Research Help at Galvin Library Library Home

Classes & Workshops

 
Information literacy is the backbone of academic success. Attend library instruction sessions and acquire new confidence in your research abilities. Questions? Contact:
reference@iit.edu
phone: 312.567.3616


Equip your students with vital library skills

We are happy to provide library instruction for your classes. Librarians will work with you to design interactive instruction for your students. IIT Librarians are well-trained and educated in teaching library skills at any course level. If you plan to incorporate library instruction into your class, we recommend taking the following steps to ensure that you and your students get the most out of your time with us.

  • Request instruction at least two weeks before the desired date. Most classes are held at Galvin Library's Library Learning Center (LLC), which books up quickly, so reserve your spot as soon as you can. (Classes may also be held in other locations.) Early reservations also give the librarian enough time to prepare a custom session for your course.
  • Share your course content with the librarian. The teaching librarian will create search examples that incorporate what the students are learning in class.
  • Integrate the session into your coursework. Library instruction works best when students can directly apply the skills learned to an assignment or project. Want to have an instruction session but don't know where or how to make it course-relevant? Research papers aren't the only way to teach library skills. We can insert library instruction into almost any assignment or topic.
  • Determine learning objectives in advance. Most classes are 75 minutes long, which is not enough time to try and cover everything the students could learn about the library. What do you think your students already know about library research? What library skills must your students learn in order to be successful? We can work with you to create achievable and realistic learning objectives for the session. See our information literacy standards for ideas. Or see a list of various library skills that we can teach to meet your objectives.
  • Prepare the students for the class. Talk to your students a few days in advance about what they'll be doing during the class and why it is important. The library has video tutorials that cover many library "basics" that can get the students acquainted with the library before class.
  • Attend the class. Library instruction is most effective when the instructor is there to answer course-related questions and emphasize key points. Students take the class more seriously and pay more attention when their professor is present and active.
  • Evaluate the class. Share your feedback and suggestions about the class. Be sure that you and your students to fill out the evaluation form provided at the end of the class. If you have further comments email reference@iit.edu.