Upper Level Library Instruction

All students are introduced to the library and the idea of doing research during their First Year Seminar experience. Students will learn how to search using our general databases (ie, Academic Search Premier). If you have a research paper for your students, scheduling a library instruction will allow them to learn about subject specific databases. The library has access to many resources (primary and secondary) that students are not aware of. Librarians do not have to be involved in the entire class period. Instructions can be for 10, 15, 30 and 70 minutes or whatever length you prefer. Librarians are happy to help you develop sessions to be incorporated into your class activities.

Library Instruction classes will allow students to:

• analyze and evaluate research sources
• understand scholarly vs. non-scholarly publications
• develop search strategies for specific assignments
• use of the catalog and online periodical indexes
• find specialized resources relevant to the discipline
• understand the basics on conducting research (e.g. topic narrowing, using primary sources, citation, etc.)

Read what faculty said about the benefits of library instructions:

"I often ask a librarian to lead a session with my class on how to find sources using online databases. These sessions help create a natural link between the classroom and the library, so students begin to see these as interconnected elements of their education. Plus, having a librarian right there is like being able to 'Ask the Expert'... I sometimes learn helpful hints for searching that I wasn't aware of!"
Rodger Narloch,
Assoc. Professor,
Psychology Department

"I schedule library instruction sessions for my students each semester to help them prepare for their research project. With the librarian’s guidance, the students have the opportunity to learn about the research tools the CSB and SJU libraries provide and use them to start researching their own topic during the session. The students appreciate meeting and being able to work with a librarian who understands what their project entails, and is willing to take the time outside the library instruction to work one on one."
Karen Bengston,
Instructor
Education Department

Also, have your students schedule a Research Appointment (make it part of their assignment). Read what faculty and students have said about research appointments:

"Whenever I give my students a research project, I include as one of the required steps that they make an appointment with a research librarian to get help finding reliable sources. My students report that they get excellent help, tailored to their particular research question. Some of them told me that they returned for a second appointment when they ran into dead ends. This service is an invaluable help to them and to me."
Sr. Mara Faulkner,
Assoc. Professor,
English Department

"Well, I have the library to thank for saving my Management paper. I was having trouble finding credible sources for a research paper and the Librarian was able to sit down with me and discuss what I wanted to write about and how to go about doing it. They also helped me find credible sources and I was able to write an amazing research paper, which earned me an A. Without the Library's help I would have been frustrated and lost."
Katie Milroy, CSB Student