Information Literacy Programs
Transitioning to College Life |Course-Specific Research Instruction | Upper Level Information Literacy | Drop-in Sessions | Quick Start | Online Tutorials | Assessment and Evaluation
To schedule library instruction, faculty may:
- call Shawna Smith at (603) 897-8536 or x8536
- email Shawna Smith
Student Success Classes
In an effort to bring information literacy skills to all incoming traditional students early on, library instruction staff collaborate with the Student Success program. This one credit program introduces students to study skills and other coping mechanisms to ease the entry to college life and bolster success. Library staff present a general overview of library services and resources, emphasizing that help is always available at service points and online. The library orientation concludes with a brief quiz in Blackboard, covering the major points of the library orientation.
Course-Specific Research Instruction
Upon faculty request, the library instruction team teaches multiple course-specific research sessions and workshops that incorporate information literacy skills. The sessions are geared to class assignments provided in advance by the faculty. The audience may include undergraduate, graduate, or EdD students.
Upper Level Information Literacy Program
The upper level Information Literacy Program involves a junior or senior level course from each of the University's five academic divisions. The library instruction team presents advanced research demonstrations which may include using subject specific databases, special database features, advanced Boolean search techniques, setting up personal folders within databases, exploring professional websites and more. Class sessions are
alligned to research assignments provided in advance by the faculty. Subsequently, student papers are evaluated by the faculty using the rubric model, derived from the five ACRL Information Literacy Standards. At the end of the semester, faculty provide the instruction librarian with student papers accompanied by a completed scoring rubric. The papers and rubric are scanned and saved for future assessment and accreditation purposes. The librarian and faculty meet to discuss any revisions that need to be made to future classroom instruction and/or library presentation taking into consideration the final papers and rubric score.The upper level Information Literacy Program exists largely because of the willingness of the Nursing Department to pilot the program in 2009. Drop-in Sessions
The library instruction team schedules evening and weekend drop-in sessions in the library electronic classroom. Drop-ins are open to the university community although non-traditional students are a target audience. The drop-in presentation is geared to audience requests and may include database and catalog searching, how to find scholarly peer reviewed materials, critically evaluating resources, using ebooks and more. Quick Start
Quick Start is a short research session (about 20 minutes) that a librarian can present in faculty classrooms when students need assistance such as:
- a short introduction to the library website
- tips on evaluating resources
- a short e-book demostration
Advanced notice of about one week is needed for all sessions.
Online Tutorials
A series of six short movies within a general tutorial, RivLink, Introduction to Library Research,introduces users to Rivier's library facilties and services, reviews college level research methods, and stresses the importance of critcally evaluating information. Accessible to anyone on the library website, professors may assign the library tutorial in online or hybrid courses. Additionally, the library website has links to vendor-provided database tutorials and has subject-specific tutorials for juvenile literature and nursing research.
Assessment and Evaluation
- Instruction Feedback form
The Library Instruction Team strives to improve and adapt its programs in response to student and faculty feedback. After instruction takes place, faculty and students complete a Library Instruction Feedback form. The Library Instruction Team reviews faculty/student evaluations and comments, seeking ways to improve instruction delivery. The data for all instruction sessions is collated for the annual report.
- Student Success Blackboard Quiz
As a required component of the Student Success library orientation session, students take a ten question quiz in Blackboard, covering the major points of the library orientation. If a student selects an incorrect answer, a pop-up reveals the correct answer, reinforcing the concept. Additional help is provided for students scoring below 70%.
- Assessment Committee
Library management has representation on the University's Assessment Committee. A goal of the committee is to work with administration and divisional chairs to design a program that will assess students’ information literacy skills prior to completing the undergraduate program. Such a program was recently begun within the upper level Information Literacy Program described above.
- Assessment Rubric
The Information Literacy Level 2 Assessment Rubric is one way that faculty can assess students’ research papers based on the five ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards.
- Student Permission Form
The Student Permission Form is so that the library has permission to use student research papers for information literacy assessment purposes.
Return to Information Literacy at River University main page
Updated 11/02/2012