Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Redesigning Freshman Seminar Library Instruction Based On Information Competencies, Elizabeth Parang, Melinda Raine, Trisha Medeiros

Elizabeth Parang

During summer 1997, instruction librarians at Pepperdine University's Payson Library began restructuring Freshman seminar library instruction sessions because they observed that students were not acquiring the needed library and information literacy skills. Too much material was being presented in too short a time with no opportunity for hands-on experience. Taking advantage of the opportunity for Web-based instruction, students now tour the library and learn catalog searching skills at their own pace outside of class. Librarians reinforce vital library skills and introduce the students to a general database during classroom instruction which includes hands-on experience. Evaluation indicates that students completing the …