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What is Information Literacy?
Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.
Oesterle Librarians can provide course-integrated library instruction tailored to your students, your course, and your assignment
- Library instruction sessions are most effective when students have an assignment or project they are working to complete
- Sessions length can vary depending on the amount of instruction needed
- When a large number of concepts need to be covered it is recommended to schedule two or more library instruction sessions
- Classes can come to the library for instruction, or the librarian can meet the class in their classroom
- Please request library instruction sessions at least two weeks in advance to allow for scheduling, room booking, and lesson planning
Don't have time for a librarian to visit your class? Librarians can still work with you to support your students' learning
- Librarians can help design effective research assignments
- Librarians can be embedded in your Blackboard or Canvas courses as a TA, allowing students to interact with the librarian through discussion boards and course announcements
- Online Research Guides can be created for any subject, course, or assignment to support students' research needs
Teaching an online only or hybrid course? Librarians can still provide instruction services
- Librarians can be embedded in your Blackboard or Canvas course and can help create learning modules, guide discussion board discussions, or post announcements with research tips and tricks
- Librarians can meet with your students virtually via Blackboard Collaborate, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or other online meeting tools
- Online videos and tutorials can be created to provide asynchronous instructions for students
- Online Research Guides can be designed for distance education courses in order to highlight resources available online and off campus
Check out the information below to learn about the types of concepts offered in library instruction sessions
- Don't see a concept you want covered? Librarians can work with you to develop a library instruction session that teaches just about anything you can think of!
Approach to Instruction
- All library instruction sessions are designed based on the ACRL Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education
- Sessions challenge students to consider core information literacy concepts
- Authority is Constructed and Contextual
- Information Creation as a Process
- Information Has Value
- Research as Inquiry
- Scholarship as Conversation
- Searching as Strategic Exploration
- Students are taught strategies and skills and given time to practice, reflect, and question
- Active learning and hands-on practice are the focus of most sessions
Library Instruction Options
Basic Concepts |
Instruction Topics and Activities |
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Introduction, Finding Help, and Wrap Up |
All classes will include ten minutes for a basic introduction to the librarian, information on finding help outside of class, and a wrap up discussion of topics covered at the end of the session |
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Research Topics and Keywords |
Appropriate research topics; students will learn to identify topics that are too broad or too narrow |
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Brainstorming for topics; students will practice using brainstorming and concept mapping to generate and select research topics |
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Keyword creation; students will practice generating appropriate keywords for a given search topic |
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Types of Information |
Information sources; students will discuss the concept of information and the types of information sources available to them (books, articles, encyclopedias) |
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Information creation; students will learn and discuss how information is created, including the peer-review process |
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Appropriate source selection; students will learn which information sources are most appropriate for academic level research |
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Evaluating Sources |
Evaluating sources; students will discuss how information is evaluated both in popular culture and in academia |
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Students will practice using various evaluative criteria and strategies to evaluate various types of sources for credibility and authority |
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Searching for Sources |
Search tool selection; students will discuss the ways they find information and the information search tools available to them |
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Searching techniques; students will learn and practice using Boolean operators, phrase searching, and database specific limiters |
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Database searching; students will practice searching for a given research topic in one or more library databases |
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Basic Citation Management |
Purpose of citations; students will discuss why citations are important |
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Citing correctly; students will learn and practice basic citation creation skills and explore citation creation resources |
Intermediate Concepts |
Instruction Topics and Activities |
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Finding Books and Media |
Catalog Searching; students will learn to search for books, ebooks, and media using CardinalSearch |
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Reading call numbers; students will learn how to read call numbers and find books on the shelves in an academic library |
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InterLibrary Loan |
Students will learn how to request materials through InterLibrary Loan |
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Popular vs. Scholarly Sources |
Students will learn the differences between popular and scholarly sources, and practice identifying popular and scholarly sources |
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Types of Scholarly Sources |
Students will learn about and discuss the various types of scholarly sources including original research, literature reviews, meta-analyses, and gray literature |
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Primary vs. Secondary Sources |
Students will learn the difference between primary and secondary sources and will practice identifying primary and secondary sources |
Advanced Concepts |
Instruction Topics and Activities |
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Advanced Database Searching |
Subject headings; students will learn about subject headings and examine how subject headings are used in various databases |
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Thesaurus or term lists; students will practice using tools available within various databases to identify and select appropriate subject headings or descriptors |
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Article Mining and Tracking |
Reading citations; students will learn the basic elements of citations and practice identifying types of citations (APA vs. MLA, book vs. article, etc.) |
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Finding a referenced article; students will learn how to find full text articles from a given reference |
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Using CardinalSearch and journal lists; students will learn how to search library holdings for specific journals |
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Article tracking; students will learn how to use Google Scholar to identify articles which cite a given resource |
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Advanced Citation Management |
Database tools; students will learn about citation management tools in various discipline specific databases |
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Citation managers; students will discuss the merits of citation management applications and the managers available through the library |
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Citation Tools; Students will learn how to begin using specific Citation Managers such as Zotero |
