LOEX Conference Proceedings 2011
Document Type
Interactive
Publication Date
12-2013
Abstract
What I would like to propose is not a presentation but a strategy session. Over the ten years I have spent as an instruction librarian, I have come to realize that what we need is quantitative data showing the benefits that students derive from library instruction. It needs to be gathered and published in non-library forums, such as educational or subject specific journals. Once the benefits are publicized and understood by educators and faculty, we may be able to move beyond the fifty minute, one shot instruction session, and make an information literate society a reality.
To do this, we need to form a strategy for conducting the research, ideally working with colleges and universities of different sizes, and agree to use measures that are mutually compatible so that the resulting statistics can be compared validly. The resulting broad spectrum of evidence that library instruction is the cornerstone on which our information-rich society can build its knowledge will demonstrate its value, and show that it needs to be taught systematically rather than to depend on students "picking it up."
This will be a brainstorming session where anyone who wants can make suggestions and volunteer to gather information from their institutions and contribute it to the aggregate. Obviously this is a long-term project, but the librarians who attend LOEX are the best group to undertake it. This interactive workshop will be facilitated by a veteran instruction librarian and a professor of library science whose specialization is academic libraries.
Recommended Citation
May, Frances A. and Du, Yunfei, "Library Instruction Credibility: How Do We Establish it? How Do We Publicize it?" (2013). LOEX Conference Proceedings 2011. 32.
https://commons.emich.edu/loexconf2011/32