Business-Library Resources: Instruction

You can help your students develop effective research skills--information literacy--in the following ways:

• Schedule a classroom session with a librarian. Note: this link requires you to log in with your MDC credentials.
• Embed a librarian in your class.
• Require appointments with librarians.
• Develop challenging research assignments with the aid of a librarian.
• Develop a LibGuide tailored to your class.
• Link LIS1001 or LIS2004 to your course as a Learning Community.
• Advertise and use the MDC Learning Resources on Facebook page.

To request a class session, complete this request form. To speak to a librarian about developing assignments, creating a LibGuide or having someone embedded in your course, contact your campus library.

With information coming at us from an unprecedented variety of sources, developing the ability to think critically about the information we use and share has become increasingly important, and increasingly challenging.

The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) defines Information literacy as the set of integrated abilities encompassing:

• The reflective discovery of information.
• The understanding of how information is produced and valued.
• The use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.

For more information, see ACRL's Information Literacy Framework

• Assignment Design for Information Literacy
  Gettysburg College
• Creating Effective Research Assignments
  University of Maryland
• Designing Assignments to Develop Information Literacy Skills
  Drew University
• Designing Research Assignments
  University of Richmond
• Effective Research Assignments
  University of California, Berkeley
• Faculty/Librarian Collaboration for Productive Library Assignments [PDF]
  Hillsborough Community College
• Research Paper Alternatives
  Oberlin College
• Tips for Reinforcing [Information Literacy] Competencies
  University of Richmond

As a professor, and as an expert in your field, you already know how to design assignments that reinforce the concepts you introduce in class. If your assignments include a research component, you can also help your students develop information literacy skills.

Whatever the activity, you will want to be aware of best practices for incorporating information literacy into the assignments you create. This document shares some helpful tips and you can see the infographic for it below.