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Library Instruction & Information Literacy @ St. Thomas: Library Instruction Services

Instruction & IL @ UST

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This Guide is intended for UST faculty who would like to know more about library instruction services and Information Literacy at St. Thomas. The Guide contains information on how to incorporate these into courses. 

Faculty-Librarian Collaboration

We are happy to collaborate with faculty in developing appropriate assignments that will help achieve your course learning outcomes.

Subject librarians can work with you to develop your students' skills in:

  • Constructing research strategies
  • Locating information by finding and effectively using appropriate resources and services
  • Evaluating and synthesizing the information discovered
  • Citing sources appropriately
  • Employing critical thinking skills

Schedule a library session for your class by contacting a subject liaison librarian.

Library Instruction

What we offer:

  • Librarians can collaborate with you in designing your research assignment.
  • Besides classroom instruction, librarians provide one-on-one research consultations to students. Encourage your students to contact their subject librarian to take advantage of this individualized research assistance.
  • Successful learning is active and participatory; we try to incorporate active learning activities, critical thinking, and problem solving exercises into our instruction.
  • Librarians can help you assess components of student research. Not only does this gauge students' learning, it also helps us adjust our teaching to better meet student needs.

Suggestions & Expectations:

  • We ask that you request library instruction at least a week in advance. As you are creating or updating your syllabi prior to the start of a semester, communicate with your subject librarian and discuss learning goals and objectives for the library instruction/research session. A good collaboration ensures that the research assignment takes advantage of UST's resources, and the librarian can create an effective instruction session.
  • Instruction should be tied to course work; the presence of the faculty member during an instruction session is crucial for the students to appreciate and understand the value of the session.
  • Timing is everything: library instruction should take place at a time when students are actually required to do research.
  • Consider including your subject librarian as a resource on your syllabus and within Blackboard/Canvas.

Subject Liaison Librarians

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