attached Academic Support Center directions.

The library is always pleased to work with students, and we look forward to making the experience a rewarding one.

Consider using one of the following activities to increase the relevance to contacting a librarian:

• Guided Reference Question
  • Have students identify 1-3 questions about the library or their research in your course.
  • Students must a) correctly identify and engage with a librarian* and b) write a short reflection on the experience.
• Class & Research Activity
  • Schedule an instruction session for your entire class (ideally, related to an assignment).
  • Include a follow up activity where students locate an article on their topic and send it to the librarian, who will confirm by email.
• Meet Your Librarian Session
  • Coordinate with your department Liaison Librarian to offer a designated time/office hours for students to visit and get to know them (virtually or in person).
  • Have the student do a short reflection about what they learned about them.

* Students often do not know the difference between a reference librarian and others who work in the Library building (including student workers, IRT and Academic Success).  Make sure that your activity is clear about who should be contacted.

Reconsider Orientations and Scavenger Hunts

One-on-one orientations at the reference desk or unexpected scavenger hunts to the Library pose some challenges, and may not be very meaningful to students.

• Orientations are open-ended, covering a wide range of topics, and can be lengthy interactions, better covered in a library instruction session than at the reference desk.
• Scavenger hunts can help students understand the layout of the Library but may lead to misinformation and overutilization of staff.

If you want to offer either of these activities, we ask that you please consult with your department's Liaison Librarian to coordinate beforehand.