The Library faculty are available to assist faculty regarding any of the recommendations below.

Perhaps most importantly, since students will be coming to the Reference librarians for help, it would aid the library faculty (and therefore the students) to know that your class is coming, and to have a copy of the assignment--and recommended sources--in advance.


Examples of the kinds of questions we have about most assignments are as follows:
• How many students are in the class?
• What is the assignment?
• Do students know of specific book titles with which they are to look up information?
• What level of assistance should we provide? In other words, do the students need to look up the information themselves, or can they ask for help?
• Are they expected to use specific books for the assignment? If so, we need to know so we can secure the books in an area where everyone can use them, and where they will be free from theft, misplacement, and vandalism.
• What is the purpose of the assignment? Are they supposed to become familiar with the library, learn how to use the computers, or find a very specific piece of information?
  
  
Avoid sending entire classes to use a single volume or find a single journal article. At best, the students will be frustrated with the item's constant absence. At worst, the item will be hidden, vandalized, or lost, making completion of the assignment more difficult (if not impossible) for everyone. When feasible, place copies of the item on reserve at the Check-Out Desk (591-2669), or design the assignment so that the use of a variety of similar resources is acceptable.


Use the correct terminology:
• Differentiate between magazines and journals.
• Specify by name the reference book, database, or index that students should use.
• Clarify with students that a database is not the same thing as the Internet or the Web.
• Elucidate, don't obfuscate. For example, to your students, the phrase "library computer" could mean the Library's online catalog, a CD-ROM, any computer connected to the Internet, the FirstSearch WorldCat database, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, a computer in the Learning Center or in the Computer Labs, or something altogether different. When you refer to the "chemical handbook," do you mean Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, Chemical Technicians' Ready Reference Handbook, Lange's Handbook of Chemistry, or the CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics?


Be mindful of the fact that the Library's resources, especially databases, are continually changing, and that these changes will affect library assignments. Electronic resources typically require specialized instruction and substantial practice for effective use.


Ensure that materials cited as mandatory resources in the assignment are actually in the Library. Titles are sometimes discontinued, lost, vandalized, stolen, hidden, or misshelved. The only way to see if the Library has the materials necessary to complete an assignment is to check before the project is assigned. If you are unable to check, contact your library liaison.


Do not assume that students have had prior experience in using the Library, an orientation to the Library, or an orientation that was relevant to the assignment. Freshmen, transfer students, international students, or new students may have had no experience with our library system. Additionally, basic library skills may be inadequate for upper-level subject-based research assignments.


Scavenger hunts" that ask students to locate random facts are typically among the least effective assignments. They may lack a clear purpose, may often teach little, and may require the same sources of numerous hunters (which means that those sources will continually turn up missing), and thus are very frustrating. Frequently it is the library faculty who end up locating the information, not the students. We recommend assignments that require integration of knowledge rather than finding obscure facts and that actually take the students through the steps of locating the literature they need to find.


Recall that the typical undergraduate's approach to research is not as rigorous, patient, and thorough as a professor's.


Virtually everyone freed from deadlines procrastinates, so help students pace the assignment. If the assignment is an extended project, establish deadlines for different stages of the assignment to help the students pace their work.


Emphasize respect for library materials. For example, indicate that ripping pages out of a journal is not only selfish and vile behavior, but increases university expenses, and thus, in one way or another, increases tuition.


Match the assignment to the educational level of the students.


Be sure that students know why and how to cite information they find in the Library. Share information with them about the documentation style you prefer.


List some relevant resources available in the Library to get students started. If you need help in creating these, contact your Library Liaison.

Visit the Library, or contact your Library Liaison often to familiarize yourself with the changes, improvements, and new materials that appear almost daily.

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Last update: December 12, 2003