Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Rendering Information Literacy Relevant: A Case-Based Pedagogy, Andy Spackman, Leticia Camacho

Faculty Publications

The authors describe the use of case studies in a program of extracurricular library instruction and explain the benefits of case teaching in developing information literacy. The paper presents details of example cases and analyzes surveys to evaluate the impact of case teaching on student satisfaction.

Investigating Primary Source Literacy, Joanne Archer, Ann Hanlon, Jennie A. Levine

Library Faculty Research and Publications

Primary source research requires students to acquire specialized research skills. This paper presents results from a user study testing the effectiveness of a Web guide designed to convey the concepts behind “primary source literacy”. The study also evaluated students’ strengths and weaknesses when conducting primary source research.

Academic Library Services For Users With Developmental Disabilities: Partnership Of Access And Syracuse University Libraries, Adina Mulliken, Ann Atkins

Publications and Research

Syracuse University Library and Access partnered to provide library orientations to six Syracuse University students who have developmental disabilities. Access is a service that supports college course attendance for students who have developmental or cognitive disabilities. Students with developmental disabilities are being included in college life more and more. As this occurs, academic libraries will be providing more services to this population. We hope Syracuse University’s experience will be useful for other libraries to build on as they develop services. Additionally, we discuss opportunities to improve services for all students by focusing on students with developmental disabilities.

Quantifying The Effectiveness Of Interactive Tutorials In Medical Library Instruction, Rozalynd P. Anderson, Steven P. Wilson

Faculty Publications

The goal of this study was to determine whether a passive or an interactive tutorial design improves understanding of key concepts, as measured by pre- and post-test data. The authors also collected data regarding the participants’ preference for taking an interactive versus a passive tutorial. The interactive tutorial group improved statistically significantly from pre-test to post-test for all three learning questions. While the passive tutorial group improved from pre-test to post-test on all three questions, the improvement was statistically significant for just two of the three questions. The majority of the participants preferred interactive tutorials (78%) to passive tutorials (22%).

Creating Instruction "To Go": Maximizing Resources, Maximizing Impact, Judith M. Arnold, Veronica E. Bielat

Library Scholarly Publications

Faced with large scale instruction demands, librarians are turning to technology to maximize staff resources and extend the impact of instruction. In this presentation, participants will learn how to translate classroom instructional content into learning objects in order to make learning available to multiple users on the go. The authors will engage the audience in a series of presentations, demonstrations, interactive tasks, and discussion in order to learn how to create effective learning objects.

This presentation was delivered at the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) 14th National Conference on March 14, 2009 in Seattle, WA.

Success Strategies For Thesis Students: Creating A Video Toolbox, Claudia J. Dold, Ardis Hanson

Academic Services Faculty and Staff Publications

With an increase in our pool of users and a cap on hiring, the librarians in our shop needed a way to clone themselves in order to deliver the same good service on which we pride ourselves and on which our constituency has come to rely.

Our proposed solution was to create video segments on how to use the library effectively. Funded by a grant, a project was undertaken to produce a series of fifteen videos designed to guide students through the research and writing skills that their program chairs deem essential for top-quality work. This paper presents the thought …

Using Blackboard To Create Library Research Skills Assessment, Maura A. Smale, Mariana Regalado

Publications and Research

Like other college and university departments, academic libraries are increasingly expected to assess their services and facilities. This article describes an initial step in the development of a comprehensive assessment program for library instruction in the Brooklyn College Library. A pre- and post-quiz were developed based on the curriculum for a required library session in an introductory English composition course. The quizzes were designed to establish a baseline for student knowledge of information literacy as well as measure the effect of library instruction on student learning. We also sought to evaluate the suitability of the Blackboard learning management system for …

A Reflective Teaching Journal: An Instructional Improvement Tool For Academic Librarians, Elizabeth K. Tompkins

Publications and Research

This paper explores the practice of keeping a reflective teaching journal to improve classroom instruction. Reflective practice and journaling have a rich tradition in the teacher education field. Accordingly, the teacher education literature provides the starting point for this case study of keeping a reflective teaching journal for library sessions given to first semester freshmen enrolled in a learning community. The journaling process proved useful by helping to improve instruction while also providing a mechanism to link theory with practice.