Allen Memorial Library Policies and Procedures Manual: Library Instruction

I need the following information a minimum of 5-7 business days before a scheduled instruction session, with the understanding that failure to provide this information may mean that we will have to reschedule your session:

• The course number and name
• The number of students enrolled in the course
• The topic(s) to be covered in the instruction session
• How much of the class session I will have available for my instruction
• Assignments or course information relating to the topics requested
• Meeting date, time, and location. If you want to have class in the library, the times available may be limited due to classes being held in the library this semester.

I cannot guarantee that I will be available on your top choice day and time, especially for requests made less than 10 business days before the requested date. I will make every effort to fit your preferred choice into my schedule, of course!

I require the professor to be present when I provide instruction, unless we have worked together before and/or are able to put together expectations and a lesson plan prior to the instruction date. If there is an emergency, please let me know and we’ll see what we can do!

The amount of information I can reasonably cover in a single information literacy session is dependent on the length of the session, the number and experience level of the students, and the complexity of the topics. For example: An APA workshop for a 100 level class or a large class will likely take a full 45-50 minutes, while covering APA with a 300 level class of students in an APA discipline will not take as long.

Specialized instruction topics require more time for me to prepare, so should be requested with more advanced notice. If I receive a request for specialized instruction, it should be expected that I will need a full 10 business days to prepare. Some examples of this type of instruction include doing upper-level research in the sciences, copyright and fair use, or fisheries and wildlife content.

Library instruction is most effective when the concepts I cover are directly connected to an assignment in the class.

I do my best to make instruction sessions interactive, accessible, and hopefully interesting for your students. Having your cooperation makes these goals more attainable!

I reserve the right to respond to requests for instruction with recommendations for alternate instruction formats, dates, times, number of sessions, or lesson plans. I never want to have to turn down an instruction request and will work with you as much as possible to find the best options for your class!

Research Guides – Online resources. Often take several weeks to complete, it’s my preference that course guides are requested at least a month before they are needed.

Library Scavenger Hunts/Orientations – This option is excellent for introducing students to the library and what we offer.

Classroom Instruction – I can offer instruction on a wide variety of topics with enough advanced notice. This list is not exhaustive, if you are interested in a type of instruction not seen here, get in touch and we’ll see what we can put together:

• Formatting and Citations
• Using Databases
• Advanced Searching/Library Website Information
• Discipline-specific Resources (I typically need more time to prepare these sessions)
• Building Research Questions/The Research Process
• Finding Sources
• Evaluating Sources

Instructional Videos – If you teach an asynchronous online course, an instructional video about a specific topic may be a very helpful resource for students. The turnaround time for videos is 3-4 weeks from the time I am given complete information about the video topic. I recommend videos be focused enough that they are in the 5-10 minute range. Videos with multiple topics may take longer to create, at my discretion.