Resources for Instruction Librarians
This page is designed to assist instruction librarians, especially those new to this area of responsibility, in locating information on practical and professional aspects of their profession. Included here are some of the most important sites of information as well as simply helpful resources. This is not a comprehensive listing nor are the links ranked in any way.
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Resources for Teaching
ACRL Information Literacy Website
Information literacy is foundational to library instruction. This site, provided by the Association of College and Research Libraries, "is the Institute for Information Literacy Executive Committee's gateway to resources on information literacy. These resources will help you understand and apply the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education to enhance teaching, learning, and research in the higher education community." It is divided into four information-packed sections: Overview, Standards & Guidelines, Resources & Ideas, and Professional Activity.
LOEX Clearinghouse for Library Instruction
"LOEX (Library Orientation Exchange) is a self-supporting, non-profit educational clearinghouse for materials used in library instruction. They provide information on all aspects of instruction to libraries and librarians who are institutional members. Their collections consist of print materials such as one-page point-of-use handouts, bibliographies and subject guides, pathfinders; instructional video and audio tapes; and CD-ROMS and Internet sites. These materials are donated by member libraries and librarians, very few commercially produced items are included. Most items may be copied and used freely by member institutions." The Instruction Resources section of the site is filled with links to online resources.
Information Literacy in the Disciplines
Produced by the ACRL Instruction Section, Teaching Methods Committee, this webpage provides "links and citations to information literacy standards and curricula developed by accrediting agencies, professional associations, and institutions of higher education. ..Each discipline is separated into two sections: 1) Standards or Guidelines from Accrediting Agencies & Professional Associations and 2)Curricula, Articles, and Presentations."
PRIMO: Peer-Reviewed Instruction Materials Online
Produced by the ACRL Instruction Section, "PRIMO is a means to promote and share peer-reviewed instructional materials created by librarians to teach people about discovering, accessing and evaluating information in networked environments." Take special note of the PRIMO: Peer-Reviewed Instruction Materials Online, site of the month.
This site, produced by Greg R. Notess, "compares and evaluates Internet search engines from the searcher's perspective. Developed originally as a way to keep track of the search engines and share that information, the site has grown to include a search engine features chart, detailed search engine reviews, an online newsletter, statistical analysis, and search strategies.
- Search Engine Watch
This site provides web searching tips, search engine listings, reviews, ratings and tests, other search engine resources and two newsletters. You might like this search engine features at-a-glance page.
Tutorials from Other Libraries
This gateway to library tutorials is available for you to explore what is being produced in this field. It is not a comprehensive list but it does sample a wide variety of methods. Through these examples, you may learn what to do, what not to do or you may decide to link to another library's tutorial (with permission, please). URLs are included since, on more than one occasion, we've printed this page for group discussion.
This pdf page, produced by the University of Oregon, provides a clear breakdown of types of publications (scholarly, professional, newspapers, popular), characteristics and links to examples. Additional links to related content like Scholarly or Popular? are available.
"The Library Instruction Wiki was originally developed by the Oregon Library Association's Library Instruction Roundtable, all librarians and others interested in library instruction are welcome and encouraged to contribute." The site, subtitled "stop reinventing the wheel..." includes instruction resources to be used or to inspire. It is divided into sections on Handouts, tutorials and other things to share; Teaching Techniques, Tips and Tricks; Class-specific websites/handouts; Glossary/Encyclopedia; and Bibliography/Suggested Reading. Like any wiki, you are encouraged to add content.
Teaching with Technology
- Blue Web'n is a searchable database of "blue ribbon" Internet learning sites categorized by subject area, audience, and type (lessons, activities, projects, resources, references, & tools). Check out Filamentality , "a fill-in-the-blank interactive Web site that guides you through picking a topic, searching the Web, gathering good Internet sites, and turning Web resources into learning activities."
MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected on this site along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments.
Teaching with Electronic Technology
- "The World Wide Web sites collected on this page reflect the considerable variety of uses for computing and related forms of electronic technology in teaching. They are arranged in no strict order, but tend to proceed from rather general and theoretical resources to some instructive examples of specific applications of technology to teaching and learning."
- The mission of EDUCAUSE, a non-profit association, is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology. The site provides access to the EDUCAUSE Quarterly, EDUCAUSE Review, member reports and more.
Resources about Instruction
LIRT 's Research Committee produced the brochures listed below. "Each brochure provides brief information an the topic specified and also has a brief bibliography that can be used to obtain additional information."
Share Your Teaching Tool Kit: Best Practices in Library Instruction
Increasing Your Teaching Skills
Teaching Information Literacy Concepts
Teaching to a Bad Assignment
Teaching Searching Skills without a Computer ClassroomTeaching Effectiveness Program
This program is prepared for faculty by the University of Oregon's Academic Learning Services department. Useful information and links can be found in all sections of this site.
This site, created by Park University, has an excellent group of resources on creating a syllabus, effective assessment and teaching strategies. Each section has numerous helfpful sub-pages like the learning objectives and educational taxonomy pages listed within the syllabus section.
This page was designed for a graduate education course at University of Colorado at Denver. It has a multitude of links to explanations of a myriad of instructional design models.
Connecting Engineering Students with the Library: A Case Study in Active Learning
Appearing in Issues of Science and Technology Librarianship, Spring 2003, this article shows how two librarians approached a library instruction situation, evolving from using lectures into active learning classes.
Developed by the University of Texas at Austin, the "World Lecture Hall publishes links to pages created by faculty worldwide who are using the Web to deliver course materials in any language. Some courses are delivered entirely over the Internet. Others are designed for students in residence. Many fall somewhere in between. In all cases, they can be visited by anyone interested in courseware on the Internet..."
A Meeting of the Minds: Committees, Organizations, and Other Groups
Use these resources to communicate with fellow instruction librarians as well as to keep-up on current developments in the field. Many of those listed below hold meetings, have conferences, and sponsor programs which provide additional opportunities for communication and development.
ALA, ACRL, Instruction Section
"The Mission of the Instruction Section (IS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) is to foster the profession of academic and research librarianship and to enhance the ability of academic and research librarians involved in bibliographic instruction to serve effectively the library and information needs of current and potential library users. This site provides access to information about the Section's structure, committees and their work, meetings, programs, awards, and publications." Take special note of the PRIMO: Peer-Reviewed Instruction Materials Online, site of the month.
ALA, ACRL, Instruction Section, Teaching Methods Committee
"The charge of the Teaching Methods Committee is: To identify and promote teaching methods and materials useful to practicing library instruction librarians; to provide a forum for librarians interested in both the theoretical and practical aspects of teaching methods and the broader issues of instructional design and delivery."
"Library Instruction Round Table (LIRT) is a roundtable of the American Library Association and advocates library instruction as a means for developing competent library and information use as a part of lifelong learning. LIRT membership represents all types of libraries (academic, public, school, and special) committed to this goal." In addition to committee and conference information, you will find links to publications on instruction topics.
"The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academic library and information professionals to serve the information needs of the higher education community and to improve learning, teaching, and research." Among other resources, the ACRL page on Information Literacy includes the ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards, information on best practices as well as a link to a site prepared by ACRL Consultants for Information Literacy. This new site serves as a gateway to information literacy resources "focused on improving the teaching, learning, and research role of the higher education community."
"LOEX (Library Orientation Exchange) is a self-supporting, non-profit educational clearinghouse for materials used in library instruction. They provide information on all aspects of instruction to libraries and librarians who are institutional members. Their collections consist of print materials such as one-page point-of-use handouts, bibliographies and subject guides, pathfinders; instructional video and audio tapes; and CD-ROMS and Internet sites. These materials are donated by member libraries and librarians, very few commercially produced items are included. Most items may be copied and used freely by member institutions." The LOEX annual conference is one of the most highly regarded in the world of library instruction.
You can monitor or participate but you can't miss this listserv if you're interested in library instruction. Here is where you'll find a great deal of dialogue, suggestions and information from practioners. Information that is not necessarily available anywhere else. Formerly the BI-L listserv, hosted on the American Library Association server, and sponsored by the Instruction Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries. Discusses Information Literacy Instruction, Bibliographic Instruction, Library Use Instruction, and Library Orientation. The link provided above will direct you to instructions on subscribing / unsubscribing and posting.
Professional Development: Dancing as Fast as You Can
"The three basic goals of the Institute are to prepare librarians to become effective teachers in information literacy programs; to support librarians, other educators and administrators in playing a leadership role in the development and implementation of information literacy programs; and to forge new relationships throughout the educational community to work towards information Literacy curriculum development." Included here is information about the Immersion Program, institutional strategies for best practices and opportunities for community partnerships.
This site describes a blended librarian as "An academic librarian who combines the traditional skill set of librarianship with the information technologist's hardware/software skills, and the instructional or educational designer's ability to apply technology appropriately in the teaching-learning process." "The Blended Librarians Online Learning Community is librarians, faculty, instructional designers and technologists, and other academic support personnel working collaboratively to integrate the library into the teaching and learning process. It is designed to encourage and enable academic librarians to evolve into a new role that blends existing library and information skills with those of instructional design and technology. To that end, the Community leverages innovation, collaboration, and communication to bring together its members in a virtual environment for professional development and learning opportunities." This site provides frequent webinars on timely topics to which you can subscribe to participate live or view at a later time through the site or iTunes.
College of DuPage Soaring to Excellence
"College of DuPage Press is the publisher of college instructional materials, including books, manuals, computer software, instructional simulations, and educational games. Its Library Learning Network annually produces and delivers (by satellite downlink and webinar) development and policy programs for librarians."
MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected on this site along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments. Also of interest is the Merlot Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, " a peer-reviewed, online publication addressing the scholarly use of multimedia resources in education."
"The TLT Group's mission is to motivate and enable institutions and individuals to improve teaching and learning with technology, while helping them cope with continual change." This site provides access to information on sponsored events (free and fee-based), resources and related links. FIU has institutional membership in TLT.
This portion of the ACRL Information Literacy site provides access to examples of collaboration.
Collaborating with Faculty: Ideas and Selected Bibliography
This page includes unmerous ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
Faculty-Librarian Collaboration
Located on the Association of Psychological Science site, this article appearing in the APS Observer, March 2004, Volume 17, Issue Number 3 is written from the faculty member's point of view.
50+ Ways to Reach Your Faculty
This poster session by Terri L. Holtze, University of Louisville, was presented at the ACRL Conference at Denver, CO on March 17, 2001. In addition to 50+ tips and ideas, it includes a bibliography of case studies.
How Well Do We Fit? Librarians and Faculty in the Academic Setting
If Myers-Briggs is of interest to you, take a look at this article, written by Mary Jane Scherdin in portal: Libraries and the Academy 2.2 (2002) 237-253. "Abstract: Librarians and classroom faculty have similar personality preferences as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). These preferences make them natural partners in the academic world. Specific examples of librarians working together with faculty are presented, giving special emphasis to the four most common types for librarians."
This
page is maintained by:
Stephanie Brenenson
brenenso@fiu.edu
Library Instruction Coordinator
University Park, Green Library
Florida International University
Last revised: July 2008