Faculty Guide to Library Instruction (Archival Version): Home

Library Instruction photo by Butler Libraries

Librarians are your partners when it comes to curricular design. We care about supporting your efforts to meet student learning outcomes. Reach out to your Subject Liaison Librarian - let's see what we can accomplish together!

• Google Forms: assessment, pre/post testing
• Google Slides: students create and share informationPoll Everywhere: assessment, class engagement
• Weebly & Wordpress: creating websites
• Piktochart: creating infographics
• Omeka: Creating digital exhibits
• Popplet: mind mapping
• Prezi: students create media projects
• LibGuides: students create resource lists for future classes

Butler librarians liaison with specific colleges and majors, providing information literacy (IL) instruction and research consultations to students.  To schedule an IL session, contact the Subject Liaison who works with your major, or contact Sally Neal, Associate Dean for Instruction and User Services, sneal@butler.edu, 940-9949.

Butler's Information Literacy Program

Butler Libraries provides information literacy instruction throughout a student's undergraduate/graduate experience. The key curriculum areas targeted include:

1. First-year seminar (FYS) - To meet the FYS research learning outcome:  "Students will carry out research for the purpose of supplying evidence and support for claims made in exposition and argument," students receive an introduction to information literacy concepts and skills through classroom library instruction session(s).  
2. Discipline instruction - Librarian liaisons work with their assigned colleges/majors to provide discipline-specific IL at key points within a major's curriculum.  Many librarians have worked with their majors and mapped where, within a curriculum, IL instruction should be incorporated.  

Assumptions (or, Did you Know?)

1. Besides classroom instruction, librarians provide one-on-one research consultations to students.  Encourage your students to contact their subject librarian to take advantage of this individualized research assistance.  
2. Successful learning is active and participatory; therefore, we incorporate active learning activities, critical thinking, and problem solving exercises into our instruction.
3. Librarians incorporate flipped classroom models of learning as well as online learning strategies to deliver content.
4. Librarians can collaborate with you in designing your research assignment.
5. Instruction should be tied to course work; the presence of the faculty member during an instruction session is crucial for the students to appreciate and understand the value of the session.
6. Librarians can help you assess components of student research.  Not only does this gauge students' learning, but it helps us adjust our teaching to better meet student needs.

Guidelines

• The Library has a computer classroom with 18 laptops; up to 21 students can be accommodated in the space.  The librarian will reserve this classroom for the instruction session.  
• Request library instruction at least two-weeks in advance.  As you are creating or updating your syllabi prior to the start of a semester, meet with your subject librarian and discuss learning goals and objectives for the library instruction/research component.  Collaborating at the time you’re building the class, ensures that the research assignment takes advantage of Butler resources, and the librarian can create an effective instruction session.
• If you have collection development needs for the class (purchasing of resources), let your librarian know as soon as possible so these orders can be placed in time for your class needs.  Requests need to comply with Butler's Collection Development policy.  
• Include your librarian as a resource on your syllabus and within your Canvas section.  Follow these directions for adding a librarian at the Course Builder level within a Canvas section.
• If the IL instruction is face-to-face, attend the IL session and lend your insights and expertise to the lesson.

You are welcome to reuse the content of this Guide as long as you attribute Butler University Libraries.